Our selected paper for this week is titled Epigenomic Co-localization and Co-evolution Reveal a Key Role for 5hmC as a Communication Hub in the Chromatin Network of ESCs, from Cell.The abstract is as follows:

Epigenetic communication through histone and cytosine modifications is essential for gene regula- tion and cell identity. Here, we propose a framework that is based on a chromatin communication model to get insight on the function of epigenetic modifica- tions in ESCs. The epigenetic communication network was inferred from genome-wide location data plus extensive manual annotation. Notably, we found that 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC) is the most-influential hub of this network, connecting DNA demethylation to nucleosome remodeling complexes and to key transcription factors of plurip- otency. Moreover, an evolutionary analysis revealed a central role of 5hmC in the co-evolution of chro- matin-related proteins. Further analysis of regions where 5hmC co-localizes with specific interactors shows that each interaction points to chromatin remodeling, stemness, differentiation, or meta- bolism. Our results highlight the importance of cyto- sine modifications in the epigenetic communication of ESCs.

Feel free to begin our discussion in the comments section below. Our meeting will be at 12:30 PM in room 3160 of the Discovery building on July 18th.