de Wit E, Braunschweig U, Greil F, Bussemaker HJ, van Steensel B. Global chromatin domain organization of the Drosophila genome.
PLoS Genet 2008;
4:e1000045. [PMID:
18369463 PMCID:
PMC2274884 DOI:
10.1371/journal.pgen.1000045]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 70] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/24/2007] [Accepted: 02/29/2008] [Indexed: 01/30/2023] Open
Abstract
In eukaryotes, neighboring genes can be packaged together in specific chromatin structures that ensure their coordinated expression. Examples of such multi-gene chromatin domains are well-documented, but a global view of the chromatin organization of eukaryotic genomes is lacking. To systematically identify multi-gene chromatin domains, we constructed a compendium of genome-scale binding maps for a broad panel of chromatin-associated proteins in Drosophila melanogaster. Next, we computationally analyzed this compendium for evidence of multi-gene chromatin domains using a novel statistical segmentation algorithm. We find that at least 50% of all fly genes are organized into chromatin domains, which often consist of dozens of genes. The domains are characterized by various known and novel combinations of chromatin proteins. The genes in many of the domains are coregulated during development and tend to have similar biological functions. Furthermore, during evolution fewer chromosomal rearrangements occur inside chromatin domains than outside domains. Our results indicate that a substantial portion of the Drosophila genome is packaged into functionally coherent, multi-gene chromatin domains. This has broad mechanistic implications for gene regulation and genome evolution.
Genes are packaged into chromatin by a variety of specialized proteins. Many different types of chromatin exist, and each may regulate gene expression in different ways. It was previously observed that neighboring genes are sometimes packaged together into a single type of chromatin, which can facilitate their coordinated regulation. However, it has been unclear whether such multi-gene chromatin domains are exceptional, or may occur more frequently. Here, we report a systematic analysis of genome-wide binding patterns of a large set of chromatin components in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster. Strikingly, we find that at least 50% of all genes in this organism are packaged together with several of their neighboring genes into a single type of chromatin. Each chromatin domain can include dozens of genes and can be made up of different combinations of chromatin proteins. We show that genes in each domain often have similar functions and are coordinately expressed during development. Moreover, we find that many of these multi-gene domains have been kept intact during evolution, indicating that they are important functional units. In summary, multi-gene chromatin domains are much more common than previously thought, and they are likely to play important roles in the orchestration of gene expression.
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