Journal
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Volume 109, Issue 21, Pages 8161-8166Publisher
NATL ACAD SCIENCES
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1201262109
Keywords
poised chromatin; cell differentiation; epigenetic dynamics; NoRC
Categories
Funding
- Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
- Bundesministerium fur Bildung und Forschung (EpiSys)
- European Research Council (ERC)
- National Natural Science Foundation of China [30871377, 31171255, 31071116]
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rRNA genes (rDNA) exist in two distinct epigenetic states, active promoters being unmethylated and marked by euchromatic histone modifications, whereas silent ones are methylated and exhibit heterochromatic features. Here we show that the nucleosome remodeling and deacetylation (NuRD) complex establishes a specific chromatin structure at rRNA genes that are poised for transcription activation. The promoter of poised rRNA genes is unmethylated, associated with components of the preinitiation complex, marked by bivalent histone modifications and covered by a nucleosome in the off position, which is refractory to transcription initiation. Repression of rDNA transcription in growth-arrested and differentiated cells correlates with elevated association of NuRD and increased levels of poised rRNA genes. Reactivation of transcription requires resetting the promoter-bound nucleosome into the on position by the DNA-dependent ATPase CSB (Cockayne syndrome protein B). The results uncover a unique mechanism by which ATP-dependent chromatin remodeling complexes with opposing activities establish a specific chromatin state and regulate transcription.
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