Assembly of spaced chromatin involvement of ATP and DNA topoisomerase activity.

Undiluted extracts from eggs or oocytes of Xenopus laevis support the assembly of chromatin with physiologically spaced nucleosomes. Micrococcal nuclease and DNase I digestion experiments show that nucleosome formation as well as supercoiling of circular DNA concomitant to assembly do not require ATP or Mg2+. However these factors are essential for the stability and the physiological spacing of the assembled chromatin. gamma-S-ATP can substitute for ATP in this process. With topoisomers of defined linking number topological interconversions proceed by steps of unity, both in vitro as well as in vivo, indicating that topoisomerase I is dominantly acting in this process. Novobiocin sensitivity occurred only with diluted extracts and was unrelated to an inhibition of topoisomerase II. Finally, nucleosome assembly occurs efficiently on linear DNA although the assembled DNA is less stable than with circular DNA. From these results we propose that mature chromatin is formed in a two-step reaction. In the first step, nucleosome deposition occurs independently of ATP and Mg2+. Thus, nucleosome formation can be uncoupled from their spacing. In this step, topoisomerase activity is involved in the relaxation of the topological constraints generated by chromatin assembly rather than in the process of assembly itself. The second step, requiring ATP and Mg2+, generates properly spaced chromatin.     

Introduction of superhelical turns into DNA by adenoviral core proteins and chromatin assembly factors.

The interaction in vitro between adenoviral histone-like proteins and DNA in the presence of chromatin assembly factors was investigated. Viral core protein VII or its precursor pVII was incubated with DNA in the presence of an extract of HeLa cell chromatin, which mediates nucleosome assembly from histones and DNA. We have demonstrated that either protein can introduce superhelical turns into relaxed closed-circular DNA and that the presence of chromatin extract is necessary for the supertwisting effect. A greater density of superhelical turns was produced by pVII than by VII, but neither protein-DNA interaction resulted in the "physiological" amount of supertwisting produced by histones. The inhibition of histone-induced supercoiling by both proteins and the protection of turns in supertwisted starting material are also described. The nucleosome assembly factor, nucleoplasmin, fails to mediate the introduction of superhelical turns by VII or pVII.     

Chromatin reconstitution on small DNA rings. IV. DNA supercoiling and nucleosome sequence preference.

Nucleosome formation on inverted repeats or on some alternations of purines and pyrimidines can be inhibited in vitro by DNA supercoiling through their supercoiling-induced structural transitions to cruciforms or Z-form DNA, respectively. We report here, as a result of study of single nucleosome reconstitutions on a DNA minicircle, that a physiological level of DNA supercoiling can also enhance nucleosome sequence preference. The 357 base-pair minicircle was composed of a promoter of phage SP6 RNA polymerase joined to a 256 base-pair fragment containing a sea urchin 5 S RNA gene. Nucleosome formation on the promoter was found to be enhanced on a topoisomer with in vivo superhelix density when compared to topoisomers of lower or higher superhelical densities, to the nicked circle, or to the linear DNA. In contrast, nucleosomes at other positions appeared to be insensitive to supercoiling. This observation relied on a novel procedure for the investigation of nucleosome positioning. The reconstituted circular chromatin was first linearized using a restriction endonuclease, and the linear chromatin so obtained was electrophoresed as nucleoprotein in a polyacrylamide gel. The gel showed well-fractionated bands whose mobilities were a V-like function of nucleosome positions, with the nucleosome near the middle migrating less. This behavior is similar to that previously observed for complexes of sequence-specific DNA-bending proteins with circularly permuted DNA fragments, and presumably reflects the change in the direction of the DNA axis between the entrance and the exit of the particle. Possible mechanisms for such supercoiling-induced modulation of nucleosome formation are discussed in the light of the supercoiling-dependent susceptibility to cleavage of the naked minicircle with S1 and Bal31 nucleases; and a comparison between DNase I cleavage patterns of the modulated nucleosome and of another, non-modulated, overlapping nucleosome.     

NAP1-Assisted Nucleosome Assembly on DNA Measured in Real Time by Single-Molecule Magnetic Tweezers

While many proteins are involved in the assembly and (re)positioning of nucleosomes, the dynamics of protein-assisted nucleosome formation are not well understood. We study NAP1 (nucleosome assembly protein 1) assisted nucleosome formation at the single-molecule level using magnetic tweezers. This method allows to apply a well-defined stretching force and supercoiling density to a single DNA molecule, and to study in real time the change in linking number, stiffness and length of the DNA during nucleosome formation. We observe a decrease in end-to-end length when NAP1 and core histones (CH) are added to the dsDNA. We characterize the formation of complete nucleosomes by measuring the change in linking number of DNA, which is induced by the NAP1-assisted nucleosome assembly, and which does not occur for non-nucleosomal bound histones H3 and H4. By rotating the magnets, the supercoils formed upon nucleosome assembly are removed and the number of assembled nucleosomes can be counted. We find that the compaction of DNA at low force is about 56 nm per assembled nucleosome. The number of compaction steps and associated change in linking number indicate that NAP1-assisted nucleosome assembly is a two-step process.     

