High-resolution whole-genome analysis of sister-chromatid cohesion

Abstract

Sister-chromatid cohesion describes the orderly association of newly-replicated DNA molecules behind replication forks. It plays an essential role in the maintenance and the faithful transmission of genetic information. It is created by DNA topological links and proteinaceous bridges, whose formation and deposition could be potentially affected by many different DNA-binding proteins. However, a mean to analyse local variations in the duration of cohesion on a whole genome was lacking. Here, we present a High-throughput methodology to monitor Sister Chromatid Contacts (Hi-SC2), and show that it permits to analyse locus-specific variations in sister-chromatid cohesion over the whole length of chromosomes.