Epigenetics Podcast

Epigenetics in Human Malaria Parasites (Elena Gómez-Diaz)

In this episode of the Epigenetics Podcast, we caught up with Elena Gomez-Diaz from the Institute of Parasitology and Biomedicine López-Neyra at the Spanish National Research Council. She share with us her work on the Epigenetics in Human Malaria Parasites.
Elena Gómez-Díaz and her team are focusing on understanding how epigenetic processes are implicated in host-parasite interactions by regulating gene expression in the model of malaria. The team has started to investigate and uncover layers of chromatin regulation that control developmental transitions in Plasmodium falciparum, especially in the parts of the life cycle that take place in the mosquito. Furthermore, the lab has investigated epigenetic changes that are present in malaria-infected Anopheles mosquitos, this led to the identification of cis-regulatory elements and enhancer-promoter networks in response to infection.
 
References
Gómez-Díaz E, Rivero A, Chandre F, Corces VG. Insights into the epigenomic landscape of the human malaria vector Anopheles gambiae. Front Genet. 2014 Aug 15;5:277. doi: 10.3389/fgene.2014.00277. PMID: 25177345; PMCID: PMC4133732.
Gómez-Díaz, E., Yerbanga, R., Lefèvre, T. et al. Epigenetic regulation of Plasmodium falciparum clonally variant gene expression during development in Anopheles gambiae. Sci Rep 7, 40655 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/srep40655
José Luis Ruiz, Juan J Tena, Cristina Bancells, Alfred Cortés, José Luis Gómez-Skarmeta, Elena Gómez-Díaz, Characterization of the accessible genome in the human malaria parasite. Plasmodium falciparum, Nucleic Acids Research, Volume 46, Issue 18, 12 October 2018, Pages 9414–9431, https://doi.org/10.1093/nar/gky643
Women in Malaria 2021: A Conference Premier. (2021). Trends in Parasitology, 37(7), 573–580. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pt.2021.04.001
Twitter Account: https://twitter.com/womeninmalaria
 
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Multiple challenges of CUT&Tag (Cassidee McDonough, Kyle Tanguay)
ATAC-Seq, scATAC-Seq and Chromatin Dynamics in Single-Cells (Jason Buenrostro)
 
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Bioinformatic Analysis in Epigenetics Research (Nick Pervolarakis)

In this episode of the Epigenetics Podcast, we caught up with Nick Pervolarakis from Active Motif to talk about bioinformatic analysis in epigenetics research.
While many “bench scientists” are familiar with the workflows of ChIP-Seq, ATAC-Seq and CUT&Tag, and even the preparation and analysis of the libraries, the steps between sequencing and fully analyzed data is sometimes thought of as a mystery known only to bioinformatic experts. Most of us have some understanding that the raw data is usually in a file format called a FASTQ. But how do we get from FASTQ files to peaks on a genome browser? This Podcast Episode will provide a peek behind the curtain of the informatic analysis we perform at Active Motif, as part of our end-to-end epigenetic services.
 
References
Life in the FASTQ Lane
Bioinformatics Resource Center
Epigenetic Services
 
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Multiple challenges of ATAC-Seq, Points to Consider (Yuan Xue)
Multiple challenges of CUT&Tag (Cassidee McDonough, Kyle Tanguay)
Multiple Challenges in ChIP (Adam Blattler)
 
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Anchor-Based Bisulfite Sequencing (Ben Delatte)

In this episode of the Epigenetics Podcast, we caught up with Ben Delatte Research Scientist at Active Motif to talk about his work on Anchor Based Bisulfite Sequencing.
Whole Genome Bisulfite Sequencing (WGBS) is the current standard for DNA methylation profiling. However, this approach is costly as it requires sequencing coverage over the entire genome. Here we introduce Anchor-Based Bisulfite Sequencing (ABBS). ABBS captures accurate DNA methylation information in Escherichia coli and mammals, while requiring up to 10 times fewer sequencing reads than WGBS. ABBS interrogates the entire genome and is not restricted to the CpG islands assayed by methods like Reduced Representation Bisulfite Sequencing (RRBS). The ABBS protocol is simple and can be performed in a single day.
 
