We thank the Venters Lab and members of the Molecular Physiology and Biophysics Department for helpful discussions. Special thanks to Frank Pugh for his guidance, mentoring, and many insightful discussions on the nuances of ChIP-exo while I was a post-doctoral fellow in his laboratory.

<ol>
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F. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Genome-wide+structure+and+organization+of+eukaryotic+pre-initiation+complexes.">Genome-wide structure and organization of eukaryotic pre-initiation complexes.</a> Nature. 483, 295-301 (2012).</li><li>Rhee, H. S., Bataille, A. R., Zhang, L., Pugh, B. F. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Subnucleosomal+structures+and+nucleosome+asymmetry+across+a+genome.">Subnucleosomal structures and nucleosome asymmetry across a genome.</a> Cell. , 1377-1388 (2014).</li><li>Pugh, B. F., Venters, B. 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The authors have nothing to disclose.

We present a functional genomic protocol to determine the precise binding location for chromatin interacting proteins in an unbiased, genome-wide manner at near base pair resolution. The most critical step to achieve near base pair mapping resolution is the exonuclease treatment of the ChIP-enriched DNA while the immunoprecipitate remains on the magnetic resin. Ostensibly, protein complexes could potentially block in vivo footprinting of any given subunit (e.g., chromatin remodeling complexes or the nuc...

Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) is a powerful method to study mechanisms of gene regulation by selectively enriching for DNA fragments that interact with a given protein in living cells. Detection methods of ChIP-enriched DNA fragments have evolved as technology improves, from detection of a single locus (standard ChIP-qPCR) to hybridization on oligonucleotide microarrays (ChIP-chip) to high-throughput sequencing (ChIP-seq) 1. Although ChIP-seq has seen widespread application, chromatin heterogeneity and nonspecific DNA interactions have hampered data quality leading to false positives and imprecise mapping. To circumvent these limitations, Dr. Frank Pugh developed the ChIP-exo method 2. The salient feature of ChIP-exo is that it incorporates a 5&#39; to 3&#39; exonuclease, effectively footprinting transcription factor binding locations. As a result, the ChIP-exo methodology achieves higher resolution, greater dynamic range of detection, and lower background noise.
Although ChIP-exo is more technically challenging to master than ChIP-seq, it is being widely adopted as studies aim to gain unique ultra high-resolution insights using diverse biological systems 3-8. Indeed, ChIP-exo has been successfully applied to bacteria, yeast, mouse, rat, and human cell systems. As proof of principle, ChIP-exo was originally used to identify the precise binding motif for a handful of yeast transcription factors 2. The technique was also used in yeast to study the organization of the transcription pre-initiation complex, and to decipher subnucleosomal structure of various histones 9,10. More recently, we leveraged ChIP-exo to resolve adjacent TFIIB and Pol II binding events at human promoters, and showed that widespread divergent transcription arises from distinct initiation complexes 11.
The workflow presented here is optimized and streamlined for mammalian ChIP-exo (Figure 1). First, living primary or tissue culture cells are treated with formaldehyde to preserve in vivo protein-DNA interactions through a covalent crosslink. The cells are lysed and chromatin sheared to ~ 100 - 500 base pair size fragments. ChIP then selectively enriches for DNA fragments crosslinked to the protein of interest. At this point, ChIP-seq libraries are typically prepared, which inherently limits the detection resolution to the average fragment size of a few hundred base pairs. However, ChIP-exo overcomes this limitation by trimming the left and right 5&#39; DNA borders of the protein-DNA crosslink site with lambda exonuclease. Sequencing libraries are then constructed from exonuclease digested DNA as detailed below. The resulting nested 5&#39; borders represent an in vivo footprint of the protein-DNA interaction (Figure 1, step 14), and are detected by high throughput sequencing. Although the ChIP-exo methodology is more involved than ChIP-seq, transitions between most steps requires simple bead washing, which minimizes sample loss and experimental variability. Importantly, since ChIP-exo is a refined version of ChIP-seq, any sample that is successful with ChIP-seq should also be successful with ChIP-exo.
The in vivo footprinting of protein-DNA interactions with ChIP-exo results in a fundamentally distinct data structure from ChIP-seq. Although common ChIP-seq callers may be applied to ChIP-exo data, to obtain the most precise peak calls we recommend bioinformatics tools specifically designed with the unique structure of ChIP-exo data in mind. These include Genetrack, GEM, MACE, Peakzilla, and ExoProfiler 12-15.

