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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Athens, Georgia » U.S. National Poultry Research Center » Endemic Poultry Viral Diseases Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #378114
Research Project: Enhancing Genetic Resistance to Marek’s Disease in Poultry

Location: Endemic Poultry Viral Diseases Research

Title: 3D genomics across the tree of life reveals condensin II as a determinant of architecture type

Author
item HOENCAMP, CLAIRE - Netherlands Cancer Institute
item DUDCHENKO, OLGA - Baylor College Of Medicine
item ELBATSH, AHMED - Netherlands Cancer Institute
item BRAHMACHARI, SUMITABHA - Rice University
item RAAIJMAKERS, JONNE - Netherlands Cancer Institute
item VAN SCHAIK, TOM - Netherlands Cancer Institute
item SEDEÑO CACCIATORE, ANGELA - Netherlands Cancer Institute
item CONTESSOTO, VINICIUS - Rice University
item Hildebrandt, Evin
item Cheng, Hans
item LIEBERMAN AIDEN, EREZ - Baylor College Of Medicine
item ROWLAND, BENJAMIN - Netherlands Cancer Institute

Submitted to: Science
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/28/2021
Publication Date: 5/28/2021
Citation: Hoencamp, C., Dudchenko, O., Elbatsh, A.M., Brahmachari, S., Raaijmakers, J.A., Van Schaik, T., Sedeño Cacciatore, A., Contessoto, V., Hildebrandt, E.C., Cheng, H.H., Lieberman Aiden, E., Rowland, B.D. 2021. 3D genomics across the tree of life reveals condensin II as a determinant of architecture type. Science. 372(6545):984-989. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abe2218.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abe2218

Interpretive Summary: Higher organisms have a nucleus, and the folding of their genomes is tightly controlled; e.g., in humans, each chromosome occupies its own territory within the nucleus. While recent work has yielded important insights into the mechanisms that drive genome folding at the scale of chromatin loops, the mechanisms controlling nuclear architecture at the scale of whole chromosomes remain poorly understood, especially when looking beyond commonly studied organisms. In this submission, an advanced technique known as in situ Hi-C was employed in a wide range of organisms (including chicken). The resulting maps reveal four striking features of nuclear architecture at the scale of whole chromosomes, which is largely driven by the presence of condensin II, a large protein complex that plays a central role in chromosome assembly and segregation during mitosis and meiosis. This basic finding opens the door for many exciting future research efforts.

Technical Abstract: We investigated genome folding across the eukaryotic tree of life. We find two types of three-dimensional (3D) genome architectures at the chromosome scale. Each type appears and disappears repeatedly during eukaryotic evolution. The type of genome architecture that an organism exhibits correlates with the absence of condensin II subunits. Moreover, condensin II depletion converts the architecture of the human genome to a state resembling that seen in organisms such as fungi or mosquitoes. In this state, centromeres cluster together at nucleoli, and heterochromatin domains merge. We propose a physical model in which lengthwise compaction of chromosomes by condensin II during mitosis determines chromosome-scale genome architecture, with effects that are retained during the subsequent interphase. This mechanism likely has been conserved since the last common ancestor of all eukaryotes.