Comparison of computational methods for the identification of topologically associating domains

Background

Chromatin folding gives rise to structural elements among which are clusters of densely interacting DNA regions termed topologically associating domains (TADs). TADs have been characterized across multiple species, tissue types, and differentiation stages, sometimes in association with regulation of biological functions. The reliability and reproducibility of these findings are intrinsically related with the correct identification of these domains from high-throughput chromatin conformation capture (Hi-C) experiments.

Results

Here, we test and compare 22 computational methods to identify TADs across 20 different conditions. We find that TAD sizes and numbers vary significantly among callers and data resolutions, challenging the definition of an average TAD size, but strengthening the hypothesis that TADs are hierarchically organized domains, rather than disjoint structural elements. Performances of these methods differ based on data resolution and normalization strategy, but a core set of TAD callers consistently retrieve reproducible domains, even at low sequencing depths, that are enriched for TAD-associated biological features.

Conclusions

This study provides a reference for the analysis of chromatin domains from Hi-C experiments and useful guidelines for choosing a suitable approach based on the experimental design, available data, and biological question of interest.

     

Stella Regulates the Development of Female Germline Stem Cells by Modulating Chromatin Structure and DNA Methylation

Female germline stem cells (FGSCs) have the ability to self-renew and differentiate into oocytes. Stella, encoded by a maternal effect gene, plays an important role in oogenesis and early embryonic development. However, its function in FGSCs remains unclear. In this study, we showed that CRISPR/Cas9-mediated knockout of Stella promoted FGSC proliferation and reduced the level of genome-wide DNA methylation of FGSCs. Conversely, Stella overexpression led to the opposite results, and enhanced FGSC differentiation. We also performed an integrative analysis of chromatin immunoprecipitation followed by high-throughput sequencing (ChIP-seq), high-throughput genome-wide chromosome conformation capture (Hi-C), and use of our published epigenetic data. Results indicated that the binding sites of STELLA and active histones H3K4me3 and H3K27ac were enriched near the TAD boundaries. Hi-C analysis showed that Stella overexpression attenuated the interaction within TADs, and interestingly enhanced the TAD boundary strength in STELLA-associated regions. Taking these findings together, our study not only reveals the role of Stella in regulating DNA methylation and chromatin structure, but also provides a better understanding of FGSC development.     

Microrheology for Hi-C Data Reveals the Spectrum of the Dynamic 3D Genome Organization

The one-dimensional information of genomic DNA is hierarchically packed inside the eukaryotic cell nucleus and organized in a three-dimensional (3D) space. Genome-wide chromosome conformation capture (Hi-C) methods have uncovered the 3D genome organization and revealed multiscale chromatin domains of compartments and topologically associating domains (TADs). Moreover, single-nucleosome live-cell imaging experiments have revealed the dynamic organization of chromatin domains caused by stochastic thermal fluctuations. However, the mechanism underlying the dynamic regulation of such hierarchical and structural chromatin units within the microscale thermal medium remains unclear. Microrheology is a way to measure dynamic viscoelastic properties coupling between thermal microenvironment and mechanical response. Here, we propose a new, to our knowledge, microrheology for Hi-C data to analyze the dynamic compliance property as a measure of rigidness and flexibility of genomic regions along with the time evolution. Our method allows the conversion of an Hi-C matrix into the spectrum of the dynamic rheological property along the genomic coordinate of a single chromosome. To demonstrate the power of the technique, we analyzed Hi-C data during the neural differentiation of mouse embryonic stem cells. We found that TAD boundaries behave as more rigid nodes than the intra-TAD regions. The spectrum clearly shows the dynamic viscoelasticity of chromatin domain formation at different timescales. Furthermore, we characterized the appearance of synchronous and liquid-like intercompartment interactions in differentiated cells. Together, our microrheology data derived from Hi-C data provide physical insights into the dynamics of the 3D genome organization.     

Defective chromatin architectures in embryonic stem cells derived from somatic cell nuclear transfer impair their differentiation potentials

Nuclear transfer embryonic stem cells (ntESCs) hold enormous promise for individual-specific regenerative medicine. However, the chromatin states of ntESCs remain poorly characterized. In this study, we employed ATAC-seq and Hi-C techniques to explore the chromatin accessibility and three-dimensional (3D) genome organization of ntESCs. The results show that the chromatin accessibility and genome structures of somatic cells are re-arranged to ESC-like states overall in ntESCs, including compartments, topologically associating domains (TADs) and chromatin loops. However, compared to fertilized ESCs (fESCs), ntESCs show some abnormal openness and structures that have not been reprogrammed completely, which impair the differentiation potential of ntESCs. The histone modification H3K9me3 may be involved in abnormal structures in ntESCs, including incorrect compartment switches and incomplete TAD rebuilding. Moreover, ntESCs and iPSCs show high similarity in 3D genome structures, while a few differences are detected due to different somatic cell origins and reprogramming mechanisms. Through systematic analyses, our study provides a global view of chromatin accessibility and 3D genome organization in ntESCs, which can further facilitate the understanding of the similarities and differences between ntESCs and fESCs.Subject terms: Embryonic stem cells, Reprogramming, Stem-cell differentiation     