<table><tbody><tr><td>37% formaldehyde, methanol free, 10 x 10 ml ampules</td><td>ThermoFisher Scientific</td><td>28908</td><td>Section 3</td></tr><tr><td>Complete Protease Inhibitor cocktail (CPI)</td><td>Roche Life Science</td><td>11873580001</td><td>Sections 4, 8</td></tr><tr><td>Bioruptor sonicator</td><td>Diagenode</td><td>UCD200</td><td>Section 5</td></tr><tr><td>15 ml polystyrene tubes</td><td>BD Falcon</td><td>352095</td><td>Section 5</td></tr><tr><td>MagSepharose Protein G Xtra beads</td><td>GE Healthcare</td><td>28-9670-66</td><td>Section 6</td></tr><tr><td>DynaMag-1.5 ml Side Magnetic Rack</td><td>Invitrogen</td><td>12321D</td><td>Sections 6-17, 22</td></tr><tr><td>Mini-Tube Rotator</td><td>Fisher Scientific</td><td>05-450-127</td><td>Sections 7, 22</td></tr><tr><td>T4 DNA Polymerase</td><td>New England BioLabs</td><td>M0203</td><td>Section 9</td></tr><tr><td>DNA Polymerase I, Klenow</td><td>New England BioLabs</td><td>M0210</td><td>Section 9</td></tr><tr><td>10x NEBuffer 2 (10x Reaction Buffer 2)</td><td>New England BioLabs</td><td>B7002</td><td>Sections 9-11, 13, 15, 20</td></tr><tr><td>Thermomixer C</td><td>Eppendorf</td><td>5382</td><td>Sections 9-16</td></tr><tr><td>ATP</td><td>Roche Life Science</td><td>010419979001</td><td>Sections 9, 11, 13</td></tr><tr><td>dNTPs</td><td>New England BioLabs</td><td>N0447</td><td>Sections 9, 12, 19, 23</td></tr><tr><td>T4 Polynucleotide Kinase</td><td>New England BioLabs</td><td>M0201</td><td>Sections 9, 13</td></tr><tr><td>dATP</td><td>New England BioLabs</td><td>N0440</td><td>Sections 10, 20</td></tr><tr><td>Klenow 3&#039;-5&#039; Exo Minus</td><td>New England BioLabs</td><td>M0212</td><td>Sections 10, 20</td></tr><tr><td>T4 DNA ligase&amp;nbsp;</td><td>New England BioLabs</td><td>M0202</td><td>Sections 11, 21</td></tr><tr><td>&amp;Phi;-29 DNA Polymerase</td><td>New England BioLabs</td><td>M0269</td><td>Sections 12, 19</td></tr><tr><td>10x &amp;Phi;-29 Buffer</td><td>New England BioLabs</td><td>B0269</td><td>Sections 12, 19</td></tr><tr><td>Lambda Exonuclease</td><td>New England BioLabs</td><td>M0262</td><td>Section 14</td></tr><tr><td>10x Lambda Buffer</td><td>New England BioLabs</td><td>B0262</td><td>Section 14</td></tr><tr><td>RecJ&lt;sub&gt;f&lt;/sub&gt; Exonuclease</td><td>New England BioLabs</td><td>M0264</td><td>Section 15</td></tr><tr><td>Proteinase K</td><td>Roche Life Science</td><td>03115828001</td><td>Section 16</td></tr><tr><td>Glycogen</td><td>Roche Life Science</td><td>010901393001</td><td>Section 18</td></tr><tr><td>10x T4 Ligase Buffer</td><td>New England BioLabs</td><td>B0202</td><td>Section 21</td></tr><tr><td>AMPure XP (clean up) beads&amp;nbsp;</td><td>Beckman Coulter</td><td>A63881</td><td>Section 22</td></tr><tr><td>Q5 Hot Start DNA Polymerase&amp;nbsp;</td><td>New England BioLabs</td><td>M0493</td><td>Section 23</td></tr><tr><td>5x Q5 Buffer (5x PCR Buffer)</td><td>New England BioLabs</td><td>B9027</td><td>Section 23</td></tr><tr><td>QIAquick Gel Extraction Kit</td><td>Qiagen</td><td>28704</td><td>Section 25</td></tr><tr><td>Qubit Fluorometer</td><td>Invitrogen</td><td>Q33216</td><td>Section 26</td></tr><tr><td>Optical Clear Qubit tubes&amp;nbsp;</td><td>Invitrogen</td><td>Q32856</td><td>Section 26</td></tr><tr><td>Qubit dsDNA High Sensitivity Assay kit</td><td>Invitrogen</td><td>Q32851</td><td>Section 26</td></tr></tbody></table>

