Genome-wide profiling of transcription factor-DNA binding interactions in Candida albicans: a comprehensive CUT&RUN method and data analysis workflow

Regulatory transcription factors control many important biological processes including cellular differentiation, responses to environmental perturbations and stresses, and host-pathogen interactions. Determining the genome-wide binding of regulatory transcription factors to DNA is essential to understanding the function of transcription factors in these often complex biological processes. Cleavage Under Targets and Release Using Nuclease (CUT&RUN) is a modern method for genome-wide mapping of in vivo protein-DNA binding interactions that is an attractive alternative to the traditional and widely used chromatin immunoprecipitation followed by sequencing (ChIP-seq) method. CUT&RUN is amenable to a higher throughput experimental setup and has a substantially higher dynamic range with lower per-sample sequencing costs compared to ChIP-seq. Here, we describe a comprehensive CUT&RUN protocol and accompanying data analysis workflow that is tailored for genome-wide analysis of transcription factor-DNA binding interactions in the human fungal pathogen Candida albicans. This detailed protocol describes all necessary experimental procedures, from epitope tagging of transcription factor coding genes, to library preparation for sequencing; additionally, it includes our customized computational workflow for CUT&RUN data analysis. Overall design: Nuclei isolation using zymolyase. TF-DNA complex were isolated with antibody.