Dependency of ISW1a chromatin remodeling on extranucleosomal DNA

The nucleosome remodeling activity of ISW1a was dependent on whether ISW1a was bound to one or both extranucleosomal DNAs. ISW1a preferentially bound nucleosomes with an optimal length of approximately 33 to 35 bp of extranucleosomal DNA at both the entry and exit sites over nucleosomes with extranucleosomal DNA at only one entry or exit site. Nucleosomes with extranucleosomal DNA at one of the entry/exit sites were readily remodeled by ISW1a and stimulated the ATPase activity of ISW1a, while conversely, nucleosomes with extranucleosomal DNA at both entry/exit sites were unable either to stimulate the ATPase activity of ISW1a or to be mobilized. DNA footprinting revealed that a major conformational difference between the nucleosomes was the lack of ISW1a binding to nucleosomal DNA two helical turns from the dyad axis in nucleosomes with extranucleosomal DNA at both entry/exit sites. The Ioc3 subunit of ISW1a was found to be the predominant subunit associated with extranucleosomal DNA when ISW1a is bound either to one or to both extranucleosomal DNAs. These two conformations of the ISW1a-nucleosome complex are suggested to be the molecular basis for the nucleosome spacing activity of ISW1a on nucleosomal arrays. ISW1b, the other isoform of ISW1, does not have the same dependency for extranucleosomal DNA as ISW1a and, likewise, is not able to space nucleosomes.     

Noncompetitive counteractions of DNA polymerase epsilon and ISW2/yCHRAC for epigenetic inheritance of telomere position effect in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Relocation of euchromatic genes near the heterochromatin region often results in mosaic gene silencing. In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, cells with the genes inserted at telomeric heterochromatin-like regions show a phenotypic variegation known as the telomere-position effect, and the epigenetic states are stably passed on to following generations. Here we show that the epigenetic states of the telomere gene are not stably inherited in cells either bearing a mutation in a catalytic subunit (Pol2) of replicative DNA polymerase epsilon (Pol epsilon) or lacking one of the nonessential and histone fold motif-containing subunits of Pol epsilon, Dpb3 and Dpb4. We also report a novel and putative chromatin-remodeling complex, ISW2/yCHRAC, that contains Isw2, Itc1, Dpb3-like subunit (Dls1), and Dpb4. Using the single-cell method developed in this study, we demonstrate that without Pol epsilon and ISW2/yCHRAC, the epigenetic states of the telomere are frequently switched. Furthermore, we reveal that Pol epsilon and ISW2/yCHRAC function independently: Pol epsilon operates for the stable inheritance of a silent state, while ISW2/yCHRAC works for that of an expressed state. We therefore propose that inheritance of specific epigenetic states of a telomere requires at least two counteracting regulators.     

Domain architecture of the catalytic subunit in the ISW2-nucleosome complex

ATP-dependent chromatin remodeling has an important role in the regulation of cellular differentiation and development. For the first time, a topological view of one of these complexes has been revealed, by mapping the interactions of the catalytic subunit Isw2 with nucleosomal and extranucleosomal DNA in the complex with all four subunits of ISW2 bound to nucleosomes. Different domains of Isw2 were shown to interact with the nucleosome near the dyad axis, another near the entry site of the nucleosome, and another with extranucleosomal DNA. The conserved DEXD or ATPase domain was found to contact the superhelical location 2 (SHL2) of the nucleosome, providing a direct physical connection of ATP hydrolysis with this region of nucleosomes. The C terminus of Isw2, comprising the SLIDE (SANT-like domain) and HAND domains, was found to be associated with extranucleosomal DNA and the entry site of nucleosomes. It is thus proposed that the C-terminal domains of Isw2 are involved in anchoring the complex to nucleosomes through their interactions with linker DNA and that they facilitate the movement of DNA along the surface of nucleosomes.     

