Linker histone H1 regulates homeostasis of heterochromatin associated cRNAs [DRIP-seq]

Chromosomal RNAs (cRNAs) are a poorly understood fraction of cellular RNAs that co-purify with chromatin. Here we show that, in Drosophila, cRNAs constitute a heterogeneous group of RNA species that cover ~28% of the genome. Intriguingly, we found that cRNAs are highly enriched in heterochromatic transcripts. Our results show that heterochromatic cRNAs interact with the hnRNP A/B proteins hrp36 and hrp48 to assemble into RNP particles. We also show that depletion of linker histone dH1, a major component of chromatin, impairs assembly of hrp36 and hrp48 onto heterochromatic cRNAs. Concomitantly, impaired cRNAs assembly induces the accumulation of heterochromatic cRNAs and the formation of unscheduled RNA::DNA hybrids (R-loops). Linker histones H1 are known to regulate chromatin structure and compaction and, indeed, we show that dH1 depletion perturbs chromatin organization, reducing nucleosome occupancy and specifically increasing accessibility and 3D interactions within heterochromatin. These perturbations facilitate annealing of cRNAs to the DNA template, enhancing R-loops formation and cRNAs retention at heterochromatin. Altogether, these results unveil the unexpected contribution of linker histones to RNPs assembly and homeostasis of cRNAs. Overall design: DNA-RNA immuno precipitation-sequencing (DRIP-seq) for knockdown of hrp36 and hrp48 in S2 cells.