High-resolution mapping of transcription factor binding sites on native chromatin

Nat Methods. 2014 Feb;11(2):203-9. doi: 10.1038/nmeth.2766. Epub 2013 Dec 15.

Abstract

Sequence-specific DNA-binding proteins including transcription factors (TFs) are key determinants of gene regulation and chromatin architecture. TF profiling is commonly carried out by formaldehyde cross-linking and sonication followed by chromatin immunoprecipitation (X-ChIP). We describe a method to profile TF binding at high resolution without cross-linking. We begin with micrococcal nuclease-digested non-cross-linked chromatin and then perform affinity purification of TFs and paired-end sequencing. The resulting occupied regions of genomes from affinity-purified naturally isolated chromatin (ORGANIC) profiles of Saccharomyces cerevisiae Abf1 and Reb1 provide high-resolution maps that are accurate, as defined by the presence of known TF consensus motifs in identified binding sites, that are not biased toward accessible chromatin and that do not require input normalization. We profiled Drosophila melanogaster GAGA factor and Pipsqueak to test ORGANIC performance on larger genomes. Our results suggest that ORGANIC profiling is a widely applicable high-resolution method for sensitive and specific profiling of direct protein-DNA interactions.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Binding Sites
  • Chromatin / genetics
  • Chromatin / metabolism*
  • Chromatin Immunoprecipitation / methods*
  • Computational Biology*
  • DNA Footprinting
  • DNA-Binding Proteins / genetics
  • DNA-Binding Proteins / metabolism
  • Drosophila Proteins / genetics
  • Drosophila Proteins / metabolism
  • Drosophila melanogaster / genetics
  • Drosophila melanogaster / metabolism*
  • Genome, Fungal*
  • Nuclear Proteins / genetics
  • Nuclear Proteins / metabolism
  • Protein Binding
  • Saccharomyces cerevisiae / genetics
  • Saccharomyces cerevisiae / metabolism*
  • Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins / genetics
  • Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins / metabolism
  • Transcription Factors / genetics
  • Transcription Factors / metabolism*

Substances

  • ABF1 protein, S cerevisiae
  • Chromatin
  • DNA-Binding Proteins
  • Drosophila Proteins
  • Nuclear Proteins
  • REB1 protein, S cerevisiae
  • Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins
  • Transcription Factors
  • Trl protein, Drosophila
  • psq protein, Drosophila

Associated data

  • GEO/GSE45672