The DOI matches its Crossref record; 31 of the 33 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Topological domains in mammalian genomes identified by analysis of chromatin interactions
Open accessAbstract
The spatial organization of the genome is intimately linked to its biological function, yet our understanding of higher order genomic structure is coarse, fragmented and incomplete. In the nucleus of eukaryotic cells, interphase chromosomes occupy distinct chromosome territories, and numerous models have been proposed for how chromosomes fold within chromosome territories. These models, however, provide only few mechanistic details about the relationship between higher order chromatin structure and genome function. Recent advances in genomic technologies have led to rapid advances in the study of three-dimensional genome organization. In particular, Hi-C has been introduced as a method for identifying higher order chromatin interactions genome wide. Here we investigate the three-dimensional organization of the human and mouse genomes in embryonic stem cells and terminally differentiated cell types at unprecedented resolution. We identify large, megabase-sized local chromatin interaction domains, which we term 'topological domains', as a pervasive structural feature of the genome organization. These domains correlate with regions of the genome that constrain the spread of heterochromatin. The domains are stable across different cell types and highly conserved across species, indicating that topological domains are an inherent property of mammalian genomes. Finally, we find that the boundaries of topological domains are enriched for the insulator binding protein CTCF, housekeeping genes, transfer RNAs and short interspersed element (SINE) retrotransposons, indicating that these factors may have a role in establishing the topological domain structure of the genome.
Overview
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Verification
Claims the paper makes
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
The source backs part of the claim, not all of it — or backs it for a different population, condition or comparison.
In the citing paper
“Second, it was demonstrated that eukaryotic chromosomes are partitioned into so-called topologically associated domains (TADs) [35,36,37], which appear to restrict the areas of enhancer action [38,39,40,41].”
From Enhancer Function in the 3D Genome (2023) · cites this paper as [36]
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredThe cited source says what the claim attributes to it.
In the citing paper
“metazoan genomes are organised into megabase-scale segregated domains that are often invariant between cell types, termed topologically associating domains (TADs) [432–434].”
From Transcriptional enhancers and their communication with gene promoters (2021) · cites this paper as [432]
In the citing paper
“loop extrusion mediated by cohesin and CTCF mediates the formation of chromatin loops and self-interacting Topologically Associating Domains (TADs)”
From Neuronal DNA double-strand breaks lead to genome structural variations and 3D genome disruption in neurodegeneration (2023) · cites this paper as [84]
In the citing paper
“The mouse α-globin cluster is located in close proximity to a cluster of 10 widely expressed genes near the boundary of a ~1Mb TAD as defined by Dixon et al (Fig. 1A)12.”
From Tissue-specific CTCF-cohesin-mediated chromatin architecture delimits enhancer interactions and function in vivo (2017) · cites this paper as [12]
In the citing paper
“Mammalian genomes are organized into a hierarchy of Megabase (Mb)-scale topologically associating domains (TADs) (Dixon et al., 2012; Nora et al., 2012) and smaller, nested subTADs (Dixon et al., 2012; Nora et al., 2012; Phillips-Cremins et al., 2013; Rao et al., 2014).”
From Disease-Associated Short Tandem Repeats Co-localize with Chromatin Domain Boundaries (2018) · cites this paper as Dixon et al., 2012
In the citing paper
“Consistent with previous reports, we found enrichment for the architectural protein CCCTC-binding factor (CTCF) at human ES cell boundaries compared to loci internal to domains (Figure S6A-B) (Dixon et al., 2012; Nora et al., 2012; Phillips-Cremins et al., 2013).”
From Disease-Associated Short Tandem Repeats Co-localize with Chromatin Domain Boundaries (2018) · cites this paper as Dixon et al., 2012
In the citing paper
“At intermediate scales (100 kb to 1 Mb), a major discovery is the existence of topologically associating domains (TADs) (Dixon et al., 2012, Nora et al., 2012, Sexton et al., 2012).”
From Multiscale 3D Genome Rewiring during Mouse Neural Development (2017) · cites this paper as Dixon et al., 2012
In the citing paper
“The third set of boundaries appear to represent repeats (Figure 2B), consistent with previous findings (Dixon et al., 2012).”
