SMC complexes differentially compact mitotic chromosomes according to genomic context

Structural maintenance of chromosomes (SMC) protein complexes are key determinants of chromosome conformation. Using Hi-C and polymer modelling, we study how cohesin and condensin, two deeply conserved SMC complexes, organize chromosomes in the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The canonical role of cohesin is to co-align sister chromatids, while condensin generally compacts mitotic chromosomes. We find strikingly different roles for the two complexes in budding yeast mitosis. First, cohesin is responsible for compacting mitotic chromosome arms, independently of sister chromatid cohesion. Polymer simulations demonstrate that this role can be fully accounted for through cis-looping of chromatin. Second, condensin is generally dispensable for compaction along chromosome arms. Instead, it plays a targeted role compacting the rDNA proximal regions and promoting resolution of peri-centromeric regions. Our results argue that the conserved mechanism of SMC complexes is to form chromatin loops and that distinct SMC-dependent looping activities are selectively deployed to appropriately compact chromosomes

CPF-Associated Phosphatase Activity Opposes Condensin-Mediated Chromosome Condensation

International audienceFunctional links connecting gene transcription and condensin-mediated chromosome condensation have been established in species ranging from prokaryotes to vertebrates. However, the exact nature of these links remains misunderstood. Here we show in fission yeast that the 3′ end RNA processing factor Swd2.2, a component of the Cleavage and Polyadenylation Factor (CPF), is a negative regulator of condensin-mediated chromosome condensation. Lack of Swd2.2 does not affect the assembly of the CPF but reduces its association with chromatin. This causes only limited, context-dependent effects on gene expression and transcription termination. However, CPF-associated Swd2.2 is required for the association of Protein Phosphatase 1 PP1Dis2 with chromatin, through an interaction with Ppn1, a protein that we identify as the fission yeast homologue of vertebrate PNUTS. We demonstrate that Swd2.2, Ppn1 and PP1Dis2 form an independent module within the CPF, which provides an essential function in the absence of the CPF-associated Ssu72 phosphatase. We show that Ppn1 and Ssu72, like Swd2.2, are also negative regulators of condensin-mediated chromosome condensation. We conclude that Swd2.2 opposes condensin-mediated chromosome condensation by facilitating the function of the two CPF-associated phosphatases PP1 and Ssu72

Condensin controls cellular RNA levels through the accurate segregation of chromosomes instead of directly regulating transcription

Condensins are genome organisers that shape chromosomes and promote their accurate transmission. Several studies have also implicated condensins in gene expression, although any mechanisms have remained enigmatic. Here, we report on the role of condensin in gene expression in fission and budding yeasts. In contrast to previous studies, we provide compelling evidence that condensin plays no direct role in the maintenance of the transcriptome, neither during interphase nor during mitosis. We further show that the changes in gene expression in post-mitotic fission yeast cells that result from condensin inactivation are largely a consequence of chromosome missegregation during anaphase, which notably depletes the RNA-exosome from daughter cells. Crucially, preventing karyotype abnormalities in daughter cells restores a normal transcriptome despite condensin inactivation. Thus, chromosome instability, rather than a direct role of condensin in the transcription process, changes gene expression. This knowledge challenges the concept of gene regulation by canonical condensin complexes

Interallelic complementation provides functional evidence for cohesin–cohesin interactions on DNA

The cohesin complex (Mcd1p, Smc1p, Smc3p, and Scc3p) has multiple roles in chromosome architecture, such as promoting sister chromatid cohesion, chromosome condensation, DNA repair, and transcriptional regulation. The prevailing embrace model for sister chromatid cohesion posits that a single cohesin complex entraps both sister chromatids. We report interallelic complementation between pairs of nonfunctional mcd1 alleles (mcd1-1 and mcd1-Q266) or smc3 alleles (smc3-42 and smc3-K113R). Cells bearing individual mcd1 or smc3 mutant alleles are inviable and defective for both sister chromatid cohesion and condensation. However, cells coexpressing two defective mcd1 or two defective smc3 alleles are viable and have cohesion and condensation. Because cohesin contains only a single copy of Smc3p or Mcd1p, these examples of interallelic complementation must result from interplay or communication between the two defective cohesin complexes, each harboring one of the mutant allele products. Neither mcd1-1p nor smc3-42p is bound to chromosomes when expressed individually at its restrictive temperature. However, their chromosome binding is restored when they are coexpressed with their chromosome-bound interallelic complementing partner. Our results support a mechanism by which multiple cohesin complexes interact on DNA to mediate cohesion and condensation