Cohesin acetylation and Wapl‐Pds5 oppositely regulate translocation of cohesin along DNA

Cohesin is a ring‐shaped protein complex that plays a crucial role in sister chromatid cohesion and gene expression. The dynamic association of cohesin with chromatin is essential for these functions. However, the exact nature of cohesin dynamics, particularly cohesin translocation, remains unclear. We evaluated the dynamics of individual cohesin molecules on DNA and found that the cohesin core complex possesses an intrinsic ability to traverse DNA in an adenosine triphosphatase (ATPase)‐dependent manner. Translocation ability is suppressed in the presence of Wapl‐Pds5 and Sororin; this suppression is alleviated by the acetylation of cohesin and the action of mitotic kinases. In Xenopus laevis egg extracts, cohesin is translocated on unreplicated DNA in an ATPase‐ and Smc3 acetylation‐dependent manner. Cohesin movement changes from bidirectional to unidirectional when cohesin faces DNA replication; otherwise, it is incorporated into replicating DNA without being translocated or is dissociated from replicating DNA. This study provides insight into the nature of individual cohesin dynamics and the mechanisms by which cohesin achieves cohesion in different chromatin contexts.     

Functional genomics identifies a requirement of pre-mRNA splicing factors for sister chromatid cohesion

Sister chromatid cohesion mediated by the cohesin complex is essential for chromosome segregation during cell division. Using functional genomic screening, we identify a set of 26 pre-mRNA splicing factors that are required for sister chromatid cohesion in human cells. Loss of spliceosome subunits increases the dissociation rate of cohesin from chromatin and abrogates cohesion after DNA replication, ultimately causing mitotic catastrophe. Depletion of splicing factors causes defective processing of the pre-mRNA encoding sororin, a factor required for the stable association of cohesin with chromatin, and an associated reduction of sororin protein level. Expression of an intronless version of sororin and depletion of the cohesin release protein WAPL suppress the cohesion defect in cells lacking splicing factors. We propose that spliceosome components contribute to sister chromatid cohesion and mitotic chromosome segregation through splicing of sororin pre-mRNA. Our results highlight the loss of cohesion as an early cellular consequence of compromised splicing. This may have clinical implications because SF3B1, a splicing factor that we identify to be essential for cohesion, is recurrently mutated in chronic lymphocytic leukaemia.     

Cohesin regulation: fashionable ways to wear a ring

Cohesin is a multiprotein complex, conserved from yeast to humans, that mediates sister chromatid cohesion. Its ring-shaped structure first suggested that it may perform its task by embracing the sister chromatids. The interaction of cohesin with chromatin is tightly regulated throughout the cell cycle, and several proteins contribute to cohesin loading and mobilization along DNA, establishment of cohesin-mediated cohesion, and removal of cohesin during mitosis. Recent studies suggest that distinct cohesin populations exist in different chromosomal regions and have particular requirements in their dynamic interaction with chromatin. In this review, I briefly summarize these studies and discuss their implications for current and future models of cohesin behavior.     

Sororin is required for stable binding of cohesin to chromatin and for sister chromatid cohesion in interphase

Sister chromatid cohesion depends on cohesin [1-3]. Cohesin associates with chromatin dynamically throughout interphase [4]. During DNA replication, cohesin establishes cohesion [5], and this process coincides with the generation of a cohesin subpopulation that is more stably bound to chromatin [4]. In mitosis, cohesin is removed from chromosomes, enabling sister chromatid separation [6]. How cohesin associates with chromatin and establishes cohesion is poorly understood. By searching for proteins that are associated with chromatin-bound cohesin, we have identified sororin, a protein that was known to be required for cohesion [7]. To obtain further insight into sororin's function, we have addressed when during the cell cycle sororin is required for cohesion. We show that sororin is dispensable for the association of cohesin with chromatin but that sororin is essential for proper cohesion during G2 phase. Like cohesin, sororin is also needed for efficient repair of DNA double-strand breaks in G2. Finally, sororin is required for the presence of normal amounts of the stably chromatin-bound cohesin population in G2. Our data indicate that sororin interacts with chromatin-bound cohesin and functions during the establishment or maintenance of cohesion in S or G2 phase, respectively.     

