tRNA Genes Affect Chromosome Structure and Function via Local Effects

The genome is packaged and organized in an ordered, nonrandom manner, and specific chromatin segments contact nuclear substructures to mediate this organization. tRNA genes (tDNAs) are binding sites for transcription factors and architectural proteins and are thought to play an important role in the...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Molecular and cellular biology 2019-04, Vol.39 (8)
Main Authors: Hamdani, Omar, Dhillon, Namrita, Hsieh, Tsung-Han S., Fujita, Takahiro, Ocampo, Josefina, Kirkland, Jacob G., Lawrimore, Josh, Kobayashi, Tetsuya J., Friedman, Brandon, Fulton, Derek, Wu, Kenneth Y., Chereji, Răzvan V., Oki, Masaya, Bloom, Kerry, Clark, David J., Rando, Oliver J., Kamakaka, Rohinton T.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Binding Sites
Cell Nucleus - genetics
Cell Nucleus - metabolism
chromatin
Chromatin - genetics
Chromatin - metabolism
Chromatin - ultrastructure
Chromatin Assembly and Disassembly
chromosome structure
Chromosomes - genetics
Chromosomes - metabolism
gene silencing
Heterochromatin - metabolism
Heterochromatin - ultrastructure
nucleosome
RNA, Transfer - genetics
Saccharomyces cerevisiae
Saccharomyces cerevisiae - metabolism
Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins - metabolism
SMC proteins
tDNA
Transcription Factors, TFIII - metabolism
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Summary:The genome is packaged and organized in an ordered, nonrandom manner, and specific chromatin segments contact nuclear substructures to mediate this organization. tRNA genes (tDNAs) are binding sites for transcription factors and architectural proteins and are thought to play an important role in the organization of the genome. In this study, we investigate the roles of tDNAs in genomic organization and chromosome function by editing a chromosome so that it lacked any tDNAs. Surprisingly our analyses of this tDNA-less chromosome show that loss of tDNAs does not grossly affect chromatin architecture or chromosome tethering and mobility. However, loss of tDNAs affects local nucleosome positioning and the binding of SMC proteins at these loci. The absence of tDNAs also leads to changes in centromere clustering and a reduction in the frequency of long-range HML-HMR heterochromatin clustering with concomitant effects on gene silencing. We propose that the tDNAs primarily affect local chromatin structure, which results in effects on long-range chromosome architecture.
ISSN:1098-5549
0270-7306
1098-5549
DOI:10.1128/MCB.00432-18