Regulation of ISW2 by concerted action of histone H4 tail and extranucleosomal DNA

The stable contact of ISW2 with nucleosomal DNA approximately 20 bp from the dyad was shown by DNA footprinting and photoaffinity labeling using recombinant histone octamers to require the histone H4 N-terminal tail. Efficient ISW2 remodeling also required the H4 N-terminal tail, although the lack of the H4 tail can be mostly compensated for by increasing the incubation time or concentration of ISW2. Similarly, the length of extranucleosomal DNA affected the stable contact of ISW2 with this same internal nucleosomal site, with the optimal length being 70 to 85 bp. These data indicate the histone H4 tail, in concert with a favorable length of extranucleosomal DNA, recruits and properly orients ISW2 onto the nucleosome for efficient nucleosome remodeling. One consequence of this property of ISW2 is likely its previously observed nucleosome spacing activity.     

Functional role of extranucleosomal DNA and the entry site of the nucleosome in chromatin remodeling by ISW2

A minimal amount of extranucleosomal DNA was required for nucleosome mobilization by ISW2 as shown by using a photochemical histone mapping approach to analyze nucleosome movement on a set of nucleosomes with varied lengths of extranucleosomal DNA. ISW2 was ineffective in repositioning or mobilizing nucleosomes with 相似文献   

Topography of the ISW2-nucleosome complex: insights into nucleosome spacing and chromatin remodeling

Linker DNA was found to be critical for the specific docking of ISW2 with nucleosomes as shown by mapping the physical contacts of ISW2 with nucleosomes at base-pair resolution. Hydroxyl radical footprinting revealed that ISW2 not only extensively interacts with the linker DNA, but also approaches the nucleosome from the side perpendicular to the axis of the DNA superhelix and contacts two disparate sites on the nucleosomal DNA from opposite sides of the superhelix. The topography of the ISW2-nucleosome was further delineated by finding which of the ISW2 subunits are proximal to specific sites within the linker and nucleosomal DNA regions by site-directed DNA photoaffinity labeling. Although ISW2 was shown to contact approximately 63 bp of linker DNA, a minimum of 20 bp of linker DNA was required for stable binding of ISW2 to nucleosomes. The remaining approximately 43 bp of flanking linker DNA promoted more efficient binding under competitive binding conditions and was functionally important for enhanced sliding of nucleosomes when ISW2 was significantly limiting.     

Crystal structure of the chromodomain helicase DNA-binding protein 1 (Chd1) DNA-binding domain in complex with DNA

Chromatin remodelers are ATP-dependent machines that dynamically alter the chromatin packaging of eukaryotic genomes by assembling, sliding, and displacing nucleosomes. The Chd1 chromatin remodeler possesses a C-terminal DNA-binding domain that is required for efficient nucleosome sliding and believed to be essential for sensing the length of DNA flanking the nucleosome core. The structure of the Chd1 DNA-binding domain was recently shown to consist of a SANT and SLIDE domain, analogous to the DNA-binding domain of the ISWI family, yet the details of how Chd1 recognized DNA were not known. Here we present the crystal structure of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae Chd1 DNA-binding domain in complex with a DNA duplex. The bound DNA duplex is straight, consistent with the preference exhibited by the Chd1 DNA-binding domain for extranucleosomal DNA. Comparison of this structure with the recently solved ISW1a DNA-binding domain bound to DNA reveals that DNA lays across each protein at a distinct angle, yet contacts similar surfaces on the SANT and SLIDE domains. In contrast to the minor groove binding seen for Isw1 and predicted for Chd1, the SLIDE domain of the Chd1 DNA-binding domain contacts the DNA major groove. The majority of direct contacts with the phosphate backbone occur only on one DNA strand, suggesting that Chd1 may not strongly discriminate between major and minor grooves.     

