Global chromatin conformation differences in the Drosophila dosage compensated chromosome X

Koustav Pal, Mattia Forcato, Daniel Jost, Thomas Sexton, Cédric Vaillant, Elisa Salviato, Emilia Maria Cristina Mazza, Enrico Lugli, Giacomo Cavalli, Francesco Ferrari
2019 Nature Communications  
In Drosophila melanogaster the single male chromosome X undergoes an average twofold transcriptional upregulation for balancing the transcriptional output between sexes. Previous literature hypothesised that a global change in chromosome structure may accompany this process. However, recent studies based on Hi-C failed to detect these differences. Here we show that global conformational differences are specifically present in the male chromosome X and detectable using Hi-C data on sex-sorted
more » ... ryos, as well as male and female cell lines, by leveraging custom data analysis solutions. We find the male chromosome X has more mid-/long-range interactions. We also identify differences at structural domain boundaries containing BEAF-32 in conjunction with CP190 or Chromator. Weakening of these domain boundaries in male chromosome X co-localizes with the binding of the dosage compensation complex and its co-factor CLAMP, reported to enhance chromatin accessibility. Together, our data strongly indicate that chromosome X dosage compensation affects global chromosome structure.
doi:10.1038/s41467-019-13350-8 pmid:31767860 pmcid:PMC6877619 fatcat:idtow2uugzczxc5rqgbgs5xsfu