Non-backtracking walks reveal compartments in sparse chromatin interaction networks.

Chromatin communities stabilized by protein machinery play essential role in gene regulation and refine global polymeric folding of the chromatin fiber. However, treatment of these communities in the framework of the classical network theory (stochastic block model, SBM) does not take into account intrinsic linear connectivity of the chromatin loci. Here we propose the polymer block model, paving the way for community detection in polymer networks. On the basis of this new model we modify the non-backtracking flow operator and suggest the first protocol for annotation of compartmental domains in sparse single cell Hi-C matrices. In particular, we prove that our approach corresponds to the maximum entropy principle. The benchmark analyses demonstrates that the spectrum of the polymer non-backtracking operator resolves the true compartmental structure up to the theoretical detectability threshold, while all commonly used operators fail above it. We test various operators on real data and conclude that the sizes of the non-backtracking single cell domains are most close to the sizes of compartments from the population data. Moreover, the found domains clearly segregate in the gene density and correlate with the population compartmental mask, corroborating biological significance of our annotation of the chromatin compartmental domains in single cells Hi-C matrices.

[3D Genomics].

The development of new research methods significantly changed our views on the role that the 3D organization of the genome plays in its functional activity. It was found that the genome is subdivided into structural-functional units that restrict the area of enhancer action at the level of spatial organization. Spatial reconfiguration of an extended genomic fragment was identified as a potential mechanism that activates or represses various genes. Accordingly, a distorted spatial organization of the genome often causes various diseases, including cancer. All these observations contributed to the emergence of 3D genomics as a new avenue of research. The review summarizes the most important discoveries in the field of 3D genomics and discusses the directions of its further development.

Role of Nuclear Lamina in Gene Repression and Maintenance of Chromosome Architecture in the Nucleus.

Nuclear lamina is a protein meshwork composed of lamins and lamin-associated proteins that lines the nuclear envelope from the inside and forms repressive transcription compartment. The review presents current data on the contribution of nuclear lamina to the repression of genes located in this compartment and on the mechanisms of chromatin attachment to the nuclear envelope.

Genetic and Epigenetic Mechanisms of ß-Globin Gene Switching.

Vertebrates have multiple forms of hemoglobin that differ in the composition of their polypeptide chains. During ontogenesis, the composition of these subunits changes. Genes encoding different α- and ß-polypeptide chains are located in two multigene clusters on different chromosomes. Each cluster contains several genes that are expressed at different stages of ontogenesis. The phenomenon of stage-specific transcription of globin genes is referred to as globin gene switching. Mechanisms of expression switching, stage-specific activation, and repression of transcription of α- and ß-globin genes are of interest from both theoretical and practical points of view. Alteration of balanced expression of globin genes, which usually occurs due to damage to adult ß-globin genes, leads to development of severe diseases - hemoglobinopathies. In most cases, reactivation of the fetal hemoglobin gene in patients with ß-thalassemia and sickle cell disease can reduce negative consequences of irreversible alterations of expression of the ß-globin genes. This review focuses on the current state of research on genetic and epigenetic mechanisms underlying stage-specific switching of ß-globin genes.

Domains of α- and ß-globin genes in the context of the structural-functional organization of the eukaryotic genome.

The eukaryotic cell genome has a multilevel regulatory system of gene expression that includes stages of preliminary activation of genes or of extended genomic regions (switching them to potentially active states) and stages of final activation of promoters and maintaining their active status in cells of a certain lineage. Current views on the regulatory systems of transcription in eukaryotes have been formed based on results of systematic studies on a limited number of model systems, in particular, on the α- and ß-globin gene domains of vertebrates. Unexpectedly, these genomic domains harboring genes responsible for the synthesis of different subunits of the same protein were found to have a fundamentally different organization inside chromatin. In this review, we analyze specific features of the organization of the α- and ß-globin gene domains in vertebrates, as well as principles of activities of the regulatory systems in these domains. In the final part of the review, we attempt to answer the question how the evolution of α- and ß-globin genes has led to segregation of these genes into two distinct types of chromatin domains situated on different chromosomes.