Three sequence rules for chromatin

Extensive DNA sequence analysis of three eukaryotes, S. cerevisiae, C. elegans, and D. melanogaster, reveals two different AA/TT periodical patterns associated with the nucleosome positioning. The first pattern is the counter-phase oscillation of AA and TT dinucleotides, which has been frequently considered as the nucleosome DNA pattern. This represents the sequence rule I for chromatin structure. The second pattern is the in-phase oscillation of the AA and TT dinucleotides with the same nucleosome DNA period, 10.4 bases. This pattern apparently corresponds to curved DNA, that also participates in the nucleosome formation, and represents the sequence rule II for chromatin. The positional correlations of AA and TT dinucleotides also indicate that the nucleosomes are separated by specific linker sizes (preferably 8, 18, ... bases), dictated by the steric exclusion rules. Thus, the sequence positions of the neighboring nucleosomes are correlated, and this represents the sequence rule III.     

Sequence structure of hidden 10.4-base repeat in the nucleosomes of C. elegans

By measuring prevailing distances between YY, YR, RR, and RY dinucleotides in the large database of the nucleosome DNA fragments from C. elegans, the consensus sequence structure of the nucleosome DNA repeat of C. elegans was reconstructed: (YYYYYRRRRR)n. An actual period was estimated to be 10.4 bases. The pattern is fully consistent with the nucleosome DNA patterns of other eukaryotes, as established earlier, and, thus, the YYYYYRRRRR repeat can be considered as consensus nucleosome DNA sequence repeat across eukaryotic species. Similar distance analysis for [A, T] dinucleotides suggested the related pattern (TTTYTARAAA)n where the TT and AA dinucleotides display rather out of phase behavior, contrary to the "AA or TT" in-phase periodicity, considered in some publications. A weak 5-base periodicity in the distribution of TA dinucleotides was detected.     

Three Sequence Rules for Chromatin

Abstract

Extensive DNA sequence analysis of three eukaryotes, S. cerevisiae, C. elegans, and D. melanogaster, reveals two different AA/TT periodical patterns associated with the nucleosome positioning. The first pattern is the counter-phase oscillation of AA and TT dinucleotides, which has been frequently considered as the nucleosome DNA pattern. This represents the sequence rule I for chromatin structure. The second pattern is the in-phase oscillation of the AA and TT dinucleotides with the same nucleosome DNA period, 10.4 bases. This pattern apparently corresponds to curved DNA, that also participates in the nucleosome formation, and represents the sequence rule II for chromatin. The positional correlations of AA and TT dinucleotides also indicate that the nucleosomes are separated by specific linker sizes (preferably 8, 18,…bases), dictated by the steric exclusion rules. Thus, the sequence positions of the neighboring nucleosomes are correlated, and this represents the sequence rule III.     

Sequence Structure of Hidden 10.4-base Repeat in the Nucleosomes of C. elegans

Abstract

By measuring prevailing distances between YY, YR, RR, and RY dinucleotides in the large database of the nucleosome DNA fragments from C. elegans, the consensus sequence structure of the nucleosome DNA repeat of C. elegans was reconstructed: (YYYYYRRRRR)_n. An actual period was estimated to be 10.4 bases. The pattern is fully consistent with the nucleosome DNA patterns of other eukaryotes, as established earlier, and, thus, the YYYYYRRRRR repeat can be considered as consensus nucleosome DNA sequence repeat across eukaryotic species. Similar distance analysis for [A, T] dinucleotides suggested the related pattern (TTTYTARAAA)_n where the TT and AA dinucleotides display rather out of phase behavior, contrary to the “AA or TT” in-phase periodicity, considered in some publications. A weak 5-base periodicity in the distribution of TA dinucleotides was detected.     

