RNA polymerase II promotes the organization of chromatin following DNA replication

EMBO Rep. 2024 Mar;25(3):1387-1414. doi: 10.1038/s44319-024-00085-x. Epub 2024 Feb 12.

Abstract

Understanding how chromatin organisation is duplicated on the two daughter strands is a central question in epigenetics. In mammals, following the passage of the replisome, nucleosomes lose their defined positioning and transcription contributes to their re-organisation. However, whether transcription plays a greater role in the organization of chromatin following DNA replication remains unclear. Here we analysed protein re-association with newly replicated DNA upon inhibition of transcription using iPOND coupled to quantitative mass spectrometry. We show that nucleosome assembly and the re-establishment of most histone modifications are uncoupled from transcription. However, RNAPII acts to promote the re-association of hundreds of proteins with newly replicated chromatin via pathways that are not observed in steady-state chromatin. These include ATP-dependent remodellers, transcription factors and histone methyltransferases. We also identify a set of DNA repair factors that may handle transcription-replication conflicts during normal transcription in human non-transformed cells. Our study reveals that transcription plays a greater role in the organization of chromatin post-replication than previously anticipated.

Keywords: ATP-dependent Chromatin Remodellers; DNA Repair; DNA Replication; Transcription; Transcription Factor.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Chromatin Assembly and Disassembly
  • Chromatin*
  • DNA Replication
  • Humans
  • Mammals / genetics
  • Mammals / metabolism
  • Nucleosomes
  • RNA Polymerase II* / metabolism
  • Transcription Factors / metabolism

Substances

  • Chromatin
  • RNA Polymerase II
  • Nucleosomes
  • Transcription Factors