the chip-exo method: identifying protein-dna interactions with near base pair precision

Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) is an indispensable tool in the fields of epigenetics and gene regulation that isolates specific protein-DNA interactions. ChIP coupled to high throughput sequencing (ChIP-seq) is commonly used to determine the genomic location of proteins that interact with chromatin. However, ChIP-seq is hampered by relatively low mapping resolution of several hundred base pairs and high background signal. The ChIP-exo method is a refined version of ChIP-seq that substantially improves upon both resolution and noise. The key distinction of the ChIP-exo methodology is the incorporation of lambda exonuclease digestion in the library preparation workflow to effectively footprint the left and right 5&#39; DNA borders of the protein-DNA crosslink site. The ChIP-exo libraries are then subjected to high throughput sequencing. The resulting data can be leveraged to provide unique and ultra-high resolution insights into the functional organization of the genome. Here, we describe the ChIP-exo method that we have optimized and streamlined for mammalian systems and next-generation sequencing-by-synthesis platform.

The following figures illustrate representative results from the ChIP-exo protocol presented here. In contrast to traditional ChIP-seq methodologies with few enzymatic steps, ChIP-exo requires eleven sequentially dependent enzymatic reactions (Figure 1). Thus, care must be taken at each step to ensure that each reaction component is added to its respective reaction master mix. We recommend generating a formulaic spreadsheet based on the reaction Tables to automatically pe...

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The ChIP-exo Method: Identifying Protein-DNA Interactions with Near Base Pair Precision | Biology | Video

The ChIP-exo Method: Identifying Protein-DNA Interactions with Near Base Pair Precision

Here, we present a protocol to achieve near base pair resolution of protein-DNA interactions. This is obtained by exonuclease treatment of DNA fragments selectively enriched by chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP-exo) followed by high throughput sequencing.

Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) is an indispensable tool in the fields of epigenetics and gene regulation that isolates specific protein-DNA ...

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16.6K Views.  Vanderbilt University. Here, we present a protocol to achieve near base pair resolution of protein-DNA interactions. This is obtained by exonuclease treatment of DNA fragments selectively enriched by chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP-exo) followed by high throughput sequencing.

Video: The ChIP-exo Method: Identifying Protein-DNA Interactions with Near Base Pair Precision

