A Translocation within an Ogataea Clade Species Alters Local Subtelomeric Chromatin while Maintaining Global Genome Organization [RNA-Seq]

Chromatin is classified as either active euchromatin or silent heterochromatin, with each marked by distinct histone post-translational modifications (PTMs). Chromatin composition also mediates genome organization, including how heterochromatin aggregates at the nuclear periphery while euchromatin localizes to the nucleus center.

In fungi, heterochromatic loci cluster, including independent centromere and telomere clusters that form the Rabl chromosome conformation. However, it is unknown if chromatin composition and genome organization are conserved in closely related fungi, including some yeast species. Here, we examined differences in histone PTM deposition, gene expression, and genome organization in two yeast species from the order Pichiales, which diverged from a common ancestor with Saccharomyces cerevisiae more than 200 million years ago.