Dynamics of chromatin maturation after genome replication

Replication of the eukaryotic genome occurs in the context of chromatin, a nucleoprotein packaging state consisting of repeating nucleosomes. Chromatin is commonly thought to carry epigenetic information from one generation to the next, although it is unclear how such information survives the disruptions of nucleosomal architecture that occur during genomic replication. Here, we sought to directly measure a key aspect of chromatin structure dynamics during replication – how rapidly nucleosome positions are established on the newly-replicated daughter genomes. By isolating newly-synthesized DNA marked with the nucleotide analogue EdU, we characterize nucleosome positions on both daughter genomes of budding yeast during a time course of chromatin maturation. We find that nucleosomes rapidly adopt their mid log positions at highly-transcribed genes, and that this process was impaired upon treatment with the transcription inhibitor thiolutin, consistent with a role for transcription in positioning nucleosomes in vivo. Additionally, experiments in the Hir1Δ background reveal a role for HIR in nucleosome spacing. Using strand-specific EdU libraries, we characterize nucleosome positions on the leading and lagging strand daughter genomes, uncovering differences in chromatin maturation dynamics between the two daughter genomes at hundreds of genes. Our data define the maturation dynamics of newly-replicated chromatin, and support a role for transcription in sculpting the chromatin template. We have mapped changes in nucleosome positions on newly replicated DNA in a timecourse after genome replication. We have used Micrococcal Nuclease footprinting of cross linked chromatin to determine nucleosome positions and EdU (ethylene deoxy uridine) to mark nascent DNA strands. EdU incorporated into nascent DNA strands was biotinylated with Click chemistry and nascent DNA strand fragments were subsequently isolated using Streptavidin coated magnetic beads.