Genome-wide Mapping of Protein-DNA Interactions with ChEC-seq in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Genome-wide mapping of protein-DNA interactions is critical for understanding gene regulation, chromatin remodeling, and other chromatin-resident processes. Formaldehyde crosslinking followed by chromatin immunoprecipitation and high-throughput sequencing (X-ChIP-seq) has been used to gain many valuable insights into genome biology. However, X-ChIP-seq has notable limitations linked to crosslinking and sonication. Native ChIP avoids these drawbacks by omitting crosslinking, but often results in poor recovery of chromatin-bound proteins. In addition, all ChIP-based methods are subject to antibody quality considerations. Enzymatic methods for mapping protein-DNA interactions, which involve fusion of a protein of interest to a DNA-modifying enzyme, have also been used to map protein-DNA interactions. We recently combined one such method, chromatin endogenous cleavage (ChEC), with high-throughput sequencing as ChEC-seq. ChEC-seq relies on fusion of a chromatin-associated protein of interest to micrococcal nuclease (MNase) to generate targeted DNA cleavage in the presence of calcium in living cells. ChEC-seq is not based on immunoprecipitation and so circumvents potential concerns with crosslinking, sonication, chromatin solubilization, and antibody quality while providing high resolution mapping with minimal background signal. We envision that ChEC-seq will be a powerful counterpart to ChIP, providing an independent means by which to both validate ChIP-seq findings and discover new insights into genomic regulation.

Genome-wide Mapping of Protein-DNA Interactions with ChEC-seq in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

We describe chromatin endogenous cleavage coupled with high-throughput sequencing (ChEC-seq), a chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP)-orthogonal method for mapping protein binding sites genome-wide with micrococcal nuclease (MNase) fusion proteins.

Genome-wide mapping of protein-DNA interactions is critical for understanding gene regulation, chromatin remodeling, and other chromatin-resident ...

Adaptation of Hybridization Capture of Chromatin-associated Proteins for Proteomics to Mammalian Cells

The hybridization capture of chromatin-associated proteins for proteomics (HyCCAPP) technology was initially developed to uncover novel DNA-protein interactions in yeast. It allows analysis of a target region of interest without the need for prior knowledge about likely proteins bound to the target region. This, in theory, allows HyCCAPP to be used to analyze any genomic region of interest, and it provides sufficient flexibility to work in different cell systems. This method is not meant to study binding sites of known transcription factors, a task better suited for Chromatin Immunoprecipitation (ChIP) and ChIP-like methods. The strength of HyCCAPP lies in its ability to explore DNA regions for which there is limited or no knowledge about the proteins bound to it. It can also be a convenient method to avoid biases (present in ChIP-like methods) introduced by protein-based chromatin enrichment using antibodies. Potentially, HyCCAPP can be a powerful tool to uncover truly novel DNA-protein interactions. To date, the technology has been predominantly applied to yeast cells or to high copy repeat sequences in mammalian cells. In order to become the powerful tool we envision, HyCCAPP approaches need to be optimized to efficiently capture single-copy loci in mammalian cells. Here, we present our adaptation of the initial yeast HyCCAPP capture protocol to human cell lines, and show that single-copy chromatin regions can be efficiently isolated with this modified protocol.

This is a method to identify novel DNA-interacting proteins at specific target loci, relying on sequence-specific capture of crosslinked chromatin for subsequent proteomic analyses. No prior knowledge about potential binding proteins, nor cell modifications are required. Initially developed for yeast, the technology has now been adapted for mammalian cells.

The hybridization capture of chromatin-associated proteins for proteomics (HyCCAPP) technology was initially developed to uncover novel DNA-protein ...

High-Resolution Mapping of Protein-DNA Interactions in Mouse Stem Cell-Derived Neurons using Chromatin Immunoprecipitation-Exonuclease (ChIP-Exo)

Identification of specific protein-DNA interactions on the genome is important for understanding gene regulation. Chromatin immunoprecipitation coupled with high-throughput sequencing (ChIP-seq) is widely used to identify genome-wide binding locations of DNA-binding proteins. However, the ChIP-seq method is limited by its heterogeneity in length of sonicated DNA fragments and non-specific background DNA, resulting in low mapping resolution and uncertainty in DNA-binding sites. To overcome these limitations, the combination of ChIP with exonuclease digestion (ChIP-exo) utilizes 5&#8217; to 3&#8217; exonuclease digestion to trim the heterogeneously sized immunoprecipitated DNA to the protein-DNA crosslinking site. Exonuclease treatment also eliminates non-specific background DNA. The library-prepared and exonuclease-digested DNA can be sent for high-throughput sequencing. The ChIP-exo method allows for near base-pair mapping resolution with greater detection sensitivity and reduced background signal. An optimized ChIP-exo protocol for mammalian cells and next-generation sequencing is described below.