Yeast nucleosome DNA pattern: deconvolution from genome sequences of S. cerevisiae

Positional correlation analysis for the complete genome of Saccharomyces cerevisiae is performed with the aim to reveal possible chromatin-related sequence features. A strong periodicity with the period 10.4 bases is detected in the distance histograms for the dinucleotides AA and TT, with the characteristic decay distance of approximately 50 base pairs. The oscillations are observed as well in the distributions of other dinucleotides. However, the respective amplitudes are small, consistent with secondary effects, due to dominant periodicity of AA and TT. The observations are in accord with earlier data on the chromatin sequence periodicities and nucleosome DNA sequence patterns. The autocorrelations of AA and TT dinucleotides in yeast include also a counter-phase component. A tentative DNA sequence pattern for the yeast nucleosomes is suggested and verified by comparison of its autocorrelation plots with the respective natural autocorrelations. The nucleosome mapping guided by the pattern is in accord with experimental data on the linker length distribution in yeast.     

Dinucleosome DNA of human K562 cells: experimental and computational characterizations

Dinucleosome formation is the first step in the organization of the higher order chromatin structure. With the ultimate aim of elucidating the dinucleosome structure, we constructed a library of human dinucleosome DNA. The library consists of PCR-amplifiable DNA fragments obtained by treatment of nuclei of erythroid K562 cells with micrococcal nuclease followed by extraction of DNA and adaptor ligation to the blunt-ended DNA fragments. The library was then cloned using a plasmid vector and the sequences of the clones were determined. The dominating clones containing the Alu elements were removed. A total of 1002 clones, which comprised a dinucleosome database, contained 84 and 918 clones from the clones before and after removing Alu elements, respectively. Approximately 70% of the clones were between 300 and 400 bp in size and they were distributed to various locations of all chromosomes except the Y chromosome. The clones containing A(2)N(8)A(2)N(8)A(2) or T(2)N(8)T(2)N(8)T(2) sequences were classified into three types, Type I (N shape), Type II (V shape) and Type III (M shape) according to DNA curvature plots. The locations of experimentally determined curved DNA segments matched well with the calculated ones though the clones of Types I and III showed additional curved DNA segments as revealed by the curvature plots. The distributions of complementary dinucleotides in the nucleosome DNA, at the ends of the dinucleosome DNA clones, allowed us to predict the positions of the nucleosome dyad axis, and estimate the size of the nucleosome core DNA, 125nt. The distributions of AA and TT dinucleotides, as well as other RR and YY dinucleotides, showed a periodicity with an average period of 10.4 bases, close to the values observed before. Mapping of nucleosome positions in the dinucleosome database based on the observed periodicity revealed that the nucleosomes were separated by a linker of 7.5+ approximately 10 x n nt. This indicates that the nucleosome-nucleosome orientations are, typically, halfway between parallel and antiparallel. Also an important finding is that the distributions of AA/TT and other RR/YY dinucleotides, apparently, reflect both DNA curvature and DNA bendability, cooperatively contributing to the nucleosome formation.     

Yeast Nucleosome DNA Pattern: Deconvolution from Genome Sequences of S. cerevisiae

Abstract

Positional correlation analysis for the complete genome of Saccharomyces cerevisiae is performed with the aim to reveal possible chromatin-related sequence features. A strong periodicity with the period 10.4 bases is detected in the distance histograms for the dinucleotides AA and TT, with the characteristic decay distance of approximately 50 base pairs. The oscillations are observed as well in the distributions of other dinucleotides. However, the respective amplitudes are small, consistent with secondary effects, due to dominant periodicity of AA and TT. The observations are in accord with earlier data on the chromatin sequence periodicities and nucleosome DNA sequence patterns. The autocorrelations of AA and TT dinucleotides in yeast include also a counter-phase component. A tentative DNA sequence pattern for the yeast nucleosomes is suggested and verified by comparison of its autocorrelation plots with the respective natural autocorrelations. The nucleosome mapping guided by the pattern is in accord with experimental data on the linker length distribution in yeast.     

