Rev-erbα dynamically modulates chromatin looping to control circadian gene transcription

Mammalian physiology exhibits 24-hour cyclicity due to circadian rhythms of gene expression controlled by transcription factors that constitute molecular clocks. Core clock transcription factors bind to the genome at enhancer sequences to regulate circadian gene expression, but not all binding sites are equally functional. We found that in mice, circadian gene expression in the liver is controlled by rhythmic chromatin interactions between enhancers and promoters. Rev-erb alpha, a core repressive transcription factor of the clock, opposes functional loop formation between Rev-erb alpha-regulated enhancers and circadian target gene promoters by recruitment of the NCoR-HDAC3 co-repressor complex, histone deacetylation, and eviction of the elongation factor BRD4 and the looping factor MED1. Thus, a repressive arm of the molecular clock operates by rhythmically modulating chromatin loops to control circadian gene transcription.