Localization of the Drosophila pioneer factor GAF to subnuclear foci is driven by DNA binding and required to silence satellite repeat expression

Transcription factor hubs exhibit gene-specific properties that tune expression

The spatial and temporal control of gene expression relies on transcription factors binding to and occupying their target sites. Transcription factor hubs-localized, high-concentration microenvironments-promote transcription by facilitating binding and recruitment of transcriptional machinery and co-factors. Hubs are often thought to have emergent nucleus-wide properties depending on transcription factor nuclear concentrations and intrinsic, protein sequence-dependent properties. This global model does not account for gene-specific hub regulation. Using high-resolution lattice light-sheet microscopy in Drosophila embryos, we examined hubs formed by the morphogen transcription factor, Dorsal, at reporter genes with distinct enhancer compositions. We found that snail recruits long-lived, high-intensity hubs; sog exhibits shorter-lived, lower-intensity hubs; and hunchback , lacking Dorsal binding sites, shows only transient hub interactions. Hub intensity and interaction duration correlate with burst amplitude, RNAPII loading rate, and transcriptional output. These findings challenge the global view of hub formation and support a model where hub properties are locally tuned in a gene-specific manner to regulate transcriptional kinetics.

Pioneer factors outline chromatin architecture

Pioneer factors are transcription factors capable of binding to nucleosomal DNA, initiating chromatin opening, and facilitating gene expression. By overcoming nucleosomes, pioneer factors enable cellular reprogramming, tissue-specific gene expression, and genome response to external stimuli. Here we discuss the recent literature on how pioneer factors modulate chromatin architecture at multiple levels, from local chromatin accessibility to large-scale genome organization, including chromatin compartments, topologically associating domains, and enhancer-promoter looping. Understanding the mechanisms by which pioneer factors modulate chromatin organization dynamics is key to understand their broader impact on gene expression regulation.

The maternal-to-zygotic transition: reprogramming of the cytoplasm and nucleus

A fertilized egg is initially transcriptionally silent and relies on maternally provided factors to initiate development. For embryonic development to proceed, the oocyte-inherited cytoplasm and the nuclear chromatin need to be reprogrammed to create a permissive environment for zygotic genome activation (ZGA). During this maternal-to-zygotic transition (MZT), which is conserved in metazoans, transient totipotency is induced and zygotic transcription is initiated to form the blueprint for future development. Recent technological advances have enhanced our understanding of MZT regulation, revealing common themes across species and leading to new fundamental insights about transcription, mRNA decay and translation.

Moving epigenetic inheritance into the space age: Evidence that 3D genome organization is required for the establishment of epigenetic memory

In this issue, Fitz-James et al.1 use genetic manipulations to show that transient interchromosomal contacts between distant regulatory elements, mediated by the transcription factor GAF, can initiate transgenerational epigenetic inheritance in D. melanogaster.

HIRA and dPCIF1 coordinately establish totipotent chromatin and control orderly ZGA in Drosophila embryos

Early embryos undergo profound changes in their genomic architecture to establish the totipotent state, enabling pioneer factors to access chromatin and drive zygotic genome activation (ZGA). However, the mechanisms by which the totipotent state is established and properly interpreted by pioneer factors to allow orderly ZGA remain unknown. Here, we identify the H3.3-specific chaperone HIRA as a factor involving establishing totipotent-state chromatin in Drosophila early embryos. Through cophase separation with HIRA, the pioneer factor GAGA factor (GAF) efficiently binds to H3.3-marked nucleosomes to activate major-wave zygotic genes. Importantly, dPCIF1, a chromatin-associated protein, antagonized the GAF-HIRA interaction by competitively binding to HIRA, thereby restricting GAF on earlier chromatin and avoiding premature ZGA. Hence, the coordinated action of HIRA and dPCIF1 ensures sequential ZGA from the minor to major wave in early embryos. This study provides insights into understanding how a totipotent state is established and properly controlled during ZGA.

Epigenetic inheritance and gene expression regulation in early Drosophila embryos

Precise spatiotemporal regulation of gene expression is of paramount importance for eukaryotic development. The maternal-to-zygotic transition (MZT) during early embryogenesis in Drosophila involves the gradual replacement of maternally contributed mRNAs and proteins by zygotic gene products. The zygotic genome is transcriptionally activated during the first 3 hours of development, in a process known as "zygotic genome activation" (ZGA), by the orchestrated activities of a few pioneer factors. Their decisive role during ZGA has been characterized in detail, whereas the contribution of chromatin factors to this process has been historically overlooked. In this review, we aim to summarize the current knowledge of how chromatin regulation impacts the first stages of Drosophila embryonic development. In particular, we will address the following questions: how chromatin factors affect ZGA and transcriptional silencing, and how genome architecture promotes the integration of these processes early during development. Remarkably, certain chromatin marks can be intergenerationally inherited, and their presence in the early embryo becomes critical for the regulation of gene expression at later stages. Finally, we speculate on the possible roles of these chromatin marks as carriers of epialleles during transgenerational epigenetic inheritance (TEI).