GITAR: An Open Source Tool for Analysis and Visualization of Hi-C Data

Interactions between chromatin segments play a large role in functional genomic assays and developments in genomic interaction detection methods have shown interacting topological domains within the genome. Among these methods, Hi-C plays a key role. Here, we present the Genome Interaction Tools and Resources (GITAR), a software to perform a comprehensive Hi-C data analysis, including data preprocessing, normalization, and visualization, as well as analysis of topologically-associated domains (TADs). GITAR is composed of two main modules: (1) HiCtool, a Python library to process and visualize Hi-C data, including TAD analysis; and (2) processed data library, a large collection of human and mouse datasets processed using HiCtool. HiCtool leads the user step-by-step through a pipeline, which goes from the raw Hi-C data to the computation, visualization, and optimized storage of intra-chromosomal contact matrices and TAD coordinates. A large collection of standardized processed data allows the users to compare different datasets in a consistent way, while saving time to obtain data for visualization or additional analyses. More importantly, GITAR enables users without any programming or bioinformatic expertise to work with Hi-C data. GITAR is publicly available at http://genomegitar.org as an open-source software.     

Chromatin architectural alterations due to null mutation of a major CG methylase in rice

Associations between 3D chromatin architectures and epigenetic modifications have been characterized in animals.However,any impact of DNA methylation on chromatin architecture in plants is understudied,which is confined to Arabidopsis thaliana.Because plant species differ in genome size,composition,and overall chromatin packing,it is unclear to what extent findings from A.thaliana hold in other species.Moreover,the incomplete chromatin architectural profiles and the low-resolution high-throughpu...     

A unified framework for inferring the multi-scale organization of chromatin domains from Hi-C

Chromosomes are giant chain molecules organized into an ensemble of three-dimensional structures characterized with its genomic state and the corresponding biological functions. Despite the strong cell-to-cell heterogeneity, the cell-type specific pattern demonstrated in high-throughput chromosome conformation capture (Hi-C) data hints at a valuable link between structure and function, which makes inference of chromatin domains (CDs) from the pattern of Hi-C a central problem in genome research. Here we present a unified method for analyzing Hi-C data to determine spatial organization of CDs over multiple genomic scales. By applying statistical physics-based clustering analysis to a polymer physics model of the chromosome, our method identifies the CDs that best represent the global pattern of correlation manifested in Hi-C. The multi-scale intra-chromosomal structures compared across different cell types uncover the principles underlying the multi-scale organization of chromatin chain: (i) Sub-TADs, TADs, and meta-TADs constitute a robust hierarchical structure. (ii) The assemblies of compartments and TAD-based domains are governed by different organizational principles. (iii) Sub-TADs are the common building blocks of chromosome architecture. Our physically principled interpretation and analysis of Hi-C not only offer an accurate and quantitative view of multi-scale chromatin organization but also help decipher its connections with genome function.     

Predicting chromatin organization using histone marks

Genome-wide mapping of three dimensional chromatin organization is an important yet technically challenging task. To aid experimental effort and to understand the determinants of long-range chromatin interactions, we have developed a computational model integrating Hi-C and histone mark ChIP-seq data to predict two important features of chromatin organization: chromatin interaction hubs and topologically associated domain (TAD) boundaries. Our model accurately and robustly predicts these features across datasets and cell types. Cell-type specific histone mark information is required for prediction of chromatin interaction hubs but not for TAD boundaries. Our predictions provide a useful guide for the exploration of chromatin organization.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13059-015-0740-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Minimalistic 3D chromatin models: Sparse interactions in single cells drive the chromatin fold and form many-body units

Computational three-dimensional chromatin modeling has helped uncover principles of genome organization. Here, we discuss methods for modeling three-dimensional chromatin structures, with focus on a minimalistic polymer model which inverts population Hi-C into single-cell conformations. Utilizing only basic physical properties, this model reveals that a few specific Hi-C interactions can fold chromatin into conformations consistent with single-cell imaging, Dip-C, and FISH measurements. Aggregated single-cell chromatin conformations also reproduce Hi-C frequencies. This approach allows quantification of structural heterogeneity and discovery of many-body interaction units and has revealed additional insights, including (1) topologically associating domains as a byproduct of folding driven by specific interactions, (2) cell subpopulations with different structural scaffolds are developmental stage dependent, and (3) the functional landscape of many-body units within enhancer-rich regions. We also discuss these findings in relation to the genome structure–function relationship.     