References
Chapin, N., Fernandez, J., Poole, J. et al. Anchor-based bisulfite sequencing determines genome-wide DNA methylation. Commun Biol 5, 596 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-022-03543-1
 
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Enhancer Communities in Adipocyte Differentiation (Susanne Mandrup)

In this episode of the Epigenetics Podcast, we caught up with Susanne Mandrup from the University of Southern Denmark to talk about her work on the role of enhancer communities in adipocyte differentiation.
The Laboratory of Susanne Mandrup focuses on the effect of enhancers and enhancer communities on the differentiation of mesenchymal stem cell into adipocytes and osteoblasts. The team has shown that there is significant cross-talk between enhancers and that these form communities of highly interconnected enhancers. Inactive enhancers are then activated by association with these pre-existing enhancer networks to facilitate gene expression in adipocyte differentiation.
 
References
Siersbæk R, Rabiee A, Nielsen R, Sidoli S, Traynor S, Loft A, Poulsen LC, Rogowska-Wrzesinska A, Jensen ON, Mandrup S. Transcription factor cooperativity in early adipogenic hotspots and super-enhancers. Cell Rep. 2014 Jun 12;7(5):1443-1455. doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2014.04.042. Epub 2014 May 22. PMID: 24857652.
Siersbæk R, Baek S, Rabiee A, Nielsen R, Traynor S, Clark N, Sandelin A, Jensen ON, Sung MH, Hager GL, Mandrup S. Molecular architecture of transcription factor hotspots in early adipogenesis. Cell Rep. 2014 Jun 12;7(5):1434-1442. doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2014.04.043. Epub 2014 May 22. PMID: 24857666; PMCID: PMC6360525.
Siersbæk R, Madsen JGS, Javierre BM, Nielsen R, Bagge EK, Cairns J, Wingett SW, Traynor S, Spivakov M, Fraser P, Mandrup S. Dynamic Rewiring of Promoter-Anchored Chromatin Loops during Adipocyte Differentiation. Mol Cell. 2017 May 4;66(3):420-435.e5. doi: 10.1016/j.molcel.2017.04.010. PMID: 28475875.
Rauch, A., Haakonsson, A.K., Madsen, J.G.S. et al. Osteogenesis depends on commissioning of a network of stem cell transcription factors that act as repressors of adipogenesis. Nat Genet 51, 716–727 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41588-019-0359-1
Madsen, J.G.S., Madsen, M.S., Rauch, A. et al. Highly interconnected enhancer communities control lineage-determining genes in human mesenchymal stem cells. Nat Genet 52, 1227–1238 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41588-020-0709-z
 
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Epigenetic Regulation of Stem Cell Self-Renewal and Differentiation (Peggy Goodell)
 
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Transposable Elements in Gene Regulation and Evolution (Marco Trizzino)

In this episode of the Epigenetics Podcast, we caught up with Marco Trizzino from Thomas Jefferson University to talk about his work on transposable elements in gene regulation and evolution.
Marco Trizzino and his team focus on characterising transposable elements and how they affect gene regulation, evolution and ageing in primates. They could show that transposable elements that integrated into the genome turned into regulatory elements in the genome, like enhancers. They then contribute to regulation of processes like development or ageing, which could be among those factors that lead to increased brain development or longevity in great apes.
 
References
Trizzino M, Park Y, Holsbach-Beltrame M, Aracena K, Mika K, Caliskan M, Perry GH, Lynch VJ, Brown CD. Transposable elements are the primary source of novelty in primate gene regulation. Genome Res. 2017 Oct;27(10):1623-1633. doi: 10.1101/gr.218149.116. Epub 2017 Aug 30. PMID: 28855262; PMCID: PMC5630026.
Pagliaroli L, Porazzi P, Curtis AT, Scopa C, Mikkers HMM, Freund C, Daxinger L, Deliard S, Welsh SA, Offley S, Ott CA, Calabretta B, Brugmann SA, Santen GWE, Trizzino M. Inability to switch from ARID1A-BAF to ARID1B-BAF impairs exit from pluripotency and commitment towards neural crest formation in ARID1B-related neurodevelopmental disorders. Nat Commun. 2021 Nov 9;12(1):6469. doi: 10.1038/s41467-021-26810-x. PMID: 34753942; PMCID: PMC8578637.
Tejada-Martinez D, Avelar RA, Lopes I, Zhang B, Novoa G, de Magalhães JP, Trizzino M. Positive Selection and Enhancer Evolution Shaped Lifespan and Body Mass in Great Apes. Mol Biol Evol. 2022 Feb 3;39(2):msab369. doi: 10.1093/molbev/msab369. PMID: 34971383; PMCID: PMC8837823.
Young transposable elements rewired gene regulatory networks in human and chimpanzee hippocampal intermediate progenitors. Sruti Patoori, Samantha M. Barnada, Christopher Large, John I. Murray, Marco Trizzino. bioRxiv 2021.11.24.469877; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.11.24.469877
 
