Regulatory elements can be essential for maintaining broad chromatin organization and cell viability
Year: 2022
Type: article
Abstract: Increasing evidence shows that promoters and enhancers could be related to 3D chromatin structure, thus affecting cellular functions. Except for their roles in forming canonical chromatin loops, promoters and enhancers have not been well studied regarding the maintenance of broad chromatin organization. Here, we focused on the active promoters/enhancers predicted to form many 3D contacts with other active promoters/enhancers (referred to as hotspots) and identified dozens of loci essential for cell growth and survival through CRISPR screening. We found that the deletion of an essential hotspot could lead to changes in broad chromatin organization and the expression of distal genes. We showed that the essentiality of hotspots does not result from their association with individual genes that are essential for cell viability but rather from their association with multiple dysregulated non-essential genes to synergistically impact cell fitness.
Source: Nucleic Acids Research
DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkac197
Authors: Ying Liu, Bo Ding, Lina Zheng, Ping Xu, Zhiheng Liu, Zhao Chen, Peiyao Wu, Ying Zhao, Qian Pan, Yu Guo, Wei Wang, Wensheng Wei
Language: English
Subfield: Molecular Biology
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $3,876
Funders: California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, National Natural Science Foundation of China, China Postdoctoral Science Foundation, Peking University, Beijing Municipal Science and Technology Commission, National Institutes of Health, University of California, San Diego, National Human Genome Research Institute
OpenAlex ID: W4226142808