RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Guided nuclear exploration increases CTCF target search efficiency
JF bioRxiv
FD Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
SP 495457
DO 10.1101/495457
A1 Hansen, Anders S.
A1 Amitai, Assaf
A1 Cattoglio, Claudia
A1 Tjian, Robert
A1 Darzacq, Xavier
YR 2018
UL http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2018/12/13/495457.abstract
AB Mammalian genomes are enormous. For a DNA-binding protein, this means that the number of non-specific, off-target sites vastly exceeds the number of specific, cognate sites. How mammalian DNA-binding proteins overcome this challenge to efficiently locate their target sites is not known. Here through live-cell single-molecule tracking, we show that CCCTC-binding factor, CTCF, is repeatedly trapped in small zones in the nucleus in a manner that is largely dependent on its RNA-binding region (RBR). Integrating theory, we devise a new model, Anisotropic Diffusion through transient Trapping in Zones (ADTZ), to explain this. Functionally, transient RBR-mediated trapping increases the efficiency of CTCF target search by ∼2.5 fold. Since the RBR-domain also mediates CTCF clustering, our results suggest a “guided” mechanism where CTCF clusters concentrate diffusing CTCF proteins near cognate binding sites, thus increasing the local ON-rate. We suggest that local “guiding” may represent a general target search mechanism in mammalian cells.