High-resolution single-cell 3D-models of chromatin ensembles during Drosophila embryogenesis

Nat Commun. 2021 Jan 8;12(1):205. doi: 10.1038/s41467-020-20490-9.

Abstract

Single-cell chromatin studies provide insights into how chromatin structure relates to functions of individual cells. However, balancing high-resolution and genome wide-coverage remains challenging. We describe a computational method for the reconstruction of large 3D-ensembles of single-cell (sc) chromatin conformations from population Hi-C that we apply to study embryogenesis in Drosophila. With minimal assumptions of physical properties and without adjustable parameters, our method generates large ensembles of chromatin conformations via deep-sampling. Our method identifies specific interactions, which constitute 5-6% of Hi-C frequencies, but surprisingly are sufficient to drive chromatin folding, giving rise to the observed Hi-C patterns. Modeled sc-chromatins quantify chromatin heterogeneity, revealing significant changes during embryogenesis. Furthermore, >50% of modeled sc-chromatin maintain topologically associating domains (TADs) in early embryos, when no population TADs are perceptible. Domain boundaries become fixated during development, with strong preference at binding-sites of insulator-complexes upon the midblastula transition. Overall, high-resolution 3D-ensembles of sc-chromatin conformations enable further in-depth interpretation of population Hi-C, improving understanding of the structure-function relationship of genome organization.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Biophysics
  • Chromatin / chemistry*
  • Chromatin Assembly and Disassembly*
  • Chromosomes, Insect / chemistry
  • Chromosomes, Insect / genetics
  • Computational Biology
  • Drosophila / genetics*
  • Embryonic Development*
  • Genetic Heterogeneity
  • Genome
  • Models, Molecular
  • Molecular Conformation

Substances

  • Chromatin