体外装配核小体过程组蛋白浓度依赖的动力学模型

为探索组蛋白浓度对核小体体外装配的影响,本研究表达纯化了4种组蛋白,通过控制实验反应体系中组蛋白的浓度,利用盐透析法在体外装配了核小体,检测分析了组蛋白浓度与核小体组装效率的关系。以此实验数据为基础,提出了核小体组装过程组蛋白浓度依赖性的动力学模型。实验结果发现,反应体系中组蛋白浓度与核小体生成量呈典型的线性关系。依据动力学理论模型,进行线性回归拟合,回归系数达到0.963;经计算601 DNA序列组装核小体的反应速率常数k为1.49×10^-5mL·h·μg^-1。CS1序列验证动力学模型的线性回归相关系数为0.989,反应速率常数为1.52×10^-5mL·h·μg^-1。该实验方法及动力学模型中反应速率常数k可用于评价相同长度的DNA序列组装核小体的能力、组蛋白与其突变体以及组蛋白变体之间形成核小体结构能力的差异。该动力学模型的建立为理解核小体装配、核小体定位、染色质结构等相关问题提供了理论指导。     

Topoisomerase function during replication-independent chromatin assembly in yeast.

DNA topoisomerases I and II are the two major nuclear enzymes capable of relieving torsional strain in DNA. Of these enzymes, topoisomerase I plays the dominant role in relieving torsional strain during chromatin assembly in cell extracts from oocytes, eggs, and early embryos. We tested if the topoisomerases are used differentially during chromatin assembly in Saccharomyces cerevisiae by a combined biochemical and pharmacological approach. As measured by plasmid supercoiling, nucleosome deposition is severely impaired in assembly extracts from a yeast mutant with no topoisomerase I and a temperature-sensitive form of topoisomerase II (strain top1-top2). Expression of wild-type topoisomerase II in strain top1-top2 fully restored assembly-driven supercoiling, and assembly was equally efficient in extracts from strains expressing either topoisomerase I or II alone. Supercoiling in top1-top2 extract was rescued by adding back either purified topoisomerase I or II. Using the topoisomerase II poison VP-16, we show that topoisomerase II activity during chromatin assembly is the same in the presence and absence of topoisomerase I. We conclude that both topoisomerases I and II can provide the DNA relaxation activity required for efficient chromatin assembly in mitotically cycling yeast cells.     

Nucleosome Assembly Depends on the Torsion in the DNA Molecule: A Magnetic Tweezers Study

We have used magnetic tweezers to study nucleosome assembly on topologically constrained DNA molecules. Assembly was achieved using chicken erythrocyte core histones and histone chaperone protein Nap1 under constant low force. We have observed only partial assembly when the DNA was topologically constrained and much more complete assembly on unconstrained (nicked) DNA tethers. To verify our hypothesis that the lack of full nucleosome assembly on topologically constrained tethers was due to compensatory accumulation of positive supercoiling in the rest of the template, we carried out experiments in which we mechanically relieved the positive supercoiling by rotating the external magnetic field at certain time points of the assembly process. Indeed, such rotation did lead to the same nucleosome saturation level as in the case of nicked tethers. We conclude that levels of positive supercoiling in the range of 0.025-0.051 (most probably in the form of twist) stall the nucleosome assembly process.     

Studies on DNA Topoisomerase activity during in vitro chromatin assembly

The in vitro assembly of chromatin, promoted by the Xenopus cell-free extract (S-150), can be inhibited by oxolinic acid and to a lesser extent by nalidixic acid. Both of these antibiotics have been shown to block the activity of the specialized type 11 Topoisomerase, bacterial DNA Gyrase. Oxolinic acid induces a DNA cleavage by Micrococcal Nuclease at specific sequences in the multiple cloning vector pGEM-4. Nalidixic acid does not inhibit DNA supercoiling, but does diminish the extent of chromatin formation achieved by the S-150 on circular DNA templates. The Topoisomerase I inhibitor, berenil, does not inhibit extensive chromatin assembly, although it aloes diminish the level of supercoiling. Taken together, these results suggest that both topoisomerases play a role in the assembly process. Topoisomerase I may catalyze both the introduction of unconstrained supercoils into relaxed DNA and the formation of monosomes, while Topoisomerase 11 may promote extended chromatin assembly.     

Nuclear reassembly in vitro is independent of nucleosome/chromatin assembly

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Nuclear reassemblyin vitro is independent of nucleosome/chromatin assembly

It was show11 that nuclear reassembly was induced by small pieces of DNA fragments in cell-free extracts ofXenopus. In an attempt to learn the relationship between the nuclear reassembly and nucleosome/chromatin assembly, limited amounts of CM-Cellulose are used to eliminate the capacity of the egg extract S-150 to assemble chromatin. while the forming of nucleosomes is checked with DNA supercoiling by plasmid DNA pBR322 incubated in the extract, and further analysed by micrococcal nuclease digestion. This depleted extract is then used to induce nuclear reassembly around demembraned sperms with membrane vesicles. It is found that CM-Cellulose depletes histones H2A and H2B efficiently and blocks the assembly of nucleosomes, the demembraned sperms are yet reconstituted into nuclei in the treated S-150, although the chromatin in reassembled nuclei does not produce protected DNA fragments when digested with micrococcal nuclease. It suggests that in the cell-free system ofXenopus, DNA can be formed into nuclei without assembly of nucleosomes or chromatin.