Exploring the versatility of zygotic genome regulators: A comparative and functional analysis

The activation of the zygotic genome constitutes an essential process during early embryogenesis that determines the overall progression of embryonic development. Zygotic genome activation (ZGA) is tightly regulated, involving a delicate interplay of activators and repressors, to precisely control the timing and spatial pattern of gene expression. While regulators of ZGA vary across species, they accomplish comparable outcomes. Recent studies have shed light on the unanticipated roles of ZGA components both during and after ZGA. Moreover, different ZGA regulators seem to have acquired unique functional modalities to manifest their regulatory potential. In this review, we explore these observations to assess whether these are simply anecdotal or contribute to a broader regulatory framework that employs a versatile means to arrive at the conserved outcome.

H3K14ac facilitates the reinstallation of constitutive heterochromatin in Drosophila early embryos by engaging Eggless/SetDB1

Constitutive heterochromatin, a fundamental feature of eukaryotic nucleus essential for transposon silencing and genome stability, is rebuilt on various types of repetitive DNA in the zygotic genome during early embryogenesis. However, the molecular program underlying this process remains poorly understood. Here, we show that histone H3 lysine 14 acetylation (H3K14ac) is engaged in the reinstallation of constitutive heterochromatin in Drosophila early embryos. H3K14ac partially colocalizes with H3 lysine 9 trimethylation (H3K9me3) and its methyltransferase Eggless/SetDB1 around the mid-blastula transition. Concealing H3K14ac by either antibody injection or maternal knockdown of Gcn5 diminishes Eggless/SetDB1 nuclear foci and reduces the deposition of H3K9me3. Structural analysis reveals that Eggless/SetDB1 recognizes H3K14ac via its tandem Tudor domains, and disrupting the binding interface causes defects in Eggless/SetDB1 distribution and derepression of a subset of transposons. Therefore, H3K14ac, a histone modification normally associated with active transcription, is a crucial component of the early embryonic machinery that introduces constitutive heterochromatic features to the newly formed zygotic genome.

Exploring the reciprocity between pioneer factors and development

Development is regulated by coordinated changes in gene expression. Control of these changes in expression is largely governed by the binding of transcription factors to specific regulatory elements. However, the packaging of DNA into chromatin prevents the binding of many transcription factors. Pioneer factors overcome this barrier owing to unique properties that enable them to bind closed chromatin, promote accessibility and, in so doing, mediate binding of additional factors that activate gene expression. Because of these properties, pioneer factors act at the top of gene-regulatory networks and drive developmental transitions. Despite the ability to bind target motifs in closed chromatin, pioneer factors have cell type-specific chromatin occupancy and activity. Thus, developmental context clearly shapes pioneer-factor function. Here, we discuss this reciprocal interplay between pioneer factors and development: how pioneer factors control changes in cell fate and how cellular environment influences pioneer-factor binding and activity.

Dynamic microenvironments shape nuclear organization and gene expression

Live imaging has revealed that the regulation of gene expression is largely driven by transient interactions. For example, many regulatory proteins bind chromatin for just seconds, and loop-like genomic contacts are rare and last only minutes. These discoveries have been difficult to reconcile with our canonical models that are predicated on stable and hierarchical interactions. Proteomic microenvironments that concentrate nuclear factors may explain how brief interactions can still mediate gene regulation by creating conditions where reactions occur more frequently. Here, we summarize new imaging technologies and recent discoveries implicating microenvironments as a potential driver of nuclear function. Finally, we propose that key properties of proteomic microenvironments, such as their size, enrichment, and lifetimes, are directly linked to regulatory function.

Pioneer factors: roles and their regulation in development

Pioneer factors are a subclass of transcription factors that can bind and initiate opening of silent chromatin regions. Pioneer factors subsequently regulate lineage-specific genes and enhancers and, thus, activate the zygotic genome after fertilization, guide cell fate transitions during development, and promote various forms of human cancers. As such, pioneer factors are useful in directed cell reprogramming. In this review, we define the structural and functional characteristics of pioneer factors, how they bind and initiate opening of closed chromatin regions, and the consequences for chromatin dynamics and gene expression during cell differentiation. We also discuss emerging mechanisms that modulate pioneer factors during development.