High-Resolution Mapping of Protein-DNA Interactions in Mouse Stem Cell-Derived Neurons using Chromatin Immunoprecipitation-Exonuclease ChIP-Exo

Precise determination of protein-binding locations across the genome is important for understanding gene regulation. Here we describe a&#160;genomic mapping method that treats chromatin-immunoprecipitated DNA with exonuclease digestion (ChIP-exo) followed by high-throughput sequencing. This method detects protein-DNA interactions with near base-pair mapping resolution and high signal-to-noise ratio in mammalian neurons.

Identification of specific protein-DNA interactions on the genome is important for understanding gene regulation. Chromatin immunoprecipitation coupled ...

CD Spectroscopy to Study DNA-Protein Interactions

Circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy is a simple and convenient method to investigate the secondary structure and interactions of biomolecules. Recent advancements in CD spectroscopy have enabled the study of DNA-protein interactions and conformational dynamics of DNA in different microenvironments in detail for a better understanding of transcriptional regulation in vivo. The area around a potential transcription zone needs to be unwound for transcription to occur. This is a complex process requiring the coordination of histone modifications, binding of the transcription factor to DNA, and other chromatin remodeling activities. Using CD spectroscopy, it is possible to study conformational changes in the promoter region caused by regulatory proteins, such as ATP-dependent chromatin remodelers, to promote transcription. The conformational changes occurring in the protein can also be monitored. In addition, queries regarding the affinity of the protein towards its target DNA and sequence specificity can be addressed by incorporating mutations in the target DNA. In short, the unique understanding of this sensitive and inexpensive method can predict changes in chromatin dynamics, thereby improving the understanding of transcriptional regulation.

The interaction of an ATP-dependent chromatin remodeler with a DNA ligand is described using CD spectroscopy. The induced conformational changes on a gene promoter analyzed by the peaks generated can be used to understand the mechanism of transcriptional regulation.

Circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy is a simple and convenient method to investigate the secondary structure and interactions of biomolecules. Recent ...

Biochemistry

Chromatin Interaction Analysis with Paired-End Tag Sequencing (ChIA-PET) for Mapping Chromatin Interactions and Understanding Transcription Regulation

Genomes are organized into three-dimensional structures, adopting higher-order conformations inside the micron-sized nuclear spaces 7, 2, 12. Such architectures are not random and involve interactions between gene promoters and regulatory elements 13. The binding of transcription factors to specific regulatory sequences brings about a network of transcription regulation and coordination 1, 14. 
Chromatin Interaction Analysis by Paired-End Tag Sequencing (ChIA-PET) was developed to identify these higher-order chromatin structures 5,6. Cells are fixed and interacting loci are captured by covalent DNA-protein cross-links. To minimize non-specific noise and reduce complexity, as well as to increase the specificity of the chromatin interaction analysis, chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) is used against specific protein factors to enrich chromatin fragments of interest before proximity ligation. Ligation involving half-linkers subsequently forms covalent links between pairs of DNA fragments tethered together within individual chromatin complexes. The flanking MmeI restriction enzyme sites in the half-linkers allow extraction of paired end tag-linker-tag constructs (PETs) upon MmeI digestion. As the half-linkers are biotinylated, these PET constructs are purified using streptavidin-magnetic beads. The purified PETs are ligated with next-generation sequencing adaptors and a catalog of interacting fragments is generated via next-generation sequencers such as the Illumina Genome Analyzer. Mapping and bioinformatics analysis is then performed to identify ChIP-enriched binding sites and ChIP-enriched chromatin interactions 8. 
We have produced a video to demonstrate critical aspects of the ChIA-PET protocol, especially the preparation of ChIP as the quality of ChIP plays a major role in the outcome of a ChIA-PET library. As the protocols are very long, only the critical steps are shown in the video.