Displacement and re-accumulation of centromeric cohesin during transient pre-anaphase centromere splitting

The ring-shaped cohesin complex links sister chromatids until their timely segregation during mitosis. Cohesin is enriched at centromeres where it provides the cohesive counterforce to bipolar tension produced by the mitotic spindle. As a consequence of spindle tension, centromeric sequences transiently split in pre-anaphase cells, in some organisms up to several micrometers. This ‘centromere breathing’ presents a paradox, how sister sequences separate where cohesin is most enriched. We now show that in the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, cohesin binding diminishes over centromeric sequences that split during breathing. We see no evidence for cohesin translocation to surrounding sequences, suggesting that cohesin is removed from centromeres during breathing. Two pools of cohesin can be distinguished. Cohesin loaded before DNA replication, which has established sister chromatid cohesion, disappears during breathing. In contrast, cohesin loaded after DNA replication is partly retained. As sister centromeres re-associate after transient separation, cohesin is reloaded in a manner independent of the canonical cohesin loader Scc2/Scc4. Efficient centromere re-association requires the cohesion establishment factor Eco1, suggesting that re-establishment of sister chromatid cohesion contributes to the dynamic behaviour of centromeres in mitosis. These findings provide new insights into cohesin behaviour at centromeres. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

A matter of choice: the establishment of sister chromatid cohesion

Sister chromatid cohesion is the basis for the recognition of chromosomal DNA replication products for their bipolar segregation in mitosis. Fundamental to sister chromatid cohesion is the ring‐shaped cohesin complex, which is loaded onto chromosomes long before the initiation of DNA replication and is thought to hold replicated sister chromatids together by topological embrace. What happens to cohesin when the replication fork approaches, and how cohesin recognizes newly synthesized sister chromatids, is poorly understood. The characterization of a number of cohesion establishment factors has begun to provide hints as to the reactions involved. Cohesin is a member of the evolutionarily conserved family of Smc subunit‐based protein complexes that contribute to many aspects of chromosome biology by mediating long‐range DNA interactions. I propose that the establishment of cohesion equates to the selective stabilization of those cohesin‐mediated DNA interactions that link sister chromatids in the wake of replication forks.     

An Eco1-independent sister chromatid cohesion establishment pathway in S. cerevisiae

Cohesion between sister chromatids, mediated by the chromosomal cohesin complex, is a prerequisite for their alignment on the spindle apparatus and segregation in mitosis. Budding yeast cohesin first associates with chromosomes in G1. Then, during DNA replication in S-phase, the replication fork-associated acetyltransferase Eco1 acetylates the cohesin subunit Smc3 to make cohesin’s DNA binding resistant to destabilization by the Wapl protein. Whether stabilization of cohesin molecules that happen to link sister chromatids is sufficient to build sister chromatid cohesion, or whether additional reactions are required to establish these links, is not known. In addition to Eco1, several other factors contribute to cohesion establishment, including Ctf4, Ctf18, Tof1, Csm3, Chl1 and Mrc1, but little is known about their roles. Here, we show that each of these factors facilitates cohesin acetylation. Moreover, the absence of Ctf4 and Chl1, but not of the other factors, causes a synthetic growth defect in cells lacking Eco1. Distinct from acetylation defects, sister chromatid cohesion in ctf4Δ and chl1Δ cells is not improved by removing Wapl. Unlike previously thought, we do not find evidence for a role of Ctf4 and Chl1 in Okazaki fragment processing, or of Okazaki fragment processing in sister chromatid cohesion. Thus, Ctf4 and Chl1 delineate an additional acetylation-independent pathway that might hold important clues as to the mechanism of sister chromatid cohesion establishment.     

Histone tail-independent chromatin binding activity of recombinant cohesin holocomplex

Cohesin, an SMC (structural maintenance of chromosomes) protein-containing complex, governs several important aspects of chromatin dynamics, including the essential chromosomal process of sister chromatid cohesion. The exact mechanism by which cohesin achieves the bridging of sister chromatids is not known. To elucidate this mechanism, we reconstituted a recombinant cohesin complex and investigated its binding to DNA fragments corresponding to natural chromosomal sites with high and low cohesin occupancy in vivo. Cohesin displayed uniform but nonspecific binding activity with all DNA fragments tested. Interestingly, DNA fragments with high occupancy by cohesin in vivo showed strong nucleosome positioning in vitro. We therefore utilized a defined model chromatin fragment (purified reconstituted dinucleosome) as a substrate to analyze cohesin interaction with chromatin. The four-subunit cohesin holocomplex showed a distinct chromatin binding activity in vitro, whereas the Smc1p-Smc3p dimer was unable to bind chromatin. Histone tails and ATP are dispensable for cohesin binding to chromatin in this reaction. A model for cohesin association with chromatin is proposed.     

