2025/09/17 by Emily Biernat, Mansi Verma, Matthew Werick +3 · 1 voice
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · #CRISPR and Genetic Engineering #Genomics and Chromatin Dynamics #RNA Research and Splicing
paper · doi:10.1080/10985549.2025.2555901
openalex publication_date 2025/09/17 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/01
Chromatin remodelers are important for maintaining chromatin structure and regulating gene expression. In this study, we investigated the roles of histone acetyltransferases (HATs) Gcn5 and Esa1 in regulating RSC and histone occupancy on chromatin, as well as their impact on transcription across the genome. Our findings reveal distinct effects of HATs on RSC occupancy in promoters and ORFs. The lack of HATs leads to the accumulation of RSC, and it was greater in nucleosome-depleted regions (NDRs) containing fragile nucleosomes (FNs), relative to other NDRs. The increased RSC NDR-binding was greater in Esa1-deficient cells than in those lacking Gcn5. The increased RSC binding was not seen in cells lacking the H3 or H4 tails. The mutants also led to significant increases in histone occupancies around the NDRs genome-wide. Overall, the data suggest that hypoacetylated tails may recruit RSC to NDRs, especially to FN-containing NDRs, and that subsequent histone acetylation enhances histone eviction. The HAT mutants also exhibited reduced recruitment of TBP and Pol II. In contrast to the promoters, RSC occupancies were significantly reduced in transcribed ORFs in the HAT mutants. Thus, our data implicate HATs and RSC in maintaining NDRs, regulating chromatin structure, and promoting transcription.