Human ACF1 alters the remodeling strategy of SNF2h

The human ACF chromatin-remodeling complex (hACF) contains the ATPase motor protein SNF2h and the non-catalytic hACF1 subunit. Here, we have compared the ability of SNF2h and a reconstituted hACF complex containing both SNF2h and hACF1 to remodel a series of nucleosomes containing different lengths of DNA overhang. Both SNF2h and hACF functioned in a manner consistent with sliding a canonical nucleosome. However, the non-catalytic subunit, hACF1, altered the remodeling properties of SNF2h by changing the nature of the requirement for a DNA overhang in the nucleosomal substrate and altering the DNA accessibility profile of the remodeled products. Surprisingly, addition of hACF1 to SNF2h increased the amount of DNA overhang needed to observe measurable amounts of DNA accessibility, but decreased the amount of overhang needed for a measurable binding interaction. We propose that these hACF1 functions might contribute to making the hACF complex more efficient at nucleosome spacing compared with SNF2h. In contrast, the SWI/SNF complex and its ATPase subunit BRG1 generated DNA accessibility profiles that were similar to each other, but different significantly from those of hACF and SNF2h. Thus, we observed divergent remodeling behaviors in these two remodeling families and found that the manner in which hACF1 alters the remodeling behavior of the ATPase is not shared by SWI/SNF subunits.     

Chromatin remodeling by ISW2 and SWI/SNF requires DNA translocation inside the nucleosome

Chromatin-remodeling complexes regulate access to nucleosomal DNA by mobilizing nucleosomes in an ATP-dependent manner. In this study, we find that chromatin remodeling by SWI/SNF and ISW2 involves DNA translocation inside nucleosomes two helical turns from the dyad axis at superhelical location-2. DNA translocation at this internal position does not require the propagation of a DNA twist from the site of translocation to the entry/exit sites for nucleosome movement. Nucleosomes are moved in 9- to 11- or approximately 50-base-pair increments by ISW2 or SWI/SNF, respectively, presumably through the formation of DNA loops on the nucleosome surface. Remodeling by ISW2 but not SWI/SNF requires DNA torsional strain near the site of translocation, which may work in conjunction with conformational changes of ISW2 to promote nucleosome movement on DNA. The difference in step size of nucleosome movement by SWI/SNF and ISW2 demonstrates how SWI/SNF may be more disruptive to nucleosome structure than ISW2.     

The interactions of yeast SWI/SNF and RSC with the nucleosome before and after chromatin remodeling

Interactions of the yeast chromatin-remodeling complexes SWI/SNF and RSC with nucleosomes were probed using site-specific DNA photoaffinity labeling. 5 S rDNA was engineered with photoreactive nucleotides incorporated at different sites in DNA to scan for the subunits of SWI/SNF in close proximity to DNA when SWI/SNF is bound to the 5 S nucleosome or to the free 5 S rDNA. The Swi2/Snf2 and Snf6 subunits of SWI/SNF were efficiently cross-linked at several positions in the nucleosome, whereas only Snf6 was efficiently cross-linked when SWI/SNF was bound to free DNA. DNA photoaffinity labeling of RSC showed that the Rsc4 subunit is in close proximity to nucleosomal DNA and not when RSC is bound to free DNA. After remodeling, the Swi2/Snf2 and Rsc4 subunits are no longer detected near the nucleosomal DNA and are evidently displaced from the surface of the nucleosome, indicating significant changes in SWI/SNF and RSC contacts with DNA after remodeling.     