Chromatin Interaction Analysis with Paired-End Tag Sequencing ChIA-PET for Mapping Chromatin Interactions and Understanding Transcription Regulation

Chromatin Interaction Analysis by Paired-End Tag Sequencing (ChIA-PET) is a method for de novo detection of chromatin interactions, for better understanding of transcriptional control.

Genomes are organized into three-dimensional structures, adopting higher-order conformations inside the micron-sized nuclear spaces 7, 2, 12. Such ...

Identification of Protein Interaction Partners in Mammalian Cells Using SILAC-immunoprecipitation Quantitative Proteomics

Quantitative proteomics combined with immuno-affinity purification, SILAC immunoprecipitation, represent a powerful means for the discovery of novel protein:protein interactions. By allowing the accurate relative quantification of protein abundance in both control and test samples, true interactions may be easily distinguished from experimental contaminants. Low affinity interactions can be preserved through the use of less-stringent buffer conditions and remain readily identifiable. This protocol discusses the labeling of tissue culture cells with stable isotope labeled amino acids, transfection and immunoprecipitation of an affinity tagged protein of interest, followed by the preparation for submission to a mass spectrometry facility. This protocol then discusses how to analyze and interpret the data returned from the mass spectrometer in order to identify cellular partners interacting with a protein of interest. As an example this technique is applied to identify proteins binding to the eukaryotic translation initiation factors: eIF4AI and eIF4AII.

SILAC immunoprecipitation experiments represent a powerful means for discovering novel protein:protein interactions. By allowing the accurate relative quantification of protein abundance in both control and test samples, true interactions may be easily distinguished from experimental contaminants, and low affinity interactions preserved through use of less-stringent buffer conditions.

Quantitative proteomics combined with immuno-affinity purification, SILAC immunoprecipitation, represent a powerful means for the discovery of novel ...

DNA-affinity-purified Chip (DAP-chip) Method to Determine Gene Targets for Bacterial Two component Regulatory Systems

In vivo methods such as ChIP-chip are well-established techniques used to determine global gene targets for transcription factors. However, they are of limited use in exploring bacterial two component regulatory systems with uncharacterized activation conditions. Such systems regulate transcription only when activated in the presence of unique signals. Since these signals are often unknown, the in vitro microarray based method described in this video article can be used to determine gene targets and binding sites for response regulators. This DNA-affinity-purified-chip method may be used for any purified regulator in any organism with a sequenced genome. The protocol involves allowing the purified tagged protein to bind to sheared genomic DNA and then affinity purifying the protein-bound DNA, followed by fluorescent labeling of the DNA and hybridization to a custom tiling array. Preceding steps that may be used to optimize the assay for specific regulators are also described. The peaks generated by the array data analysis are used to predict binding site motifs, which are then experimentally validated. The motif predictions can be further used to determine gene targets of orthologous response regulators in closely related species. We demonstrate the applicability of this method by determining the gene targets and binding site motifs and thus predicting the function for a sigma54-dependent response regulator DVU3023 in the environmental bacterium Desulfovibrio vulgaris Hildenborough.

DNA-affinity-purified Chip DAP-chip Method to Determine Gene Targets for Bacterial Two component Regulatory Systems

This video article describes an in vitro microarray based method to determine the gene targets and binding sites for two component system response regulators.

In vivo methods such as ChIP-chip are well-established techniques used to determine global gene targets for transcription factors. However, they are of ...

Genome-wide Mapping of Drug-DNA Interactions in Cells with COSMIC (Crosslinking of Small Molecules to Isolate Chromatin)

The genome is the target of some of the most effective chemotherapeutics, but most of these drugs lack DNA sequence specificity, which leads to dose-limiting toxicity and many adverse side effects. Targeting the genome with sequence-specific small molecules may enable molecules with increased therapeutic index and fewer off-target effects. N-methylpyrrole/N-methylimidazole polyamides are molecules that can be rationally designed to target specific DNA sequences with exquisite precision. And unlike most natural transcription factors, polyamides can bind to methylated and chromatinized DNA without a loss in affinity. The sequence specificity of polyamides has been extensively studied in vitro with cognate site identification (CSI) and with traditional biochemical and biophysical approaches, but the study of polyamide binding to genomic targets in cells remains elusive. Here we report a method, the crosslinking of small molecules to isolate chromatin (COSMIC), that identifies polyamide binding sites across the genome. COSMIC is similar to chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP), but differs in two important ways: (1) a photocrosslinker is employed to enable selective, temporally-controlled capture of polyamide binding events, and (2) the biotin affinity handle is used to purify polyamide&#8211;DNA conjugates under semi-denaturing conditions to decrease DNA that is non-covalently bound. COSMIC is a general strategy that can be used to reveal the genome-wide binding events of polyamides and other genome-targeting chemotherapeutic agents.