Universal full-length nucleosome mapping sequence probe

For the computational sequence-directed mapping of the nucleosomes, the knowledge of the nucleosome positioning motifs – 10–11 base long sequences – and respective matrices of bendability, is not sufficient, since there is no justified way to fuse these motifs in one continuous nucleosome DNA sequence. Discovery of the strong nucleosome (SN) DNA sequences, with visible sequence periodicity allows derivation of the full-length nucleosome DNA bendability pattern as matrix or consensus sequence. The SN sequences of three species (A. thaliana, C. elegans, and H. sapiens) are aligned (512 sequences for each species), and long (115 dinucleotides) matrices of bendability derived for the species. The matrices have strong common property – alternation of runs of purine–purine (RR) and pyrimidine–pyrimidine (YY) dinucleotides, with average period 10.4 bases. On this basis the universal [R,Y] consensus of the nucleosome DNA sequence is derived, with exactly defined positions of respective penta- and hexamers RRRRR, RRRRRR, YYYYY, and YYYYYY.     

Sequence-directed mapping of nucleosome positions

A nucleosome DNA sequence probe is designed that combines recently derived RR/YY counter-phase and AA/TT in-phase periodical patterns. A simple nucleosome mapping procedure is introduced for prediction of the nucleosome positions in the sequence of interest, to serve as a guide for experimental studies of the chromatin structure.     

TA-periodic (“601”-like) centromeric nucleosomes of A. thaliana

The bulk of strong nucleosomes (SNs, with visibly periodic DNA sequences) is described by consensus pattern of 5 or 6 base runs of purines alternating with similar runs of pyrimidines – RR/YY SNs. Yet, the strongest known nucleosome positioning sequence, the 601 clone of Lowary and Widom, is rather periodic repetition of TA dinucleotides following one another every 10 bases. We located “601”-like TA-periodic sequences in the genome of A. thaliana. Several families of such sequences are discovered repeating almost exclusively in centromeres. Thus, while A. thaliana SNs of RR/YY type have strong affinity to pericentromeric regions, as it has been previously found, the SNs of TA periodic type concentrate rather in centromeres.     

Sequence-directed Mapping of Nucleosome Positions

Abstract

A nucleosome DNA sequence probe is designed that combines recently derived RR/YY counter-phase and AA/TT in-phase periodical patterns. A simple nucleosome mapping procedure is introduced for prediction of the nucleosome positions in the sequence of interest, to serve as a guide for experimental studies of the chromatin structure.     

Repertoires of the Nucleosome-Positioning Dinucleotides

It is generally accepted that the organization of eukaryotic DNA into chromatin is strongly governed by a code inherent in the genomic DNA sequence. This code, as well as other codes, is superposed on the triplets coding for amino acids. The history of the chromatin code started three decades ago with the discovery of the periodic appearance of certain dinucleotides, with AA/TT and RR/YY giving the strongest signals, all with a period of 10.4 bases. Every base-pair stack in the DNA duplex has specific deformation properties, thus favoring DNA bending in a specific direction. The appearance of the corresponding dinucleotide at the distance 10.4 xn bases will facilitate DNA bending in that direction, which corresponds to the minimum energy of DNA folding in the nucleosome. We have analyzed the periodic appearances of all 16 dinucleotides in the genomes of thirteen different eukaryotic organisms. Our data show that a large variety of dinucleotides (if not all) are, apparently, contributing to the nucleosome positioning code. The choice of the periodical dinucleotides differs considerably from one organism to another. Among other 10.4 base periodicities, a strong and very regular 10.4 base signal was observed for CG dinucleotides in the genome of the honey bee A. mellifera. Also, the dinucleotide CG appears as the only periodical component in the human genome. This observation seems especially relevant since CpG methylation is well known to modulate chromatin packing and regularity. Thus, the selection of the dinucleotides contributing to the chromatin code is species specific, and may differ from region to region, depending on the sequence context.     

