The spatial position of budding yeast chromosomes affects gene expression

The three-dimensional (3D) organization of chromosomes can influence transcription. However, the frequency and magnitude of these effects is still controversial. To determine how changes in chromosome positioning affect transcription we characterized nuclear organization and global gene expression after large-scale chromosomal rearrangements in budding yeast. We used computational modelling and single cell imaging to determine chromosome position and integrated these data with genome-wide transcriptional profiles from RNA sequencing. Chromosome displacement relative to the nuclear periphery has mild but widespread and significant effects on transcription. Our study suggests that basal transcriptional activity is sensitive to radial changes on chromosomal position, and provides support for the functional relevance of budding yeast chromosome-level 3D organization in gene expression.染色体的三维（3D）构象可影响基因转录。然而，此类效应的发生频率与影响强度迄今仍存在争议。为探明染色体位置改变如何影响基因转录，本研究对酿酒酵母发生大规模染色体重排后的细胞核构象与全局基因表达水平进行了表征。我们采用计算建模与单细胞成像技术确定染色体位置，并将所得数据与通过RNA测序（RNA sequencing）获得的全基因组转录谱进行整合。染色体相对于核外周区域的移位，对基因转录仅产生温和却广泛且显著的影响。本研究表明，基础转录活性对染色体位置的径向改变较为敏感，同时为酿酒酵母染色体层面的三维构象在基因表达中的功能相关性提供了支撑。