HIRA-dependent provision of histone H3.3 in active chromatin ensures genome compartmentalisation

Abstract

The mammalian genome, organised into chromatin, adopts a three-dimensional (3D) folding within the cell nucleus with spatially segregated active and repressed compartments, termed A and B. However, how nucleosome deposition impacts these levels of organisation is unknown. Here, we monitored changes in 3D genome folding by Hi-C after impairing the chaperone HIRA, involved in histone H3.3 deposition. In the absence of HIRA, H3.3 enrichment decreases in compartment A that also shows weaker interactions. At this scale, histone post-translational modifications (PTMs) do not follow H3.3 changes. In line with impaired H3.3 nucleosome maintenance, compartment A accessibility measured by ATAC-seq increases. Specifically, at active genes, accessibility increases in gene bodies but decreases at promoters where compensation by H3.1 reduces nucleosome turnover. Notably, regions flanking active genes show reduced insulation. We conclude that the HIRA-dependent pathway involved in H3.3 deposition is key to maintain higher order organisation in active regions and impact compartmentalisation independently of histone PTMs.