Interactions of Isw2 chromatin remodeling complex with nucleosomal arrays: analyses using recombinant yeast histones and immobilized templates

To facilitate the biochemical characterization of chromatin-associated proteins in the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, we have developed a system to assemble nucleosomal arrays on immobilized templates using recombinant yeast core histones. This system enabled us to analyze the interaction of Isw2 ATP-dependent chromatin remodeling complex with nucleosomal arrays. We found that Isw2 complex interacts efficiently with both naked DNA and nucleosomal arrays in an ATP-independent manner, suggesting that ATP is required at steps subsequent to this physical interaction. We identified the second subunit of Isw2 complex, encoded by open reading frame YGL 133w (herein named ITC1), and found that both subunits of the complex, Isw2p and Itc1p, are essential for efficient interaction with DNA and nucleosomal arrays. Both subunits are also required for nucleosome-stimulated ATPase activity and chromatin remodeling activity of the complex. Finally, we found that ITC1 is essential for function of Isw2 complex in vivo, since isw2 and itc1 deletion mutants exhibit virtually identical phenotypes. These results demonstrate the utility of our in vitro system in studying interactions between chromatin-associated proteins and nucleosomal arrays.     

Control of nucleosome movement: To space or not to space nucleosomes?

A key feature of ATP-dependent chromatin remodeling complexes is how they control the ability of the complex to translocate along DNA within the context of a nucleosome. Although these complexes generally initiate DNA translocation near the dyad axis of the nucleosome, the progression and eventual termination is regulated in quite distinct ways. The best studies examples of these are the ISWI type which has strong extranucleosomal DNA dependent activity or the SWI/SNF type which has no linker DNA requirement. Recent data provide more insights into the mechanism of regulation of DNA translocation by the ISWI type complexes and how the structure of the ISWI-nucleosome complex changes during chromatin remodeling.     

The histone fold subunits of Drosophila CHRAC facilitate nucleosome sliding through dynamic DNA interactions

The chromatin accessibility complex (CHRAC) is an abundant, evolutionarily conserved nucleosome remodeling machinery able to catalyze histone octamer sliding on DNA. CHRAC differs from the related ACF complex by the presence of two subunits with molecular masses of 14 and 16 kDa, whose structure and function were not known. We determined the structure of Drosophila melanogaster CHRAC14-CHRAC16 by X-ray crystallography at 2.4-angstroms resolution and found that they dimerize via a variant histone fold in a typical handshake structure. In further analogy to histones, CHRAC14-16 contain unstructured N- and C-terminal tail domains that protrude from the handshake structure. A dimer of CHRAC14-16 can associate with the N terminus of ACF1, thereby completing CHRAC. Low-affinity interactions of CHRAC14-16 with DNA significantly improve the efficiency of nucleosome mobilization by limiting amounts of ACF. Deletion of the negatively charged C terminus of CHRAC16 enhances DNA binding 25-fold but leads to inhibition of nucleosome sliding, in striking analogy to the effect of the DNA chaperone HMGB1 on nucleosome sliding. The presence of a surface compatible with DNA interaction and the geometry of an H2A-H2B heterodimer may provide a transient acceptor site for DNA dislocated from the histone surface and therefore facilitate the nucleosome remodeling process.     

The C-terminus of Dpb2 is required for interaction with Pol2 and for cell viability

DNA polymerase ε (Pol ε) participates in the synthesis of the leading strand during DNA replication in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Pol ε comprises four subunits: the catalytic subunit, Pol2, and three accessory subunits, Dpb2, Dpb3 and Dpb4. DPB2 is an essential gene with unclear function. A genetic screen was performed in S. cerevisiae to isolate lethal mutations in DPB2. The dpb2-200 allele carried two mutations within the last 13 codons of the open reading frame, one of which resulted in a six amino acid truncation. This truncated Dpb2 subunit was co-expressed with Pol2, Dpb3 and Dpb4 in S. cerevisiae, but this Dpb2 variant did not co-purify with the other Pol ε subunits. This resulted in the purification of a Pol2/Dpb3/Dpb4 complex that possessed high specific activity and high processivity and holoenzyme assays with PCNA, RFC and RPA on a single-primed circular template did not reveal any defects in replication efficiency. In conclusion, the lack of Dpb2 did not appear to have a negative effect on Pol ε activity. Thus, the C-terminal motif of Dpb2 that we have identified may instead be required for Dpb2 to fulfill an essential structural role at the replication origin or at the replication fork.