全基因组染色质相互作用Hi-C文库制备的优化及其质量控制

Hi-C(highest-throughput chromosome conformation capture)技术是近年出现的一种研究染色质相互作用的关键技术。该技术步骤多、耗时长,涉及的试剂耗材繁杂,目前常规流程还有较多可以改进优化的步骤。本研究以GM12878细胞为材料,通过优化常规Hi-C实验中的交联、酶切、限制性内切酶的失活、末端生物素标记、原位连接等关键步骤,建立了稳健的Hi-C流程,制备了相应的Hi-C文库。文库经初步的Sanger测序等质量控制以后,两个生物学重复文库进行了高通量测序。测序结果利用生物信息学处理发现：原始测序数据中可比对率和配对率分别达到90%和72%左右。此外,去除自连片段(self-circular ligation)和dangling-ends片段以后,可获得超过96%的有效相互作用对,其中染色体内相互作用数据达到60%。进一步的染色体相互作用热图分析可见清晰拓扑学相关结构域TADs(topologically associated domains),与已发表的文献报道一致。而两次生物学重复之间的相关性分析则表明bin coverage和all bin pairs的相关性都极强。上述结果表明通过对常规Hi-C流程关键步骤的优化,本研究建立了高效、稳健、可靠的Hi-C流程,对Hi-C技术的进一步使用与推广具有重要的参考价值。     

植物三维染色质构型研究进展

染色质在细胞核内的缠绕、折叠及其在细胞核内的空间排布是真核生物染色质构型的主要特征。在经典DNA探针荧光原位杂交显微观察的基础上,基于新一代测序技术的Hi-C及ChIA-PET染色质构型捕获技术已经被广泛应用于动物及植物细胞核染色质构型的研究中,并以新的角度定义了包括:染色体(质)域(chromosome territory)、A/B染色质区室(compartment A/B)、拓扑偶联结构域(topological associated domains,TADs)、染色质环(chromatin loops)等在内的多个更为精细的染色质构型。利用以上两种主流技术,越来越多的植物物种染色质构型特征被鉴定、分析和比较。本文系统分析和总结了近年来以植物细胞为模型的细胞核染色构型领域取得的重要成果,包括各级染色质构型特征的组成、建立机制和主要影响因素等。在此基础上,分析了目前研究植物染色质构型技术的瓶颈和突破性的技术进展,并对后续研究主要关注的问题和研究内容进行了展望,以期为相关领域的研究提供更多的理论参考和依据。     

HPV-CCDC106 integration alters local chromosome architecture and hijacks an enhancer by three-dimensional genome structure remodeling in cervical cancer

Integration of human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA into the human genome is a reputed key driver of cervical cancer. However, the effects of HPV integration on chromatin structural organization and gene expression are largely unknown. We studied a cohort of 61 samples and identified an integration hot spot in the CCDC106 gene on chromosome 19. We then selected fresh cancer tissue that contained the unique integration loci at CCDC106 with no HPV episomal DNA and performed whole-genome, RNA, chromatin immunoprecipitation and high-throughput chromosome conformation capture (Hi-C) sequencing to identify the mechanisms of HPV integration in cervical carcinogenesis. Molecular analyses indicated that chromosome 19 exhibited significant genomic variation and differential expression densities, with correlation found between three-dimensional (3D) structural change and gene expression. Importantly, HPV integration divided one topologically associated domain (TAD) into two smaller TADs and hijacked an enhancer from PEG3 to CCDC106, with a decrease in PEG3 expression and an increase in CCDC106 expression. This expression dysregulation was further confirmed using 10 samples from our cohort, which exhibited the same HPV-CCDC106 integration. In summary, we found that HPV-CCDC106 integration altered local chromosome architecture and hijacked an enhancer via 3D genome structure remodeling. Thus, this study provides insight into the 3D structural mechanism underlying HPV integration in cervical carcinogenesis.     

Quantitative differences in TAD border strength underly the TAD hierarchy in Drosophila chromosomes

Chromosomes in many organisms, including Drosophila and mammals, are folded into topologically associating domains (TADs). Increasing evidence suggests that TAD folding is hierarchical, wherein subdomains combine to form larger superdomains, instead of a sequence of nonoverlapping domains. Here, we studied the hierarchical structure of TADs in Drosophila. We show that the boundaries of TADs of different hierarchical levels are characterized by the presence of different portions of active chromatin, but do not vary in the binding of architectural proteins, such as CCCTC binding factor or cohesin. The apparent hierarchy of TADs in Drosophila chromosomes is not likely to have functional importance but rather reflects various options of long-range chromatin folding directed by the distribution of active and inactive chromatin segments and may represent population average.     

TADs: Dynamic structures to create stable regulatory functions

Mammalian chromosomes are organized at different length scales within the cell nucleus. Topologically Associating Domains (TADs) are structural units of 3D genome organization with functions in gene regulation, DNA replication, recombination and repair. Whereas TADs were initially interpreted as insulated domains, recent studies are revealing that these domains should be interpreted as dynamic collections of actively extruding loops. This process of loop extrusion is subsequently blocked at dedicated TAD boundaries, thereby promoting intra-domain interactions over their surroundings. In this review, we discuss how mammalian TAD structure can emerge from this dynamic process and we discuss recent evidence that TAD boundaries can have regulatory functions.