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Molecular and Cellular Biology, March 2004, p. 2118-2131, Vol. 24, No. 5
0270-7306/04/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/MCB.24.5.2118-2131.2004
Copyright © 2004, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Formation of Boundaries of Transcriptionally Silent Chromatin by Nucleosome-Excluding Structures

Xin Bi,{dagger}* Qun Yu,{dagger},{ddagger} Joseph J. Sandmeier,{ddagger} and Yanfei Zou{ddagger}

Department of Biochemistry, University of Nebraska—Lincoln, Lincoln, Nebraska 68588, and Department of Biology, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York 14627

Received 24 June 2003/ Returned for modification 26 August 2003/ Accepted 24 November 2003

The eukaryotic genome is divided into chromosomal domains of distinct gene activities. Transcriptionally silent chromatin tends to encroach upon active chromatin. Barrier elements that can block the spread of silent chromatin have been documented, but the mechanisms of their function are not resolved. We show that the prokaryotic LexA protein can function as a barrier to the propagation of transcriptionally silent chromatin in yeast. The barrier function of LexA correlates with its ability to disrupt local chromatin structure. In accord with this, (CCGNN)n and poly(dA-dT), both of which do not favor nucleosome formation, can also act as efficient boundaries of silent chromatin. Moreover, we show that a Rap1p-binding barrier element also disrupts chromatin structure. These results demonstrate that nucleosome exclusion is one of the mechanisms for the establishment of boundaries of silent chromatin domains.

* Corresponding author. Present address: Department of Biology, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY 14627. Phone: (585) 275-6922. Fax: (585) 275-2070. E-mail: xinbi{at}mail.rochester.edu

{dagger} X.B. and Q.Y. contributed equally to this work.

{ddagger} Present address: Department of Biology, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY 14627.

Molecular and Cellular Biology, March 2004, p. 2118-2131, Vol. 24, No. 5
0022-538X/04/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/MCB.24.5.2118-2131.2004
Copyright © 2004, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



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