Yeast cohesin complex embraces 2 micron plasmid sisters in a tri-linked catenane complex

Sister chromatid cohesion, crucial for faithful segregation of replicated chromosomes in eukaryotes, is mediated by the multi-subunit protein complex cohesin. The Saccharomyces cerevisiae plasmid 2 micron circle mimics chromosomes in assembling cohesin at its partitioning locus. The plasmid is a multi-copy selfish DNA element that resides in the nucleus and propagates itself stably, presumably with assistance from cohesin. In metaphase cell lysates, or fractions enriched for their cohesed state by sedimentation, plasmid molecules are trapped topologically by the protein ring formed by cohesin. They can be released from cohesin’s embrace either by linearizing the DNA or by cleaving a cohesin subunit. Assays using two distinctly tagged cohesin molecules argue against the hand-cuff (an associated pair of monomeric cohesin rings) or the bracelet (a dimeric cohesin ring) model as responsible for establishing plasmid cohesion. Our cumulative results most easily fit a model in which a single monomeric cohesin ring, rather than a series of such rings, conjoins a pair of sister plasmids. These features of plasmid cohesion account for its sister-to-sister mode of segregation by cohesin disassembly during anaphase. The mechanistic similarities of cohesion between mini-chromosome sisters and 2 micron plasmid sisters suggest a potential kinship between the plasmid partitioning locus and centromeres.     

A SUMO-Dependent Step during Establishment of Sister Chromatid Cohesion

Cohesin is a protein complex that ties sister DNA molecules from the time of DNA replication until the metaphase to anaphase transition. Current models propose that the association of the Smc1, Smc3, and Scc1/Mcd1 subunits creates a ring-shaped structure that entraps the two sister DNAs [1]. Cohesin is essential for correct chromosome segregation and recombinational repair. Its activity is therefore controlled by several posttranslational modifications, including acetylation, phosphorylation, sumoylation, and site-specific proteolysis. Here we show that cohesin sumoylation occurs at the time of cohesion establishment, after cohesin loading and ATP binding, and independently from Eco1-mediated cohesin acetylation. In order to test the functional relevance of cohesin sumoylation, we have developed a novel approach in budding yeast to deplete SUMO from all subunits in the cohesin complex, based on fusion of the Scc1 subunit to a SUMO peptidase Ulp domain (UD). Downregulation of cohesin sumoylation is lethal, and the Scc1-UD chimeras have a failure in sister chromatid cohesion. Strikingly, the unsumoylated cohesin rings are acetylated. Our findings indicate that SUMO is a novel molecular determinant for the establishment of sister chromatid cohesion, and we propose that SUMO is required for the entrapment of sister chromatids during the acetylation-mediated closure of the cohesin ring.     

Phosphorylation of the Scc2 cohesin deposition complex subunit regulates chromosome condensation through cohesin integrity

The cohesion of replicated sister chromatids promotes chromosome biorientation, gene regulation, DNA repair, and chromosome condensation. Cohesion is mediated by cohesin, which is deposited on chromosomes by a separate conserved loading complex composed of Scc2 and Scc4 in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Although it is known to be required, the role of Scc2/Scc4 in cohesin deposition remains enigmatic. Scc2 is a phosphoprotein, although the functions of phosphorylation in deposition are unknown. We identified 11 phosphorylated residues in Scc2 by mass spectrometry. Mutants of SCC2 with substitutions that mimic constitutive phosphorylation retain normal Scc2–Scc4 interactions and chromatin association but exhibit decreased viability, sensitivity to genotoxic agents, and decreased stability of the Mcd1 cohesin subunit in mitotic cells. Cohesin association on chromosome arms, but not pericentromeric regions, is reduced in the phosphomimetic mutants but remains above a key threshold, as cohesion is only modestly perturbed. However, these scc2 phosphomimetic mutants exhibit dramatic chromosome condensation defects that are likely responsible for their high inviability. From these data, we conclude that normal Scc2 function requires modulation of its phosphorylation state and suggest that scc2 phosphomimetic mutants cause an increased incidence of abortive cohesin deposition events that result in compromised cohesin complex integrity and Mcd1 turnover.     

