N. S. Gerasimova

Hybridization Capture Using RAD Probes (hyRAD), a New Tool for Performing Genomic Analyses on Collection Specimens.

In the recent years, many protocols aimed at reproducibly sequencing reduced-genome subsets in non-model organisms have been published. Among them, RAD-sequencing is one of the most widely used. It relies on digesting DNA with specific restriction enzymes and performing size selection on the resulting fragments. Despite its acknowledged utility, this method is of limited use with degraded DNA samples, such as those isolated from museum specimens, as these samples are less likely to harbor fragments long enough to comprise two restriction sites making possible ligation of the adapter sequences (in the case of double-digest RAD) or performing size selection of the resulting fragments (in the case of single-digest RAD). Here, we address these limitations by presenting a novel method called hybridization RAD (hyRAD). In this approach, biotinylated RAD fragments, covering a random fraction of the genome, are used as baits for capturing homologous fragments from genomic shotgun sequencing libraries. This simple and cost-effective approach allows sequencing of orthologous loci even from highly degraded DNA samples, opening new avenues of research in the field of museum genomics. Not relying on the restriction site presence, it improves among-sample loci coverage. In a trial study, hyRAD allowed us to obtain a large set of orthologous loci from fresh and museum samples from a non-model butterfly species, with a high proportion of single nucleotide polymorphisms present in all eight analyzed specimens, including 58-year-old museum samples. The utility of the method was further validated using 49 museum and fresh samples of a Palearctic grasshopper species for which the spatial genetic structure was previously assessed using mtDNA amplicons. The application of the method is eventually discussed in a wider context. As it does not rely on the restriction site presence, it is therefore not sensitive to among-sample loci polymorphisms in the restriction sites that usually causes loci dropout. This should enable the application of hyRAD to analyses at broader evolutionary scales.

Structure of transcribed chromatin is a sensor of DNA damage

Small DNA loops formed on transcribed nucleosomes trigger transcriptional arrest on damaged DNA and reveal hidden DNA breaks. Early detection and repair of damaged DNA is essential for cell functioning and survival. Although multiple cellular systems are involved in the repair of single-strand DNA breaks (SSBs), it remains unknown how SSBs present in the nontemplate strand (NT-SSBs) of DNA organized in chromatin are detected. The effect of NT-SSBs on transcription through chromatin by RNA polymerase II was studied. NT-SSBs localized in the promoter-proximal region of nucleosomal DNA and hidden in the nucleosome structure can induce a nearly quantitative arrest of RNA polymerase downstream of the break, whereas more promoter-distal SSBs moderately facilitate transcription. The location of the arrest sites on nucleosomal DNA suggests that formation of small intranucleosomal DNA loops causes the arrest. This mechanism likely involves relief of unconstrained DNA supercoiling accumulated during transcription through chromatin by NT-SSBs. These data suggest the existence of a novel chromatin-specific mechanism that allows the detection of NT-SSBs by the transcribing enzyme.

Stabilization of Nucleosomes by Histone Tails and by FACT Revealed by spFRET Microscopy

A correct chromatin structure is important for cell viability and is tightly regulated by numerous factors. Human protein complex FACT (facilitates chromatin transcription) is an essential factor involved in chromatin transcription and cancer development. Here FACT-dependent changes in the structure of single nucleosomes were studied with single-particle Förster resonance energy transfer (spFRET) microscopy using nucleosomes labeled with a donor-acceptor pair of fluorophores, which were attached to the adjacent gyres of DNA near the contact between H2A-H2B dimers. Human FACT and its version without the C-terminal domain (CTD) and the high mobility group (HMG) domain of the structure-specific recognition protein 1 (SSRP1) subunit did not change the structure of the nucleosomes, while FACT without the acidic C-terminal domains of the suppressor of Ty 16 (Spt16) and the SSRP1 subunits caused nucleosome aggregation. Proteolytic removal of histone tails significantly disturbed the nucleosome structure, inducing partial unwrapping of nucleosomal DNA. Human FACT reduced DNA unwrapping and stabilized the structure of tailless nucleosomes. CTD and/or HMG domains of SSRP1 are required for this FACT activity. In contrast, previously it has been shown that yeast FACT unfolds (reorganizes) nucleosomes using the CTD domain of SSRP1-like Pol I-binding protein 3 subunit (Pob3). Thus, yeast and human FACT complexes likely utilize the same domains for nucleosome reorganization and stabilization, respectively, and these processes are mechanistically similar.

Development of fluorescently labeled mononucleosomes for the investigation of transcription mechanisms by single complex microscopy

Fluorescence microscopy of single molecules and complexes is an increasingly popular method for research on nucleosomes and functionally important processes involving these biological objects. Precisely positioned mononucleosomes have been developed in the present work using a fluorescently labeled DNA template; such nucleosomes are novel tools for the investigation of structural rearrangements of chromatin during transcription by RNA polymerase (RNAP). Two fluorophores, the donor Cy3 and the acceptor Cy5, were introduced into the nontranscribed DNA strand. DNA coiling around the histone octamer resulted in the positioning of both fluorophores on adjacent DNA coils in the middle part of the nucleosome. The distance between the fluorophores was less than 60 Å, and, therefore, Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) could occur. Structural rearrangements in the nucleosomes were detected using the changes in FRET efficiency measured in fluorescence microscopic studies of individual complexes of nucleosomes with RNAP. Labeling had no effect on the ability of RNAP to transcribe DNA in nucleosomes. An open complex with RNAP and elongation complexes arrested in positions–39 and–5 relatively to the nucleosome border were obtained and characterized. More than 80% of the nucleosomes have been shown to retain their structure (that is, recover the initial positioning of DNA on the histone octamer) after the completion of transcription. The experimental system developed opens up new possibilities for research on nucleosome structure and its modulation by various protein chaperones and chromatin remodeling complexes.

