PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Jürgen Jänes
AU  - Yan Dong
AU  - Michael Schoof
AU  - Jacques Serizay
AU  - Alex Appert
AU  - Chiara Cerrato
AU  - Carson Woodbury
AU  - Ron Chen
AU  - Carolina Gemma
AU  - Ni Huang
AU  - Djem Kissiov
AU  - Przemysław Stempor
AU  - Annette Steward
AU  - Eva Zeiser
AU  - Sascha Sauer
AU  - Julie Ahringer
TI  - Chromatin accessibility dynamics across <em>C. elegans</em> development and ageing
AID  - 10.1101/279158
DP  - 2018 Jan 01
TA  - bioRxiv
PG  - 279158
4099  - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2018/03/10/279158.short
4100  - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2018/03/10/279158.full
AB  - Transcription regulation controls a large fraction of animal development and physiology from birth to death. Here we present the first map of transcriptional regulatory elements and their activity across the development and ageing of an animal. We identify 42,245 accessible elements in at least one C. elegans stage, defining 13,817 as protein-coding promoters and 17,918 as putative enhancers based on nuclear transcription profiles. Most show bidirectional transcription initiation, and in transgenic assays, both enhancers and promoters can drive orientation independent transcription of protein coding genes. Most elements have regulated accessibility during development or ageing, and accessibility patterns at promoters are linked to specific developmental or physiological processes. Histone modification patterns of promoters and enhancers significantly overlap and are correlated with transcriptional activity rather than element type. The map and characterization of regulatory elements across the life of the organism provides new entry points for understanding how transcription controls development and ageing.