Ctf18 is required for homologous recombination-mediated double-strand break repair

The efficient repair of double-strand breaks (DSBs) is crucial in maintaining genomic integrity. Sister chromatid cohesion is important for not only faithful chromosome segregation but also for proper DSB repair. During DSB repair, the Smc1–Smc3 cohesin complex is loaded onto chromatin around the DSB to support recombination-mediated DSB repair. In this study, we investigated whether Ctf18, a factor implicated in the establishment of sister chromatid cohesion, is involved in DSB repair in budding yeast. Ctf18 was recruited to HO-endonuclease induced DSB sites in an Mre11-dependent manner and to damaged chromatin in G₂/M phase-arrested cells. The ctf18 mutant cells showed high sensitivity to DSB-inducible genotoxic agents and defects in DSB repair, as well as defects in damage-induced recombination between sister chromatids and between homologous chromosomes. These results suggest that Ctf18 is involved in damage-induced homologous recombination.     

The hsSsu72 phosphatase is a cohesin‐binding protein that regulates the resolution of sister chromatid arm cohesion

Cohesin is a multiprotein complex that establishes sister chromatid cohesion from S phase until mitosis or meiosis. In vertebrates, sister chromatid cohesion is dissolved in a stepwise manner: most cohesins are removed from the chromosome arms via a process that requires polo‐like kinase 1 (Plk1), aurora B and Wapl, whereas a minor amount of cohesin, found preferentially at the centromere, is cleaved by separase following its activation by the anaphase‐promoting complex/cyclosome. Here, we report that our budding yeast two‐hybrid assay identified hsSsu72 phosphatase as a Rad21‐binding protein. Additional experiments revealed that Ssu72 directly interacts with Rad21 and SA2 in vitro and in vivo, and associates with sister chromatids in human cells. Interestingly, depletion or mutational inactivation of Ssu72 phosphatase activity caused the premature resolution of sister chromatid arm cohesion, whereas the overexpression of Ssu72 yielded high resistance to this resolution. Interestingly, it appears that Ssu72 regulates the cohesion of chromosome arms but not centromeres, and acts by counteracting the phosphorylation of SA2. Thus, our study provides important new evidence, suggesting that Ssu72 is a novel cohesin‐binding protein capable of regulating cohesion between sister chromatid arms.     

A new thermosensitive smc-3 allele reveals involvement of cohesin in homologous recombination in C. elegans

The cohesin complex is required for the cohesion of sister chromatids and for correct segregation during mitosis and meiosis. Crossover recombination, together with cohesion, is essential for the disjunction of homologous chromosomes during the first meiotic division. Cohesin has been implicated in facilitating recombinational repair of DNA lesions via the sister chromatid. Here, we made use of a new temperature-sensitive mutation in the Caenorhabditis elegans SMC-3 protein to study the role of cohesin in the repair of DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) and hence in meiotic crossing over. We report that attenuation of cohesin was associated with extensive SPO-11-dependent chromosome fragmentation, which is representative of unrepaired DSBs. We also found that attenuated cohesin likely increased the number of DSBs and eliminated the need of MRE-11 and RAD-50 for DSB formation in C. elegans, which suggests a role for the MRN complex in making cohesin-loaded chromatin susceptible to meiotic DSBs. Notably, in spite of largely intact sister chromatid cohesion, backup DSB repair via the sister chromatid was mostly impaired. We also found that weakened cohesins affected mitotic repair of DSBs by homologous recombination, whereas NHEJ repair was not affected. Our data suggest that recombinational DNA repair makes higher demands on cohesins than does chromosome segregation.     

Induced DNA demethylation can reshape chromatin topology at the IGF2-H19 locus

Choriocarcinomas are embryonal tumours with loss of imprinting and hypermethylation at the insulin-like growth factor 2 (IGF2)-H19 locus. The DNA methyltransferase inhibitor, 5-Aza-2′deoxycytidine (5-AzaCdR) is an approved epigenetic cancer therapy. However, it is not known to what extent 5-AzaCdR influences other epigenetic marks. In this study, we set out to determine whether 5-AzaCdR treatment can reprogram the epigenomic organization of the IGF2-H19 locus in a choriocarcinoma cancer cell line (JEG3). We found that localized DNA demethylation at the H19 imprinting control region (ICR) induced by 5-AzaCdR, reduced IGF2, increased H19 expression, increased CTCF and cohesin recruitment and changed histone modifications. Furthermore chromatin accessibility was increased locus-wide and chromatin looping topography was altered such that a CTCF site downstream of the H19 enhancers switched its association with the CTCF site upstream of the IGF2 promoters to associate with the ICR. We identified a stable chromatin looping domain, which forms independently of DNA methylation. This domain contains the IGF2 gene and is marked by a histone H3 lysine 27 trimethylation block between CTCF site upstream of the IGF2 promoters and the Centrally Conserved Domain upstream of the ICR. Together, these data provide new insights into the responsiveness of chromatin topography to DNA methylation changes.