Background: Genomic organization and gene expression regulation in trypanosomes are remarkable because protein-coding genes are organized into codirectional gene clusters with unrelated functions. Moreover, there is no dedicated promoter for each gene, resulting in polycistronic gene transcription, with posttranscriptional control playing a major role. Nonetheless, these parasites harbor epigenetic modifications at critical regulatory genome features that dynamically change among parasite stages, which are not fully understood. Results: Here, we investigated the impact of chromatin changes in a scenario commanded by posttranscriptional control exploring the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi and its differentiation program using FAIRE-seq approach supported by transmission electron microscopy. We identified differences in T. cruzi genome compartments, putative transcriptional start regions, and virulence factors. In addition, we also detected a developmental chromatin regulation at tRNA loci (tDNA), which could be linked to the intense chromatin remodeling and/or the translation regulatory mechanism required for parasite differentiation. We further integrated the open chromatin profile with public transcriptomic and MNase-seq datasets. Strikingly, a positive correlation was observed between active chromatin and steady-state transcription levels. Conclusion: Taken together, our results indicate that chromatin changes reflect the unusual gene expression regulation of trypanosomes and the differences among parasite developmental stages, even in the context of a lack of canonical transcriptional control of protein-coding genes.
CITATION STYLE
Lima, A. R. J., Silva, H. G. de S., Poubel, S., Rosón, J. N., de Lima, L. P. O., Costa-Silva, H. M., … da Cunha, J. P. C. (2022). Open chromatin analysis in Trypanosoma cruzi life forms highlights critical differences in genomic compartments and developmental regulation at tDNA loci. Epigenetics and Chromatin, 15(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13072-022-00450-x
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