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Hydroxymethylation Landscape in Immunecells (Marcela Sjöberg)

In this episode of the Epigenetics Podcast, we caught up with Marcela Sjöberg from the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile to talk about her work on the hydroxymethylation landscape in immune cells.
At the beginning of her career Marcela Sjöberg worked on Aurora B and Polycomb and how modifications placed by them modulate the binding of RNA Pol II. Later, her focus shifted to examine cytosine DNA methylation and hydroxymethylation changes in immune cells and how the epigenetic state of these marks varies between individuals and is reprogrammed for Metastable Epialleles in mouse. More recently, the laboratory is interested on how hydroxymethylation of transcription factor binding motifs influence binding and activity of the respective transcription factors in immune cells.
 
References
Sabbattini, P., Sjoberg, M., Nikic, S., Frangini, A., Holmqvist, P.-H., Kunowska, N., Carroll, T., Brookes, E., Arthur, S. J., Pombo, A., & Dillon, N. (2014). An H3K9/S10 methyl-phospho switch modulates Polycomb and Pol II binding at repressed genes during differentiation. Molecular Biology of the Cell, 25(6), 904–915. https://doi.org/10.1091/mbc.e13-10-0628
Kazachenka, A., Bertozzi, T. M., Sjoberg-Herrera, M. K., Walker, N., Gardner, J., Gunning, R., Pahita, E., Adams, S., Adams, D., & Ferguson-Smith, A. C. (2018). Identification, Characterization, and Heritability of Murine Metastable Epialleles: Implications for Non-genetic Inheritance. Cell, 175(5), 1259-1271.e13. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2018.09.043
Westoby, J., Herrera, M.S., Ferguson-Smith, A.C. et al. Simulation-based benchmarking of isoform quantification in single-cell RNA-seq. Genome Biol 19, 191 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13059-018-1571-5
Viner, C., Johnson, J., Walker, N., Shi, H., Sjöberg, M., Adams, D. J., Ferguson-Smith, A. C., Bailey, T. L., & Hoffman, M. M. (2016). Modeling methyl-sensitive transcription factor motifs with an expanded epigenetic alphabet [Preprint]. Bioinformatics. https://doi.org/10.1101/043794
 
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Single Cell Epigenomics in Neuronal Development (Tim Petros)

In this episode of the Epigenetics Podcast, we caught up with Tim Petros from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development at the NIH to talk about his work on Single Cell Epigenomics in Neuronal Development. 
The Petros lab focuses on “interneurons”, their diversity and how environmental signals interact to generate this diversity. This subgroup of neurons comprise about 20% of neutrons in the brain, however, they are the primary source of inhibition. Furthermore, interneurons are critical components in modulating information flow throughout the nervous system. The Petros lab seeks to uncover the genetic programs that lead to the incredible diversity in interneurons, as well as how the local environment influences this process. 
To lay a foundation for this and to provide a data-base for other researchers the Petros lab generated an epigenome atlas of neural progenitor cells of the mouse brain. This data includes scRNA-Seq, snATAC-Seq, CUT&Tag (H3K4me3, H3K27me3), CUT&RUN (H3K27ac), Hi-C and Capture-C. This data can be downloaded at the link below:  
https://www.nichd.nih.gov/research/atNICHD/Investigators/petros/data-sharing 
 
