Regulation by gene-distal enhancers is critical for cell type-specific and condition-specific patterns of gene expression. Thus, to understand the basis of gene activity in a given cell type or tissue, we must identify the precise locations of enhancers and functionally characterize their behaviors. Here, we demonstrate that transcription is a nearly universal feature of enhancers in and mammalian cells and that nascent RNA sequencing strategies are optimal for identification of both enhancers and superenhancers. We dissect the mechanisms governing enhancer transcription and discover remarkable similarities to transcription at protein-coding genes. We show that RNA polymerase II (RNAPII) undergoes regulated pausing and release at enhancers. However, as compared with mRNA genes, RNAPII at enhancers is less stable and more prone to early termination. Furthermore, we found that the level of histone H3 Lys4 (H3K4) methylation at enhancers corresponds to transcriptional activity such that highly active enhancers display H3K4 trimethylation rather than the H3K4 monomethylation considered a hallmark of enhancers. Finally, our work provides insights into the unique characteristics of superenhancers, which stimulate high-level gene expression through rapid pause release; interestingly, this property renders associated genes resistant to the loss of factors that stabilize paused RNAPII.

The Collaborative Cross (CC) is a multiparent panel of recombinant inbred (RI) mouse strains derived from eight founder laboratory strains. RI panels are popular because of their long-term genetic stability, which enhances reproducibility and integration of data collected across time and conditions. Characterization of their genomes can be a community effort, reducing the burden on individual users. Here we present the genomes of the CC strains using two complementary approaches as a resource to improve power and interpretation of genetic experiments. Our study also provides a cautionary tale regarding the limitations imposed by such basic biological processes as mutation and selection. A distinct advantage of inbred panels is that genotyping only needs to be performed on the panel, not on each individual mouse. The initial CC genome data were haplotype reconstructions based on dense genotyping of the most recent common ancestors (MRCAs) of each strain followed by imputation from the genome sequence of the corresponding founder inbred strain. The MRCA resource captured segregating regions in strains that were not fully inbred, but it had limited resolution in the transition regions between founder haplotypes, and there was uncertainty about founder assignment in regions of limited diversity. Here we report the whole genome sequence of 69 CC strains generated by paired-end short reads at 30× coverage of a single male per strain. Sequencing leads to a substantial improvement in the fine structure and completeness of the genomes of the CC. Both MRCAs and sequenced samples show a significant reduction in the genome-wide haplotype frequencies from two wild-derived strains, CAST/EiJ and PWK/PhJ. In addition, analysis of the evolution of the patterns of heterozygosity indicates that selection against three wild-derived founder strains played a significant role in shaping the genomes of the CC. The sequencing resource provides the first description of tens of thousands of new genetic variants introduced by mutation and drift in the CC genomes. We estimate that new SNP mutations are accumulating in each CC strain at a rate of 2.4 ± 0.4 per gigabase per generation. The fixation of new mutations by genetic drift has introduced thousands of new variants into the CC strains. The majority of these mutations are novel compared to currently sequenced laboratory stocks and wild mice, and some are predicted to alter gene function. Approximately one-third of the CC inbred strains have acquired large deletions (>10 kb) many of which overlap known coding genes and functional elements. The sequence of these mice is a critical resource to CC users, increases threefold the number of mouse inbred strain genomes available publicly, and provides insight into the effect of mutation and drift on common resources.

The inactive X chromosome’s (Xi) physical territory is microscopically devoid of transcriptional hallmarks and enriched in silencing-associated modifications. How these microscopic signatures relate to specific Xi sequence is unknown. Therefore, we profiled Xi gene expression and chromatin states at high resolution via allele-specific sequencing in mouse trophoblast stem cells. Most notably, X-inactivated transcription start sites harbored distinct epigenetic signatures relative to surrounding Xi DNA. These sites displayed H3-lysine27-trimethylation enrichment and DNaseI hypersensitivity, similar to autosomal Polycomb targets, yet excluded Pol II and other transcriptional hallmarks, similar to non-transcribed genes. CTCF bound X-inactivated and escaping genes, irrespective of measured chromatin boundaries. Escape from X-inactivation occurred within, and X-inactivation was maintained exterior to, the area encompassed by Xist in cells subject to imprinted and random X-inactivation. The data support a model whereby inactivation of specific regulatory elements, rather than a simple chromosome-wide separation from transcription machinery, governs gene silencing over the Xi.

