Chromosome Biology Flashcards
Genome architecture in eukaryotic cells
Morphology of diving cells differs significantly from interphase cells
Interphase and mitosis structure change
Highly dynamic and regulated process
Mistakes/different in diseases
Physical organisation of the genome
Sequence (2001 - first draft of human genome), epigenetics (modifications of DNA and histones), structure beyond double helix (DNA spatial organisation), dynamicity (response to stimuli and DNA status)
Knowledge about the genome sequence alone is not enough
Chromatin at different zoomed views
In vivo and vitro different
eg in lab (vitro) smallest (regions of DNA double helix < beads on string form of chromatin < chromatin fibre of packed nucleosides < chrimatin fibre folded into loops < entire multitude chromosome)
In vivo - chrimatin fibre of packed nucleosomes probably doesn’t exist
Nucleosome is the basic unit of chromatin structure
October of 8 histones
Histone H2A, H2B, H3, H4 (all x2)
Shared throughout all eukaryotes - evolutionary (old)
Nucleosome is formed from histones and DNA
DNA - acid
Nucleosome - basic
So bind to eachother, DNA wraps around histone octomer (almost twice)
Histone proteins - Histone fold domain (responsible for forming octomer, interacts with other histones in hand shake fold) and N-terminal tail (regulation)
Post translational modifications (PTMs) of histones play key regulatory role
Unstructured Histone N terminal tail
Regulation and Histone code - major epigenetic characteristics in eukaryotic cells (leaves marks on Histone tails for post translational modifications eg methylation, phosphorylation, ubiquitation, acetylation)
Histone code example
Specific patterns of post translational modifications to histones act like a molecular code recognised and used by non Histone proteins to regulate specific chromatin functions
Eg Histone H3 - K9 M = heterochromatij formation and gene silencing
K4 M + K9 A = gene expression
K27 M = gene silencing, poly comb repressive complex
K = lysine
M = trimethylayed
A = acytelated
How trimethylation if Histone H3 Lysine 9 silences transcription
Histone methyl transferase (HMT) SUV38H1 methylated H3K9
Chromodomain of HP1 recognises H3K9me3 and binds to it
More HMT attracted, so greater silencing signal on H3
HP1 spreads along a long domain of chromatin and become transcriptonally silent
Chromatin boundary elements will isolate this domain from the “open” chromatin and so silence transcription of that area. Silencing will start and stop at boundary elements
What does Histone code need to work?
Writers - proteins/enzymes that’ll put mark on (communication with outside world to put mark on eg SUV39H1)
Readers - (sometimes different from effectors) HP1
Binders/effectors - HP1 hererochromatirasation
Erasers - sometimes need to remove silencing marks due to different times and conditions, marks leads to opening also need to be removed sometimes
Misregulated Histone code is correlated with diseases
Cancer - up or down regulation of writers eg acetyl-transferases or HATs
FIND ANOTHER or specific
Examples of other epigenetic mechanisms
DNA methylation - silencing of transcription of domain of DNA so chromatin closed
Histone code
RNA based mechanisms - growing feild, related to DNA methylation
Histone variant replacement - function in some situations and replaced in others eg CENTA (centumeric protein A) SPECIFIC TO centromeres
We do not know exactly how Nucleosome a form higher Ofer structure
Idea: 11nm fibre of beads on a string for of chromatin with linker DNA and Nucleosome (DNA AND HISTONES), Nucleosome contains ~ 200 nucleotide pairs of DNA
3 features help chromatin to fold and maintain higher order structures
1) non Histone proteins bind chromatin (affecting structure of chromatin)
2) linker histones (H1) - (bind to linker DNA between nucleosomes regulates compaction, more H1 = more compaction but different variants do different things) - do not contain Histone golf and less conserved
3) tails of core histones - interact with DNA, other nucleosomes around and non Histone proteins (ESSENTIAL IN HIGHER ORDER CHROMATIN FORMATION)
How do higher order structures correspond to the organisation of chromatin in interphase nucleus?
Initially - microscopy (nuclear pores - communication and regulation of gene expression, nucleolus - , euchromatin - open and transcription ally active, herterochromatin - dense and stuck to envelope and abundant at periphery, much less active transcriptional pov)
Why is how the genome packed in nuclei important?