From Multiscale 3D Genome Rewiring during Mouse Neural Development (2017) · cites this paper as Dixon et al., 2012
In the citing paper
“Therefore, although we confirmed that most TAD boundaries are conserved (Dixon et al., 2012), novel borders can occur at promoters of developmentally regulated genes.”
From Multiscale 3D Genome Rewiring during Mouse Neural Development (2017) · cites this paper as Dixon et al., 2012
In the citing paper
“Recent chromosome conformation studies have revealed that mammalian chromosomes are structured into largely tissue-invariant TADs in which the DNA interactions are more frequent within a given domain than with regions in other domains4,5.”
From Disruption of chromatin folding domains by somatic genomic rearrangements in human cancer (2020) · cites this paper as [4]
In the citing paper
“Furthermore, we observed known TAD boundary signatures4 around our boundary calls for each cell type (Extended Data Fig. 1c).”
From Disruption of chromatin folding domains by somatic genomic rearrangements in human cancer (2020) · cites this paper as [4]
In the citing paper
“The median distance between the common boundaries was approximately 750 kb, consistent with the reported median TAD size in human cells4,19 (Extended Data Fig. 1e).”
From Disruption of chromatin folding domains by somatic genomic rearrangements in human cancer (2020) · cites this paper as [4]
In the citing paper
“Furthermore, it has also been suggested that SVs could lead to TAD fusions40 (also referred to as neo-TADs3,4);”
From Disruption of chromatin folding domains by somatic genomic rearrangements in human cancer (2020) · cites this paper as [4]
In the citing paper
“TADs were identified through Hi-C3,4 and their existence have since been confirmed by alternative methods such as intrinsic 3C (i3C),18 which avoids the cross-linking step and Genome Architecture Mapping (GAM),19 which avoids the ligation step.”
From Recent evidence that TADs and chromatin loops are dynamic structures (2018) · cites this paper as [4]
In the citing paper
“TADs are somewhat conserved between different cell types and different species.4,20”
From Recent evidence that TADs and chromatin loops are dynamic structures (2018) · cites this paper as [4]
In the citing paper
“First, chromatin is organized into Topological Associating Domains (TADs) that are characterized by preferential contacts between loci inside the same TAD and insulation from loci in adjacent TADs.3,4”
From Recent evidence that TADs and chromatin loops are dynamic structures (2018) · cites this paper as [4]
In the citing paper
“suggesting an important functional role of CTCF and cohesin in TAD formation and maintenance (Fig. 2A).”
From Recent evidence that TADs and chromatin loops are dynamic structures (2018) · cites this paper as [4]
In the citing paper
“Finally, ∼18% of TAD boundaries appear to be partially resistant to CTCF loss,10 suggesting that additional boundary factors, such as active promoters4 since engaged RNA Pol II can block cohesin extrusion46 as well as alternative architectural factors, may also play a role.”
From Recent evidence that TADs and chromatin loops are dynamic structures (2018) · cites this paper as [4]
In the citing paper
“After TADs were discovered through Hi-C studies, it quickly became clear that TAD boundaries are near universally enriched in CTCF and cohesin ChIP-Seq peaks,3,4,16”
From Recent evidence that TADs and chromatin loops are dynamic structures (2018) · cites this paper as [4]
In the citing paper
“These TADs, which have similar boundaries in all human cell types examined, have been proposed to constrain enhancer-gene interactions because most DNA contacts occur within the TADs (Dixon et al., 2015; Dixon et al., 2012).”
From Insulated Neighborhoods: Structural and Functional Units of Mammalian Gene Control (2016) · cites this paper as Dixon et al., 2012
In the citing paper
“These TADs, which have similar boundaries in all human cell types examined, have been proposed to constrain enhancer-gene interactions because most DNA contacts occur within the TADs (Dixon et al., 2015; Dixon et al., 2012).”
From Insulated Neighborhoods: Structural and Functional Units of Mammalian Gene Control (2016) · cites this paper as Dixon et al., 2012
In the citing paper
“Furthermore, individual chromosomes are partitioned into megabase- sized topologically associating domains (TADs), regions with relatively high intradomain DNA interaction frequencies as measured by Hi-C chromosome conformation capture data (Dixon et al., 2012; Nora et al., 2012).”
