3D genomics across the tree of life reveals condensin II as a determinant of architecture type.
Claire HoencampOlga DudchenkoAhmed M O ElbatshSumitabha BrahmachariJonne A RaaijmakersTom van SchaikÁngela Sedeño CacciatoreVinícius de Godoi ContessotoRoy G H P van HeesbeenBram van den BroekAditya N MhaskarHans TeunissenBrian Glenn St HilaireDavid WeiszArina D OmerMelanie PhamZane ColaricZhenzhen YangSuhas S P RaoNamita MitraChristopher G LuiWeijie YaoRuqayya KhanLeonid L MorozAndrea KohnJudy St LegerAlexandria MenaKaren HolcroftMaria Cristina GambettaFabian LimEmma Kirsten FarleyNils SteinAlexander HaddadDaniel ChaussAyse Sena MutluMeng C WangNeil David YoungEvin HildebrandtHans H ChengChristopher J KnightTheresa L U BurnhamKevin A HovelAndrew J BeelPierre-Jean MatteiRoger D KornbergWesley C WarrenVeronica F HinmanJosé Luis Gómez-SkarmetaVeronica F HinmanKerstin Lindblad-TohFederica Di PalmaKazuhiro MaeshimaAsha S MultaniSen PathakLiesl Nel-ThemaatRichard R BehringerParwinder KaurRené H MedemaBas van SteenselElzo de WitJosé Nelson OnuchicMichele Di PierroErez Lieberman AidenBenjamin D RowlandPublished in: Science (New York, N.Y.) (2021)
We investigated genome folding across the eukaryotic tree of life. We find two types of three-dimensional (3D) genome architectures at the chromosome scale. Each type appears and disappears repeatedly during eukaryotic evolution. The type of genome architecture that an organism exhibits correlates with the absence of condensin II subunits. Moreover, condensin II depletion converts the architecture of the human genome to a state resembling that seen in organisms such as fungi or mosquitoes. In this state, centromeres cluster together at nucleoli, and heterochromatin domains merge. We propose a physical model in which lengthwise compaction of chromosomes by condensin II during mitosis determines chromosome-scale genome architecture, with effects that are retained during the subsequent interphase. This mechanism likely has been conserved since the last common ancestor of all eukaryotes.