Organisation of chromatin affects all functions of DNA, including maintenance of accessibility and gene expression
Cell fate influenced by genome organisation - cell differentiation and pluripotency
Pathological states eg cancer related to aberrant regulation of genomic structures
Genomic architecture changes dramatically during cell cycle
Mitosis - chromatin condensed, nuclear envelope and pore dissociation, ejection of transcription factors and chromatin binding proteins, disruption of laminate associated domains
g1 - permissive for differentiation genes, pre PC assembly (prep for s phase) chromatin opens
S - early s phase: early origins fire Histone synthesis, late s phase: late origins fire, Histone synthesis inhibition (duplicate all chromosomes)
G2 - Histone biogenesis inhibited, Nucleosomes mature (prep for mitosis)
What do we currently know about the genome architecture in interphase cells
HI-C - new experimental method, new discoveries
Chromosome territories
Technique to paint chromosomes
Multi-colour FISH (spectral karyotyping) helps visualise entire chromosomes
Chromosomes in interphase cells do not occupy random spaces, occupy defined spaces. Helps to see if there’s any mistakes eg in cancer
Metaphors chromosomes random and overlap
What we know about chromosomal territories
1) after decondesation occupy defined and non random areas in interphase nuclei
2) high gene density chromosomes are located inside nuclei, gener poor chromosomes close to nuclear periphery
This also correlates with transcriptional activity
3) arrangement is conserved across different species (evolutionary conservation)
4) arrangement not found in early embryos
5) position in nucleus depends on cells type and may change over time eg transcriptional activity - may loop out of home territories
FISH labelling - two loci red, chromosomes green, activation of locus moved towards middle BUT longer time scale and sometimes may require passing through mitosis
NOT FULLY UNDERSTOOD - movement of territory within cells
Don’t know if transcription follows movement of DNA, or DNA movement occurs because of transcription
Correlation, don’t have good understanding of mechanism
Mitosis to interphase transition (chromosome structures)
Mouse embryonic stem cells, single cell resolution:
Immediately after cell division chromosomes de condense and change shape from rod-like to spherical
Equally condensed regions unfold to more than
What lies “below” chromosomal territories?
Smallest to biggest so eg compartments within territories
Nucleosomes scale: epigenetic modifications - nucleosomes
Supranucleosomal scale: Intra TAD dynamics - chromatin loops
Inter TAD dynamics - b compartments and a compartments
Nuclear scale: Nuclear positioning - chromosome territories
Chromosomal compartment: A compartment
Active transcriptionally
Chromosomal compartment: B compartment
Not active transcriptionally
Hi-C technique to map chromatin interactions
Evolved from 3C method.
Used to study spatial organisation of entire genomes
Study at different resolutions- whole genome to several kb
Hi-C - map genomic interactions on global scale
Possible to apply method to analyse interactions in single cell
Cross link DNA, cut with restriction enzyme, fill ends and mark with biotin, ligate, purify and shear DNA:pull down biotin, sequence using pared ends
Example of how hi-c mapping is visualised
Diagonal is mirror image
Triangle - TAD
Darker red = shorter range interaction
Lighter/further = longer range interaction
Sub- TAD = triangle within triangle
Hierarchical organisation of genome
Hi-c permits genome wide resolution detection of pair wise contacts between genomic loci
Zoom in - look at more and more details
1mb > 100kb > 10kb
Cell organisation in a particular cell depends on
Organism, cell type (tissue), stage of development, cell cycle, current physiological status (eg from stimuli)
Eg m. Musculus E14 ESC = 2200 TADs, cortex 1518 TADS. FLIES 10x smaller because genome size smaller
Lots of variability in spatial genome organisation
New compartmentalisation of chromatin after fertilisation
Mouse model - pool embryos
Oocytes: homogenous chromatin folding lacks TADs & other structural features
Zygote: highly diminished higher order structure, 2 sets of parental chromosomes are spatially separated and display distinct compartmentalisation pattern. Slow establishment of higher structures until 8 cell stage
Chromatin compaction in preimplantation embryos can partially proceed in absence of zygotes transcription and multi level hierarchy’s process
Every cell division get closer to compartments and organisation - due to differentiation?
