Distinct and overlapping roles of STAG1 and STAG2 in cohesin localization and gene expression in embryonic stem cells [RNA-seq]

Purpose: Cohesin is a ring-shaped complex that is critical to genome organization and is an important regulator of gene expression. How cohesin accessory proteins contribute to cohesin function remain unclear. The purpose of this study is to assess the roles of cohesin accessory proteins, STAG1 and STAG2, in cohesin localization and gene expression. Method: The role of STAG1 and STAG2 in gene regulation was assessed by performing RNA-seq in wildtype and CRISPR-Cas9 genome edited STAG knockout mouse embryonic stem cells (mESCs). The redundancy of the STAGs was addressed by using siRNA against STAG1 in a STAG2-knockout background. RNA-seq was performed in wild type mESCs, STAG-knockout CRISPR-Cas9 genome edited mESCs, and STAG-knockout mESCs with siRNA depletion of the other STAG, all in triplicate.