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Title: The composition and organization of Drosophila heterochromatin are heterogeneous and dynamic

Abstract

Heterochromatin is enriched for specific epigenetic factors including Heterochromatin Protein 1a (HP1a), and is essential for many organismal functions. To elucidate heterochromatin organization and regulation, we purified Drosophila melanogaster HP1a interactors, and performed a genome-wide RNAi screen to identify genes that impact HP1a levels or localization. The majority of the over four hundred putative HP1a interactors and regulators identified were previously unknown. We found that 13 of 16 tested candidates (83%) are required for gene silencing, providing a substantial increase in the number of identified components that impact heterochromatin properties. Surprisingly, image analysis revealed that although some HP1a interactors and regulators are broadly distributed within the heterochromatin domain, most localize to discrete subdomains that display dynamic localization patterns during the cell cycle. We conclude that heterochromatin composition and architecture is more spatially complex and dynamic than previously suggested, and propose that a network of subdomains regulates diverse heterochromatin functions.

Authors:
 [1];  [1];  [2];  [1];  [2]
  1. Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
  2. Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States)
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
National Institutes of Health (NIH); USDOE
OSTI Identifier:
1379562
Grant/Contract Number:  
AC02-05CH11231
Resource Type:
Accepted Manuscript
Journal Name:
eLife
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 5; Journal ID: ISSN 2050-084X
Publisher:
eLife Sciences Publications, Ltd.
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES

Citation Formats

Swenson, Joel M., Colmenares, Serafin U., Strom, Amy R., Costes, Sylvain V., and Karpen, Gary H. The composition and organization of Drosophila heterochromatin are heterogeneous and dynamic. United States: N. p., 2016. Web. doi:10.7554/eLife.16096.001.
Swenson, Joel M., Colmenares, Serafin U., Strom, Amy R., Costes, Sylvain V., & Karpen, Gary H. The composition and organization of Drosophila heterochromatin are heterogeneous and dynamic. United States. https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.16096.001
Swenson, Joel M., Colmenares, Serafin U., Strom, Amy R., Costes, Sylvain V., and Karpen, Gary H. Thu . "The composition and organization of Drosophila heterochromatin are heterogeneous and dynamic". United States. https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.16096.001. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1379562.
@article{osti_1379562,
title = {The composition and organization of Drosophila heterochromatin are heterogeneous and dynamic},
author = {Swenson, Joel M. and Colmenares, Serafin U. and Strom, Amy R. and Costes, Sylvain V. and Karpen, Gary H.},
abstractNote = {Heterochromatin is enriched for specific epigenetic factors including Heterochromatin Protein 1a (HP1a), and is essential for many organismal functions. To elucidate heterochromatin organization and regulation, we purified Drosophila melanogaster HP1a interactors, and performed a genome-wide RNAi screen to identify genes that impact HP1a levels or localization. The majority of the over four hundred putative HP1a interactors and regulators identified were previously unknown. We found that 13 of 16 tested candidates (83%) are required for gene silencing, providing a substantial increase in the number of identified components that impact heterochromatin properties. Surprisingly, image analysis revealed that although some HP1a interactors and regulators are broadly distributed within the heterochromatin domain, most localize to discrete subdomains that display dynamic localization patterns during the cell cycle. We conclude that heterochromatin composition and architecture is more spatially complex and dynamic than previously suggested, and propose that a network of subdomains regulates diverse heterochromatin functions.},
doi = {10.7554/eLife.16096.001},
journal = {eLife},
number = ,
volume = 5,
place = {United States},
year = {Thu Aug 11 00:00:00 EDT 2016},
month = {Thu Aug 11 00:00:00 EDT 2016}
}