Unfolding of core nucleosomes by PARP-1 revealed by spFRET microscopy

DNA accessibility to various protein complexes is essential for various processes in the cell and is affected by nucleosome structure and dynamics. Protein factor PARP-1 (poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase 1) increases the accessibility of DNA in chromatin to repair proteins and transcriptional machinery, but the mechanism and extent of this chromatin reorganization are unknown. Here we report on the effects of PARP-1 on single nucleosomes revealed by spFRET (single-particle Förster Resonance Energy Transfer) microscopy. PARP-1 binding to a double-strand break in the vicinity of a nucleosome results in a significant increase of the distance between the adjacent gyres of nucleosomal DNA. This partial uncoiling of the entire nucleosomal DNA occurs without apparent loss of histones and is reversed after poly(ADP)-ribosylation of PARP-1. Thus PARP-1-nucleosome interactions result in reversible, partial uncoiling of the entire nucleosomal DNA.

Structure and function of histone chaperone FACT

FACT is heterodimer protein complex and histone chaperone that plays an important role in maintaining and modifying the chromatin structure during various DNA-dependent processes. FACT is involved in nucleosome assembly de novo and in the preservation and recovery of the nucleosome structure during and after transcription, replication and DNA repair. During transcript elongation, FACT reduces the height of the nucleosome barrier and supports the maintenance of nucleosomes during and after the passage of RNA polymerase II. In this process, FACT interacts with histone H2A–H2B dimer within nucleosomes, thus, facilitating uncoiling of nucleosomal DNA from the octamer of histones. It also facilitates the subsequent recovery of the canonical nucleosome structure after transcription. FACT also plays an important role in the transformation of human cells and in maintaining the viability of tumor cells.

Role of the Nhp6 Protein in In Vitro Transcription through the Nucleosome

Nhp6 is a small yeast protein that binds DNA nonspecifically. It has been shown that Nhp6 is a component of several protein complexes (including the FACT complex) and is present on many yeast promoters and transcribed regions of genes in vivo. It also participates in the process of destabilizing the structure of nucleosomes in vitro. In our laboratory, we studied the FACT complex and showed its role in transcription by eukaryotic RNA polymerase 2 in vitro. However, the role of the Nhp6 protein in transcription has not been studied previously. In this paper, we describe the effect of the Nhp6 protein on transcription through the nucleosome by eukaryotic RNA polymerase 2 and show that the Nhp6 protein increases the transcription efficiency at several positions on nucleosomal DNA, primarily the transcription at positions +(11–17) in the nucleosome. We proposed a model of the Nhp6 action during transcription through chromatin. The model suggests the stabilization of transient DNA uncoiling from the octamer during this process.

Transcription-induced DNA supercoiling: New roles of intranucleosomal DNA loops in DNA repair and transcription.

ABSTRACT RNA polymerase II (Pol II) transcription through chromatin is accompanied by formation of small intranucleosomal DNA loops. Pol II captured within a small loop drives accumulation of DNA supercoiling, facilitating further transcription. DNA breaks relieve supercoiling and induce Pol II arrest, allowing detection of DNA damage hidden in chromatin structure.

Inhibiting the pro-tumor and transcription factor FACT: Mechanisms

Conventional antitumor therapy is often complicated by the emergence of the so-called cancer stem cells (CSCs), which are characterized by low metabolic rates and high resistance to almost all existing therapies. Many problems of clinical oncology and a poor efficacy of current treatments in particular are ascribed to CSCs. Therefore, it is important to develop new compounds capable of eliminating both rapidly proliferating tumor cells and standard treatment-resistant CSCs. Curaxins have been demonstrated to manifest various types of antitumor activity. Curaxins simultaneously affect at least three key molecular cascades involved in tumor development, including the p53, NF-κB, and HSF1 metabolic pathways. In addition, studies of some curaxins indicate that they can inhibit the transcriptional induction of the genes for matrix metalloproteinases 1 and 8 (MMP1 and MMP8); the PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling cascades; cIAP-1 (apoptosis protein 1) inhibitor activity; topoisomerase II; and a number of oncogenes, such as c-MYC and others. In vivo experiments have shown that the CSC population increases on gemcitabine monotherapy and is reduced on treatment with curaxin CBL0137. The data support the prospective use of FACT inhibitors as new anticancer drugs with multiple effects on cell metabolism.

Repair of chromatinized DNA

Endogenous and exogenous agents generate tens of thousands of lesions in the DNA of every cell daily. The maintenance of correct DNA structure by repair systems is crucial for genome functioning. Eukaryotic nuclear DNA is tightly packaged into chromatin, in which it should be successfully repaired. Historically, it is believed that histones are temporarily removed from the repaired DNA. However, numerous recent studies indicate that the chromatin structure affects the repair response, limiting its distribution, altering enzyme activity, and participating in the response choice and restoration of the repaired locus function.