CENP-A Deposition Defines Sequences for Retention and Elimination during Programmed DNA Elimination in Nematode

Organisms invest significant effort into maintaining genome stability. However, in diverse groups of eukaryotes, portions or entire chromosomes are lost in early development or during sex determination, a process known as programmed DNA elimination. Little is known about how different segments of the genome are reproducibly retained and discarded during programmed DNA elimination. We tested the hypothesis that selective retention is mediated by regulation of centromere-mediated association of chromosome segments with the mitotic spindle. We report that on the holocentric chromosomes of the nematode Ascaris, the core centromeric histone CENP-A is localized differently in cells undergoing DNA elimination from those undergoing germline mitosis. Prior to DNA elimination, CENP-A is significantly reduced in chromosome regions that will be lost. CENP-A reduction in eliminated genomic regions leads to the absence of kinetochores and microtubule attachment sites necessary for chromosome segregation, and thus the loss of these DNA regions during Ascaris programmed DNA elimination. Our results show that holocentric chromosome organization in Ascaris is regulated and that changes in CENP-A deposition specify which portions of chromosomes will be eliminated during programmed DNA elimination. A total of 62 samples are analyzed. These include: (1). CENP-A ChIP-seq on 12 developmental stages with input and replicates (12 x 2 x 2 samples); (2). CENP-C ChIP-seq on 3 developmental stages with input and replicates (total 8 samples); and (3). Histone marks ChIP-seq with 6 samples