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Genome organization

CTCF works better under tension

Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology volume 24, page 379 (2023)Cite this article

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The eukaryotic genome is organized into topologically associating domains (TADs) by the activity of two factors: the cohesin complex, which can extrude DNA into loops, and the DNA-binding protein CTCF, which restrains cohesin and thus loop extrusion to enable the formation of TADs. How TAD boundaries are established and how cohesin and CTCF interact to control loop size is unclear. Davidson et al. now reveal a role for DNA tension in regulating the CTCF–cohesin interaction and its effect on loop extrusion.

Previous results had indicated that CTCF probably functions asymmetrically by binding to cohesin with its unstructured N terminus, which faces towards the interior of TADs. Tethering DNA on both ends and inverting the direction of CTCF-binding sites provided further evidence that the orientation of CTCF determines its ability to block cohesin diffusion and loop extrusion.

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  1. Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology http://www.nature.com/nrm/

    Lisa Heinke

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  1. Lisa Heinke
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Correspondence to Lisa Heinke.

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Heinke, L. CTCF works better under tension. Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol 24, 379 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41580-023-00614-x

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