Sequence structure of Lowary/Widom clones forming strong nucleosomes

Lowary and Widom selected from random sequences those which form exceptionally stable nucleosomes, including clone 601, the current champion of strong nucleosome (SN) sequences. This unique sequence database (LW sequences) carries sequence elements which confer stability on the nucleosomes formed on the sequences, and, thus, may serve as source of information on the structure of “ideal” or close to ideal nucleosome DNA sequence. An important clue is also provided by crystallographic study of Vasudevan and coauthors on clone 601 nucleosomes. It demonstrated that YR·YR dinucleotide stacks (primarily TA·TA) follow one another at distances 10 or 11 bases or multiples thereof, such that they all are located on the interface between DNA and histone octamer. Combining this important information with alignment of the YR-containing 10-mers and 11-mers from LW sequences, the bendability matrices of the stable nucleosome DNA are derived. The matrices suggest that the periodically repeated TA (YR), RR, and YY dinucleotides are the main sequence features of the SNs. This consensus coincides with the one for recently discovered SNs with visibly periodic DNA sequences. Thus, the experimentally observed stable LW nucleosomes and SNs derived computationally appear to represent the same entity – exceptionally stable SNs.     

Archaeal histone selection of nucleosome positioning sequences and the procaryotic origin of histone-dependent genome evolution

Archaeal histones and the eucaryal (eucaryotic) nucleosome core histones have almost identical histone folds. Here, we show that DNA molecules selectively incorporated by rHMfB (recombinant archaeal histone B from Methanothermus fervidus) into archaeal nucleosomes from a mixture of approximately 10(14) random sequence molecules contain sequence motifs shown previously to direct eucaryal nucleosome positioning. The dinucleotides GC, AA (=TT) and TA are repeated at approximately 10 bp intervals, with the GC harmonic displaced approximately 5 bp from the AA and TA harmonics [(GCN(3)AA or TA)(n)]. AT and CG were not strongly selected, indicating that TA not equalAT and GC not equalCG in terms of facilitating archaeal nucleosome assembly. The selected molecules have affinities for rHMfB ranging from approximately 9 to 18-fold higher than the level of affinity of the starting population, and direct the positioned assembly of archaeal nucleosomes. Fourier-transform analyses have revealed that AA dinucleotides are much enriched at approximately 10. 1 bp intervals, the helical repeat of DNA wrapped around a nucleosome, in the genomes of Eucarya and the histone-containing Euryarchaeota, but not in the genomes of Bacteria and Crenarchaeota, procaryotes that do not have histones. Facilitating histone packaging of genomic DNA has apparently therefore imposed constraints on genome sequence evolution, and since archaeal histones have no structure in addition to the histone fold, these constraints must result predominantly from histone fold-DNA contacts. Based on the three-domain universal phylogeny, histones and histone-dependent genome sequence evolution most likely evolved after the bacterial-archaeal divergence but before the archaeal-eucaryal divergence, and were subsequently lost in the Crenarchaeota. However, with lateral gene transfer, the first histone fold could alternatively have evolved after the archaeal-eucaryal divergence, early in either the euryarchaeal or eucaryal lineages.     

A signal encoded in vertebrate DNA that influences nucleosome positioning and alignment.

Evidence is provided that the nucleotide triplet con-sensus non-T(A/T)G (abbreviated to VWG) influences nucleosome positioning and nucleosome alignment into regular arrays. This triplet consensus has been recently found to exhibit a fairly strong 10 bp periodicity in human DNA, implicating it in anisotropic DNA bendability. It is demonstrated that the experimentally determined preferences for nucleosome positioning in native SV40 chromatin can, to a large extent, be pre-dicted simply by counting the occurrences of the period-10 VWG consensus. Nucleosomes tend to form in regions of the SV40 genome that contain high counts of period-10 VWG and/or avoid regions with low counts. In contrast, periodic occurrences of the dinucleotides AA/TT, implicated in the rotational positioning of DNA in nucleosomes, did not correlate with the preferred nucleosome locations in SV40 chromatin. Periodic occurrences of AA did correlate with preferred nucleosome locations in a region of SV40 DNA where VWG occurrences are low. Regular oscillations in period-10 VWG counts with a dinucleosome period were found in vertebrate DNA regions that aligned nucleosomes into regular arrays in vitro in the presence of linker histone. Escherichia coli and plasmid DNA, which fail to align nucleosomes in vitro, lacked these regular VWG oscillations.     