SUMMARY The remarkable capacity for pluripotency and self-renewal in embryonic stem cells (ESCs) requires a finely-tuned transcriptional circuitry wherein the pathways and genes that initiate differentiation are suppressed, but poised to respond rapidly to developmental signals. To elucidate transcriptional control in mouse ESCs in the naïve, ground state, we defined the distribution of engaged RNA polymerase II (Pol II) at high-resolution. We find that promoter-proximal pausing of Pol II is most enriched at genes regulating cell cycle and signal transduction, and not, as expected, at developmental or bivalent genes. Accordingly, ablation of the primary pause-inducing factor NELF does not increase expression of lineage markers, but instead causes proliferation defects, embryonic lethality and dysregulation of ESC signaling pathways. Indeed, ESCs lacking NELF have dramatically attenuated FGF/ERK activity, rendering them resistant to differentiation. This work thus uncovers a key role for NELF-mediated pausing in establishing the responsiveness of stem cells to developmental cues.

New blood vessel formation requires the coordination of endothelial cell division and the morphogenetic movements of vessel expansion, but it is not known how this integration occurs. Here, we show that endothelial cells regulate division orientation during the earliest stages of blood vessel formation, in response to morphogenetic cues. In embryonic stem (ES) cell-derived vessels that do not experience flow, the plane of endothelial cytokinesis was oriented perpendicular to the vessel long axis. We also demonstrated regulated cleavage orientation in vivo, in flow-exposed forming retinal vessels. Daughter nuclei moved away from the cleavage plane after division, suggesting that regulation of endothelial division orientation effectively extends vessel length in these developing vascular beds. A gainof-function mutation in VEGF signaling increased randomization of endothelial division orientation, and this effect was rescued by a transgene, indicating that regulation of division orientation is a novel mechanism whereby VEGF signaling affects vessel morphogenesis. Thus, our findings show that endothelial cell division and morphogenesis are integrated in developing vessels by flow-independent mechanisms that involve VEGF signaling, and this cross talk is likely to be critical to proper vessel morphogenesis. IntroductionBlood vessels form and expand in both development and disease, via processes that include vasculogenesis, angiogenesis, and intussusception (reviewed in Risau, 1 Eichmann et al, 2 Coultas et al 3 ). Sprouting angiogenesis is the coordinated migration of groups of endothelial cells from vessels and their subsequent fusion to form new interconnections. In this way, simple vascular tubes are ramified and extended to form a primitive vascular plexus. This vessel plexus forms at numerous sites in the embryo, including the yolk sac, the head mesenchyme, and surrounding the neural tube. The primitive vascular plexus is then remodeled under the influence of blood flow and interactions with mural cells. Thus, the initial pattern of vessels serves as a template for remodeling that leads to a mature vasculature.During formation of the primitive vascular plexus, several cellular processes must be regulated and integrated. Specifically, endothelial cells respond to some morphogenetic cues by sprouting, while actively dividing to expand the pool of endothelial cells. One level of integration occurs via the signaling pathways that promote angiogenesis, because many affect both endothelial cell division and morphogenesis. The VEGF signaling pathway is an example of this mode of integration, because it regulates both cell division and branching morphogenesis (reviewed in Rousseau et al, 4 Kliche and Waltenberger, 5 Ferrara et al,6 Nagy and Senger, 7 and Shibuya and Claesson-Welsh 8 ). VEGF-A (VEGF) binds 2 highaffinity receptors on endothelial cells, flk-1 (VEGFR-2) and flt-1 (VEGFR-1), and perturbation of VEGF signaling by genetic deletion of either receptor affects both endothelial cell division and morphogenesis. ...