SUMMARY The human genome folds to create thousands of intervals, called “contact domains,” that exhibit enhanced contact frequency within themselves. “Loop domains” form because of tethering between two loci – almost always bound by CTCF and cohesin – lying on the same chromosome. “Compartment domains” form when genomic intervals with similar histone marks co-segregate. Here, we explore the effects of degrading cohesin. All loop domains are eliminated, but neither compartment domains nor histone marks are affected. Loss of loop domains does not lead to widespread ectopic gene activation, but does affect a significant minority of active genes. In particular, cohesin loss causes superenhancers to co-localize, forming hundreds of links within and across chromosomes, and affecting the regulation of nearby genes. We then restore cohesin and monitor the re-formation of each loop. Although reformation rates vary greatly, many megabase-sized loops recovered in under an hour, consistent with a model where loop extrusion is rapid.

SUMMARY Pseudouridine is the most abundant RNA modification, yet except for a few well-studied cases, little is known about the modified positions and their function(s). Here, we develop Ψ-seq for transcriptome-wide quantitative mapping of pseudouridine. We validate Ψ-seq with spike-ins and de novo identification of previously reported positions and discover hundreds of novel sites in human and yeast mRNAs and snoRNAs. Perturbing pseudouridine synthases (PUSs) uncovers which PUSs modify each site and their target sequence features. mRNA pseudouridinylation depends on both site-specific and snoRNA-guided PUSs. Upon heat shock in yeast, Pus7-mediated pseudouridylation is induced at >200 sites and Pus7 deletion decreases the levels of otherwise pseudouridylated mRNA, suggesting a role in enhancing transcript stability. rRNA pseudouridine stoichiometries are conserved, but reduced in cells from dyskeratosis congenita patients, where the PUS DKC1 is mutated. Our work identifies an enhanced, transcritome-wide scope for pseudouridine, and methods to dissect its underlying mechanisms and function.

Mammalian genomes are pervasively transcribed1,2 to produce thousands of long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs)3,4. A few of these lncRNAs have been shown to recruit regulatory complexes through RNA-protein interactions to influence the expression of nearby genes5–7, and it has been suggested that many other lncRNAs similarly act as local regulators8,9. Such local functions could explain the observation that lncRNA expression is often correlated with the expression of nearby genes2,10,11. However, such correlations have been challenging to dissect12 and could alternatively result from processes that are not mediated by the lncRNA transcripts themselves. For example, some gene promoters have been proposed to have dual functions as enhancers13–16, and the process of transcription per se has been proposed to contribute to gene regulation by recruiting activating factors or remodeling nucleosomes10,17,18. Here we used genetic manipulations to dissect 12 genomic loci that produce lncRNAs and found that 5 of these loci influence the expression of a neighboring gene in cis. Surprisingly, none of these effects required the specific lncRNA transcripts themselves and instead involved general processes associated with their production, including enhancer-like activity of gene promoters, the process of transcription, and the splicing of the transcript. Importantly, such effects were not limited to lncRNA loci: we found that 4 of 6 protein-coding loci similarly influenced the expression of a neighbor. These results demonstrate that ‘crosstalk’ among neighboring genes is a prevalent phenomenon that can involve multiple mechanisms and cis regulatory signals, including a novel role for RNA splice sites. These mechanisms may explain the function and evolution of some genomic loci that produce lncRNAs and broadly contribute to the regulation of both coding and noncoding genes.

Enhancer elements in the human genome control how genes are expressed in specific cell types and harbor thousands of genetic variants that influence risk for common diseases [1][2][3][4] . Yet, we still do not know how enhancers regulate specific genes, and we lack general rules to predict enhancer-Users may view, print, copy, and download text and data-mine the content in such documents, for the purposes of academic research, subject always to the full Conditions of use:

RNA is known to be an abundant and important structural component of the nuclear matrix, including long noncoding RNAs (lncRNA). Yet the molecular identities, functional roles, and localization dynamics of lncRNAs that influence nuclear architecture remain poorly understood. Here, we describe one lncRNA, Firre, that interacts with the nuclear matrix factor hnRNPU, through a 156 bp repeating sequence and Firre localizes across a ~5 Mb domain on the X-chromosome. We further observed Firre localization across at least five distinct trans-chromosomal loci, which reside in spatial proximity to the Firre genomic locus on the X-chromosome. Both genetic deletion of the Firre locus or knockdown of hnRNPU resulted in loss of co-localization of these trans-chromosomal interacting loci. Thus, our data suggest a model in which lncRNAs such as Firre can interface with and modulate nuclear architecture across chromosomes.

Age is the dominant risk factor for most chronic human diseases; yet the mechanisms by which aging confers this risk are largely unknown. 1 Recently, the age-related acquisition of somatic mutations in regenerating hematopoietic stem cell populations leading to clonal expansion was associated with both hematologic cancer 2 – 4 and coronary heart disease 5 , a phenomenon termed ‘Clonal Hematopoiesis of Indeterminate Potential’ (CHIP). 6 Simultaneous germline and somatic whole genome sequence analysis now provides the opportunity to identify root causes of CHIP. Here, we analyze high-coverage whole genome sequences from 97,691 participants of diverse ancestries in the NHLBI TOPMed program and identify 4,229 individuals with CHIP. We identify associations with blood cell, lipid, and inflammatory traits specific to different CHIP genes. Association of a genome-wide set of germline genetic variants identified three genetic loci associated with CHIP status, including one locus at TET2 that was African ancestry specific. In silico -informed in vitro evaluation of the TET2 germline locus identified a causal variant that disrupts a TET2 distal enhancer resulting in increased hematopoietic stem cell self-renewal. Overall, we observe that germline genetic variation shapes hematopoietic stem cell function leading to CHIP through mechanisms that are both specific to clonal hematopoiesis and shared mechanisms leading to somatic mutations across tissues.

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