3D genomics across the tree of life reveals condensin II as a determinant of architecture type.

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

5-28-2021

Publication Title

Science

Keywords

JMG, Adenosine Triphosphatases, Algorithms, Animals, Biological Evolution, Cell Nucleolus, Cell Nucleus, Centromere, Chromosomes, Chromosomes, Human, DNA-Binding Proteins, Eukaryota, Genome, Genome, Human, Genomics, Heterochromatin, Humans, Interphase, Mitosis, Models, Biological, Multiprotein Complexes, Telomere

JAX Source

Science 2021 May 28; 372(6545):984-989

Volume

372

Issue

6545

First Page

984

Last Page

989

ISSN

1095-9203

PMID

34045355

DOI

https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abe2218

Abstract

We investigated genome folding across the eukaryotic tree of life. We find two types of three-dimensional (3D) genome architectures at the chromosome scale. Each type appears and disappears repeatedly during eukaryotic evolution. The type of genome architecture that an organism exhibits correlates with the absence of condensin II subunits. Moreover, condensin II depletion converts the architecture of the human genome to a state resembling that seen in organisms such as fungi or mosquitoes. In this state, centromeres cluster together at nucleoli, and heterochromatin domains merge. We propose a physical model in which lengthwise compaction of chromosomes by condensin II during mitosis determines chromosome-scale genome architecture, with effects that are retained during the subsequent interphase. This mechanism likely has been conserved since the last common ancestor of all eukaryotes.

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