Hi-C analysis of the Sordaria macrospora wild type and developmental mutant delta-asf1 [HiC]

Chromatin organization of the wild type and delta-asf1 mutant of the filamentous ascomycete Sordaria macrospora was analyzed by Hi-C. The delta-asf1 mutant lacks the conserved histone chaperone ASF1 and is unable to produce sexual fruiting bodies. It was hypothesized that the lack of the histone chaperone ASF1 in the mutant might lead to differences in short- or long-distance interactions of chromatin. Furthermore, it was hypothesized that chromatin organization might change during sexual development in the wild type as a prerequisite for the drastic transcriptome changes during development that were observed in earlier studies. The analysis was carried out with mycelia from early developmental stages of the wild type and mutant (2 days for the wild type and 3 days for the slower-growing asf1 mutant to reach the same stage), and mycelia from later developmental stages of the wild type (5 days). Two biologically independent replicates were obtained for each strain and time point.