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Nucleosome mobilization catalysed by the yeast SWI/SNF complex

Nature volume 400, pages 784–787 (1999)Cite this article

Abstract

The generation of a local chromatin topology conducive to transcription is a key step in gene regulation1. The yeast SWI/SNF complex is the founding member of a family of ATP-dependent remodelling activities capable of altering chromatin structure both in vitro and in vivo2. Despite its importance, the pathway by which the SWI/SNF complex disrupts chromatin structure is unknown. Here we use a model system to demonstrate that the yeast SWI/SNF complex can reposition nucleosomes in an ATP-dependent reaction that favours attachment of the histone octamer to an acceptor site on the same molecule of DNA (in cis). We show that SWI/SNF-mediated displacement of the histone octamer is effectively blocked by a barrier introduced into the DNA, suggesting that this redistribution involves sliding or tracking of nucleosomes along DNA, and that it is achieved by a catalytic mechanism. We conclude that SWI/SNF catalyses the redistribution of nucleosomes along DNA in cis, which may represent a general mechanism by which ATP-dependent chromatin remodelling occurs.

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Figure 1: SWI/SNF displaces histones from DNA.
Figure 2: Octamer displaced by SWI/SNF is redistributed along the template.
Figure 3: SWI/SNF-mediated transfer of octamer is blocked by a barrier in cis.
Figure 4: Comparison of the stoichiometry required for SWI/SNF action in cis and in trans.

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Acknowledgements

We thank C. Peterson for pCL3; and D. Lilley, J. Allan and members of the Division of Gene Regulation, University of Dundee, for valuable discussion and support. This work was supported primarily by a Wellcome Trust Career Development Award to T.O.-H.; A.F. is an EMBO long-term fellow; I.W. is a BBSRC postgraduate student. A generous donation from the Rappaport Intermaritime Foundation was used to purchase imaging equipment.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Gene Regulation, The Wellcome Trust Building, Dundee, DD1 5EH, UK

    Iestyn Whitehouse, Andrew Flaus & Tom Owen-Hughes

  2. Department of Biochemistry, University of Dundee, Dundee, DD1 5EH, UK

    Malcolm F. White

  3. Huntsman Cancer Institute, 546 Chipeta Way, Salt Lake City, Utah, 84108, USA

    Bradley R. Cairns

  4. Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, 16802, USA

    Jerry L. Workman

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  1. Iestyn Whitehouse
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  6. Tom Owen-Hughes
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Correspondence to Tom Owen-Hughes.

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Whitehouse, I., Flaus, A., Cairns, B. et al. Nucleosome mobilization catalysed by the yeast SWI/SNF complex. Nature 400, 784–787 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1038/23506

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