Genome-wide Mapping of Drug-DNA Interactions in Cells with COSMIC Crosslinking of Small Molecules to Isolate Chromatin

Identifying the direct targets of genome-targeting molecules remains a major challenge. To understand how DNA-binding molecules engage the genome, we developed a method that relies on crosslinking of small molecules to isolate chromatin (COSMIC).

The genome is the target of some of the most effective chemotherapeutics, but most of these drugs lack DNA sequence specificity, which leads to ...

In Situ Monitoring of Transiently Formed Molecular Chaperone Assemblies in Bacteria, Yeast, and Human Cells

J-domain proteins (JDPs) form the largest and the most diverse co-chaperone family in eukaryotic cells. Recent findings show that specific members of the JDP family could form transient heterocomplexes in eukaryotes to fine-tune substrate selection for the 70 kDa heat shock protein (Hsp70) chaperone-based protein disaggregases. The JDP complexes target acute/chronic stress induced aggregated proteins and presumably help assemble the disaggregases by recruiting multiple Hsp70s to the surface of protein aggregates. The extent of the protein quality control (PQC) network formed by these physically interacting JDPs remains largely uncharacterized in vivo. Here, we describe a microscopy-based in situ protein interaction assay named the proximity ligation assay (PLA), which is able to robustly capture&#160;these transiently formed chaperone complexes in distinct cellular compartments of eukaryotic cells. Our work expands the employment of PLA from human cells to yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) and bacteria (Escherichia coli), thus rendering an important tool to monitor the dynamics of transiently formed protein assemblies in both prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells.

Cognate J-domain proteins cooperate with the Hsp70 chaperone to assist in a myriad of biological processes ranging from protein folding to degradation. Here, we describe an in situ proximity ligation assay, which allows the monitoring of these transiently formed chaperone machineries in bacterial, yeast and human cells.

J-domain proteins (JDPs) form the largest and the most diverse co-chaperone family in eukaryotic cells. Recent findings show that specific members of the ...

Visualizing and Quantifying Endonuclease-Based Site-Specific DNA Damage

Cells are continuously exposed to various DNA damaging agents, inducing different cellular responses. Applying biochemical and genetic approaches is essential in revealing cellular events associated with the recruitment and assembly of DNA repair complexes at the site of DNA damage. In the last few years, several powerful tools have been developed to induce site-specific DNA damage. Moreover, novel seminal techniques allow us to study these processes at the single-cell resolution level using both fixed and living cells. Although these techniques have been used to study various biological processes, herein we present the most widely used protocols in the field of DNA repair, Fluorescence Immunostaining (IF) and Chromatin Immunoprecipitation (ChIP), which in combination with endonuclease-based site-specific DNA damage make it possible to visualize and quantify the genomic occupancy of DNA repair factors in a directed and regulated fashion, respectively. These techniques provide powerful tools for the researchers to identify novel proteins bound to the damaged genomic locus as well as their post-translational modifications necessary for their fine-tune regulation during DNA repair.

This article introduces essential steps of immunostaining and chromatin immunoprecipitation. These protocols are commonly used to study DNA damage-related cellular processes and to visualize and quantify the recruitment of proteins implicated in DNA repair.

Cells are continuously exposed to various DNA damaging agents, inducing different cellular responses. Applying biochemical and genetic approaches is ...

The ChIP-exo Method: Identifying Protein-DNA Interactions with Near Base Pair Precision

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