High-Resolution Mapping of Sequence-Directed Nucleosome Positioning on Genomic DNA

We have mapped in vitro nucleosome positioning on the sheep β-lactoglobulin gene using high-throughput sequencing to characterise the DNA sequences recovered from reconstituted nucleosomes. This methodology surpasses previous approaches for coverage, accuracy and resolution and, most importantly, offers a simple yet rapid and relatively inexpensive method to characterise genomic DNA sequences in terms of nucleosome positioning capacity. We demonstrate an unambiguous correspondence between in vitro and in vivo nucleosome positioning around the promoter of the gene; identify discrete, sequence-specific nucleosomal structures above the level of the canonical core particle—a feature that has implications for regulatory protein access and higher-order chromatin packing; and reveal new insights into the involvement of periodically organised dinucleotide sequence motifs of the type GG and CC and not AA and TT, as determinants of nucleosome positioning—an observation that supports the idea that the core histone octamer can exploit different patterns of sequence organisation, or structural potential, in the DNA to bring about nucleosome positioning.     

Epigenetic nucleosomes: Alu sequences and CG as nucleosome positioning element

Alu sequences carry periodical pattern with CG dinucleotides (CpG) repeating every 31-32 bases. Similar distances are observed in distribution of DNA curvature in crystallized nucleosomes, at positions +/-1.5 and +/-4.5 periods of DNA from nucleosome DNA dyad. Since CG elements are also found to impart to nucleosomes higher stability when positioned at +/-1.5 sites, it suggests that CG dinucleotides may play a role in modulation of the nucleosome strength when the CG elements are methylated. Thus, Alu sequences may harbor special epigenetic nucleosomes with methylation-dependent regulatory functions. Nucleosome DNA sequence probe is suggested to detect locations of such regulatory nucleosomes in the sequences.     

Human nucleosomes: special role of CG dinucleotides and Alu-nucleosomes

Background

The periodical occurrence of dinucleotides with a period of 10.4 bases now is undeniably a hallmark of nucleosome positioning. Whereas many eukaryotic genomes contain visible and even strong signals for periodic distribution of dinucleotides, the human genome is rather featureless in this respect. The exact sequence features in the human genome that govern the nucleosome positioning remain largely unknown.

Results

When analyzing the human genome sequence with the positional autocorrelation method, we found that only the dinucleotide CG shows the 10.4 base periodicity, which is indicative of the presence of nucleosomes. There is a high occurrence of CG dinucleotides that are either 31 (10.4 × 3) or 62 (10.4 × 6) base pairs apart from one another - a sequence bias known to be characteristic of Alu-sequences. In a similar analysis with repetitive sequences removed, peaks of repeating CG motifs can be seen at positions 10, 21 and 31, the nearest integers of multiples of 10.4.

Conclusions

Although the CG dinucleotides are dominant, other elements of the standard nucleosome positioning pattern are present in the human genome as well. The positional autocorrelation analysis of the human genome demonstrates that the CG dinucleotide is, indeed, one visible element of the human nucleosome positioning pattern, which appears both in Alu sequences and in sequences without repeats. The dominant role that CG dinucleotides play in organizing human chromatin is to indicate the involvement of human nucleosomes in tuning the regulation of gene expression and chromatin structure, which is very likely due to cytosine-methylation/-demethylation in CG dinucleotides contained in the human nucleosomes. This is further confirmed by the positions of CG-periodical nucleosomes on Alu sequences. Alu repeats appear as monomers, dimers and trimers, harboring two to six nucleosomes in a run. Considering the exceptional role CG dinucleotides play in the nucleosome positioning, we hypothesize that Alu-nucleosomes, especially, those that form tightly positioned runs, could serve as "anchors" in organizing the chromatin in human cells.