Molecular level of TADs and chromatin loops
Individual fragments of DNA looping out and clearly defined by structures sitting at the base of the loop
Made of two things: cohesin (protein complex), CTCF (protein)
BUT not all loop and TAD borders are marked by CTCF and cohesin
Methods for genome mapping
Organisation lvl: chromosome territories - 3D fish
Compartments - super resolution fish, electron microscopy
Topologically associating domains, chromatin loops, nano domains, functional loops - super resolution fish
Nucleosome clutches - super resolution fish, electron microscopy
CTCF
Boundaries of compartments, TADS and loop domains are enriched for the binding of CTCF, 11 zinc finger, sequence specific DNA binding protein
Cohesin complex involved in defining loop boundaries (anchors)
Loop extrusion model
Single/double loop of cohesin, loop fed through cohesin, local regions of chromosome are kept close together, CTCF protein will stop extrusion of DNA it’s bound to but only if pointing in correct direction, finished loop will have two CTCF proteins and cohesin at its base
Energy used for movement of DNA unknown. maybe ATP but no proof, condensin similar model uses ATP
Modes of transcription factors action on 3D genome organisation
Direct oligermerisation
Cofactor oligomerisation
Condensate formation
Interactions with loop extenders
Chromatin modifications: Histone modifications, DNA methylation
Interaction with nuclear landmarks
Protein RNA interactions
Higher order chromatin structures in differing dendritic cells
Differentiation of dendritic cells:
Lymphoid primed multi potent progenitor (LMPP) HISTONE ACETYLATION (lysine 27 on Histone h3)
Monocyte dendritic cell progenitor (MDP) COMPARTMENT CHANGE (b>a)
Common dendritic cell progenitor (CDP) INCREASE INTRA TAD INTERACTION AND GENE INDUCTION
Dendritic cell (DC)
Higher order structures dynamically respond to changes in chromatin
Stimulus - activation or silence = response at lvl of genome organisation to the stimulus
Higher order chromatin structures and sister chromatids (after DNA replication)
No sister chromatid interactions
Interactions within the same sister chromatid
Interaction between 2 sister chromatically (don’t wonder far from eachother)
What keeps sister chromatically close?
Cohesive cohesin
Cohesin can mediate interactions both within (extrusion of DNA loops) and between sister chromatids (sister chromatids)
Proposed model of centromeric sister chromatid confirmation where closely spaced binding by cohesin and condensin molecules mediate tight and aligned interactions of the sister chromatids at the centromere - transcriptional regulation
Proposed model of sister chromatid interactions
Extruding cohesin for Intra sister interactions and inter sister interactions formed by cohesive cohesin
Loops of different sizes made within sisters by extruding cohesij with loop sizes 10-50kb
Inter sister interactions ~ 35kb apart and occur between sites that can be offset by 5 - 25 kb
Only happens after s phase (not in g1 where there’s only 1 strand of dna)
Compartments
Groups of topologically associating domains (TADs). Either contain actively expressed genes (a) or mostly inactive (b). TADs can come in or out - active process - dynamic
Topologically associating domains (TADs)
Medium sided genomic regions (100kb to 2 mb) that interact only weakly with neighbouring regions but strongly within themselves
TADs share replication timing features
Loops
Created by interactions between 2 small genomic regions typically separated between 100-750 kb
LADs - laminate associated domains
Bound to inner nuclear membrane, chromatin regions may be both repressed or active
NADs - nucleolus associated domains
Bound to nucleoli inside nuclei
Transcriptional factories
Aggregation of RNA polymerase containing multi protein complexes
Poly comb bodies
Accumulation of poly comb containing regions of chromatin involved in silencing, characterised by similar PTMs eg H3K27Me3
Other structures of transcriptional regulation
Cajal bodies, nuclear speckles
Chromatin is highly dynamic
Loops, transcriptional factories, formation of nuclear bodies and association of chromatin with nuclear laminate and nucleolus may contribute cell-to-cell variability of chromatin spatial organisation
Structures in nuclei have different stability/activity eg speckles least stable, nucleolus - LADs very stable
Will reflect transcriptional activity
Linopathies and nuclear envelopathies
Disease caused by defects in nuclear envelope structure and/or function due to mutated or not properly modified proteins