Using deep sequencing (deepCAGE), the FANTOM4 study measured the genome-wide dynamics of transcription-start-site usage in the human monocytic cell line THP-1 throughout a time course of growth arrest and differentiation. Modeling the expression dynamics in terms of predicted cis-regulatory sites, we identified the key transcription regulators, their time-dependent activities and target genes. Systematic siRNA knockdown of 52 transcription factors confirmed the roles of individual factors in the regulatory network. Our results indicate that cellular states are constrained by complex networks involving both positive and negative regulatory interactions among substantial numbers of transcription factors and that no single transcription factor is both necessary and sufficient to drive the differentiation process.

Here, we report the establishment of a single-cell DNA replication sequencing method, scRepli-seq, which is a simple genome-wide methodology that measures copy number differences between replicated and unreplicated DNA. Using scRepli-seq, we demonstrate that replication domain organization is conserved among individual mouse embryonic stem cells (mESCs). Differentiated mESCs exhibited distinct replication profiles, which were conserved from cell to cell. Haplotype-resolved scRepli-seq revealed similar replication timing profiles of homologous autosomes, while the inactive X chromosome was clearly replicated later than its active counterpart. However, a small degree of cell-to-cell replication

No abstract

The clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat (CRISPR)-associated enzyme Cas9 is an RNA-guided nuclease that has been widely adapted for genome editing in eukaryotic cells. However, the in vivo target specificity of Cas9 is poorly understood and most studies rely on in silico predictions to define the potential off-target editing spectrum. Using chromatin immunoprecipitation followed by sequencing (ChIP-seq), we delineate the genome-wide binding panorama of catalytically inactive Cas9 directed by two different single guide (sg) RNAs targeting the Trp53 locus. Cas9:sgRNA complexes are able to load onto multiple sites with short seed regions adjacent to 5′NGG3′ protospacer adjacent motifs (PAM). Yet among 43 ChIP-seq sites harboring seed regions analyzed for mutational status, we find editing only at the intended on-target locus and one off-target site. In vitro analysis of target site recognition revealed that interactions between the 5′ end of the guide and PAM-distal target sequences are necessary to efficiently engage Cas9 nucleolytic activity, providing an explanation for why off-target editing is significantly lower than expected from ChIP-seq data.

Nucleosome depletion in the promoters has been indicated in yeasts, suggesting that nucleosome depletion in promoter might be a fundamental feature of eukaryotic transcriptional regulation. We compared the relationship between histone H3 acetylation at lysine 9 (K9) in promoter, gene expression level, and nucleosome density in the vicinity of the transcription start site (TSS), in HepG2 cells (human hepatocellular liver carcinoma cells). We found that the density of nucleosome is relatively low in the close vicinity of TSS flanked by H3 K9 significantly acetylated promoter, compared with that for genes without marked H3 K9 acetylation in promoter, regardless of their transcriptional activation status. Our results imply that the relative nucleosome depletion in the vicinity of TSS is not necessarily associated with active transcription, but with histone H3 K9 acetylation in promoter.