Emergence of chromatin hierarchical loops from protein disorder and nucleosome asymmetry

Protein flexibility and disorder is emerging as a crucial modulator of chromatin structure. Histone tail disorder enables transient binding of different molecules to the nucleosomes, thereby promoting heterogeneous and dynamic internucleosome interactions and making possible recruitment of a wide-range of regulatory and remodeling proteins. On the basis of extensive multiscale modeling we reveal the importance of linker histone H1 protein disorder for chromatin hierarchical looping. Our multiscale approach bridges microsecond-long bias-exchange metadynamics molecular dynamics simulations of atomistic 211-bp nucleosomes with coarse-grained Monte Carlo simulations of 100-nucleosome systems. We show that the long C-terminal domain (CTD) of H1-a ubiquitous nucleosome-binding protein-remains disordered when bound to the nucleosome. Notably, such CTD disorder leads to an asymmetric and dynamical nucleosome conformation that promotes chromatin structural flexibility and establishes long-range hierarchical loops. Furthermore, the degree of condensation and flexibility of H1 can be fine-tuned, explaining chromosomal differences of interphase versus metaphase states that correspond to partial and hyperphosphorylated H1, respectively. This important role of H1 protein disorder in large-scale chromatin organization has a wide range of biological implications.

Chromatin fiber polymorphism triggered by variations of DNA linker lengths

Deciphering the factors that control chromatin fiber structure is key to understanding fundamental chromosomal processes. Although details remain unknown, it is becoming clear that chromatin is polymorphic depending on internal and external factors. In particular, different lengths of the linker DNAs joining successive nucleosomes (measured in nucleosome-repeat lengths or NRLs) that characterize different cell types and cell cycle stages produce different structures. NRL is also nonuniform within single fibers, but how this diversity affects chromatin fiber structure is not clear. Here we perform Monte Carlo simulations of a coarse-grained oligonucleosome model to help interpret fiber structure subject to intrafiber NRL variations, as relevant to proliferating cells of interphase chromatin, fibers subject to remodeling factors, and regulatory DNA sequences. We find that intrafiber NRL variations have a profound impact on chromatin structure, with a wide range of different architectures emerging (highly bent narrow forms, canonical and irregular zigzag fibers, and polymorphic conformations), depending on the NRLs mixed. This stabilization of a wide range of fiber forms might allow NRL variations to regulate both fiber compaction and selective DNA exposure. The polymorphic forms spanning canonical to sharply bent structures, like hairpins and loops, arise from large NRL variations and are surprisingly more compact than uniform NRL structures. They are distinguished by tail-mediated far-nucleosome interactions, in addition to the near-nucleosome interactions of canonical 30-nm fibers. Polymorphism is consistent with chromatin's diverse biological functions and heterogeneous constituents. Intrafiber NRL variations, in particular, may contribute to fiber bending and looping and thus to distant communication in associated regulatory processes.