Spatially coherent diffusion of human RNA Pol II depends on transcriptional state rather than chromatin motion

Spatially coherent diffusion of human RNA Pol II depends on transcriptional state rather than chromatin motion

Barth, R. (TU Delft BN/Cees Dekker Lab)
Shaban, Haitham A. (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology; National Research Centre, Dokki, Cairo,)

2022

Gene transcription by RNA polymerase II (RNAPol II) is a tightly regulated process in the genomic, temporal, and spatial context. Recently, we have shown that chromatin exhibits spatially coherently moving regions over the entire nucleus, which is enhanced by transcription. Yet, it remains unclear how the mobility of RNA Pol II molecules is affected by transcription regulation and whether this response depends on the coordinated chromatin movement. We applied our Dense Flow reConstruction and Correlation method to analyze nucleus-wide coherent movements of RNA Pol II in living human cancer cells. We observe a spatially coherent movement of RNA Pol II molecules over (Formula presented.) 1 μm, which depends on transcriptional activity. Inducing transcription in quiescent cells decreased the coherent motion of RNA Pol II. We then quantify the spatial correlation length of RNA Pol II in the context of DNA motion. RNA Pol II and chromatin spatially coherent motions respond oppositely to transcriptional activities. Our study holds the potential of studying the chromatin environment in different nuclear processes.

chromatin dynamics
genome organization
Live-cell imaging
quantitative imaging of RNA Pol II
Transcriptional regulation

http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:27ec5ae8-540c-474d-abf7-7eba1f721541

https://doi.org/10.1080/19491034.2022.2088988

1949-1034

Nucleus, 13 (1), 194-202

Institutional Repository

journal article

© 2022 R. Barth, Haitham A. Shaban