References
Datasets: https://www.nichd.nih.gov/research/atNICHD/Investigators/petros/data-sharing
Quattrocolo G, Fishell G, Petros TJ. Heterotopic Transplantations Reveal Environmental Influences on Interneuron Diversity and Maturation. Cell Rep. 2017 Oct 17;21(3):721-731. doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2017.09.075. PMID: 29045839; PMCID: PMC5662128.
Dongjin R Lee, Christopher Rhodes, Apratim Mitra, Yajun Zhang, Dragan Maric, Ryan K Dale, Timothy J Petros (2022) Transcriptional heterogeneity of ventricular zone cells in the ganglionic eminences of the mouse forebrain eLife 11:e71864 https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.71864
Rhodes, C. T., Thompson, J. J., Mitra, A., Asokumar, D., Lee, D. R., Lee, D. J., Zhang, Y., Jason, E., Dale, R. K., Rocha, P. P., & Petros, T. J. (2022). An epigenome atlas of neural progenitors within the embryonic mouse forebrain. Nature communications, 13(1), 4196. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-31793-4
 
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Oncohistones as Drivers of Pediatric Brain Tumors (Nada Jabado)

In this episode of the Epigenetics Podcast, we caught up with Nada Jabado from McGill University to talk about her work on oncohistones as drivers of Pediatric Brain Tumors.
Nada Jabado and her team were amongst the first to identify mutations in Histone 3.3 Tails which lead to differentially remodeled chromatin in pediatric glioblastoma. Mutations that occur include the Lysine at position 27 and the Glycine at position 34. If those residues are mutated it will influence the equilibrium of chromatin associated proteins like the Polycomb Repressive Complex (PRC) and hence domains of heterochromatin will be shifted. This, in turn, will lead to differential gene expression and development of developmental disorders or cancer.
 
References
Schwartzentruber, J., Korshunov, A., Liu, X. Y., Jones, D. T., Pfaff, E., Jacob, K., Sturm, D., Fontebasso, A. M., Quang, D. A., Tönjes, M., Hovestadt, V., Albrecht, S., Kool, M., Nantel, A., Konermann, C., Lindroth, A., Jäger, N., Rausch, T., Ryzhova, M., Korbel, J. O., … Jabado, N. (2012). Driver mutations in histone H3.3 and chromatin remodelling genes in paediatric glioblastoma. Nature, 482(7384), 226–231. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature10833
Kleinman, C. L., Gerges, N., Papillon-Cavanagh, S., Sin-Chan, P., Pramatarova, A., Quang, D. A., Adoue, V., Busche, S., Caron, M., Djambazian, H., Bemmo, A., Fontebasso, A. M., Spence, T., Schwartzentruber, J., Albrecht, S., Hauser, P., Garami, M., Klekner, A., Bognar, L., Montes, J. L., … Jabado, N. (2014). Fusion of TTYH1 with the C19MC microRNA cluster drives expression of a brain-specific DNMT3B isoform in the embryonal brain tumor ETMR. Nature genetics, 46(1), 39–44. https://doi.org/10.1038/ng.2849
Papillon-Cavanagh, S., Lu, C., Gayden, T., Mikael, L. G., Bechet, D., Karamboulas, C., Ailles, L., Karamchandani, J., Marchione, D. M., Garcia, B. A., Weinreb, I., Goldstein, D., Lewis, P. W., Dancu, O. M., Dhaliwal, S., Stecho, W., Howlett, C. J., Mymryk, J. S., Barrett, J. W., Nichols, A. C., … Jabado, N. (2017). Impaired H3K36 methylation defines a subset of head and neck squamous cell carcinomas. Nature genetics, 49(2), 180–185. https://doi.org/10.1038/ng.3757
Chen, C., Deshmukh, S., Jessa, S., Hadjadj, D., Lisi, V., Andrade, A. F., Faury, D., Jawhar, W., Dali, R., Suzuki, H., Pathania, M., A, D., Dubois, F., Woodward, E., Hébert, S., Coutelier, M., Karamchandani, J., Albrecht, S., Brandner, S., De Jay, N., … Jabado, N. (2020). Histone H3.3G34-Mutant Interneuron Progenitors Co-opt PDGFRA for Gliomagenesis. Cell, 183(6), 1617–1633.e22. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2020.11.012
Chaouch, A., Berlandi, J., Chen, C., Frey, F., Badini, S., Harutyunyan, A. S., Chen, X., Krug, B., Hébert, S., Jeibmann, A., Lu, C., Kleinman, C. L., Hasselblatt, M., Lasko, P., Shirinian, M., & Jabado, N. (2021). Histone H3.3 K27M and K36M mutations de-repress transposable elements through perturbation of antagonistic chromatin marks. Molecular cell, 81(23), 4876–4890.e7. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.molcel.2021.10.008
 
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