The dynamics of chromatin topology in human cells

Division Of Basic Sciences - Nci

Investigators

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Abstract

In FY 2021, we have developed and optimized a new genome-wide assay to quantitatively characterize DNA topology in human cells. We are currently analyzing DNA topology patterns for correlation studies with other epigenomic features, as well as applying perturbations on topoisomerase activities to further study the mechanism underlying such topological patterns. The goal is to elucidate the regulation mechanism and biological function of DNA topology in human cells. On the other hand, the fast dynamics of DNA topology in living cells often lead to a significant cell-to-cell variation, averaging out a significant portion of the meaningful signal. To deal with this challenge, we are synchronizing cell populations by a variety of approaches to allow better and more sensitive detection. We are also developing single-cell assays, utilizing the principle of linear amplification derived from my previously developed LIANTI assay.