From Insulated Neighborhoods: Structural and Functional Units of Mammalian Gene Control (2016) · cites this paper as Dixon et al., 2012
In the citing paper
“Nonetheless, the TADs identified by processing Hi-C data with the Hidden Markov algorithm (Dixon et al., 2012; Nora et al., 2012) can also be identified when this algorithm is used to process cohesin ChIA-PET data (Ji et al., 2016).”
From Insulated Neighborhoods: Structural and Functional Units of Mammalian Gene Control (2016) · cites this paper as Dixon et al., 2012
In the citing paper
“Studies on TADs have estimated that most TAD boundaries are shared by any two cell types (Dixon et al., 2015; Dixon et al., 2012).”
From Insulated Neighborhoods: Structural and Functional Units of Mammalian Gene Control (2016) · cites this paper as Dixon et al., 2012
In the citing paper
“the striking similarity of TAD boundaries across cell types (Dixon et al., 2015; Dixon et al., 2012)”
From Insulated Neighborhoods: Structural and Functional Units of Mammalian Gene Control (2016) · cites this paper as Dixon et al., 2012
In the citing paper
“genome-wide, high-resolution understanding of chromosome cell-cycle dynamics11 is still limited by current technologies”
From Cell-cycle dynamics of chromosomal organization at single-cell resolution (2017) · cites this paper as [5]
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
The self-check needs the paper’s full text.
Citations
Cites
Comprehensive Mapping of Long-Range Interactions Reveals Folding Principles of the Human Genome
Lieberman-Aiden, E., van Berkum, N. L., Williams, L., Imakaev, M., Ragoczy, T., Telling, A., Amit, I., Lajoie, B. R., Sabo, P. J., Dorschner, M. O., et al. (2009) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.1181369 · Cited by 8,898
Spatial partitioning of the regulatory landscape of the X-inactivation centre
Nora, E. P., Lajoie, B. R., Schulz, E. G., Giorgetti, L., Okamoto, I., Servant, N., Piolot, T., van Berkum, N. L., Meisig, J., Sedat, J., et al. (2012) · Nature · doi:10.1038/nature11049 · Cited by 2,895
Domain organization of human chromosomes revealed by mapping of nuclear lamina interactions
Guelen, L., Pagie, L., Brasset, É., Meuleman, W. R. A., Faza, M. B., Talhout, W., Eussen, B. H. J., de Klein, A., Wessels, L. F. A., de Laat, W. L., et al. (2008) · Nature · doi:10.1038/nature06947 · Cited by 2,042
A long noncoding RNA maintains active chromatin to coordinate homeotic gene expression
Wang, K., Yang, Y. W., Liu, B., Sanyal, A., Corces, M. R., Chen, Y., Lajoie, B. R., Protacio, A., Flynn, R. A., Gupta, R. A., et al. (2011) · Nature · doi:10.1038/nature09819 · Cited by 2,005
Three-dimensional folding and functional organization principles of the Drosophila genome
Sexton, T., Yaffe, E., Kenigsberg, E., Bantignies, F., Leblanc, B., Hoichman, M., Parrinello, H., Tanay, A., & Cavalli, G. (2012) · Cell · doi:10.1016/j.cell.2012.01.010 · Cited by 1,983
Mediator and cohesin connect gene expression and chromatin architecture
Kagey, M. H., Newman, J. J., Bilodeau, S., Zhan, Y., Orlando, D. A., van Berkum, N. L., Ebmeier, C. C., Goossens, J., Rahl, P. B., Levine, S. S., et al. (2010) · Nature · doi:10.1038/nature09380 · Cited by 1,939
CTCF: Master Weaver of the Genome
Phillips‐Cremins, J. E., & Corces, V. G. (2009) · Cell · doi:10.1016/j.cell.2009.06.001 · Cited by 1,585
Connecting microRNA Genes to the Core Transcriptional Regulatory Circuitry of Embryonic Stem Cells
Marson, A., Levine, S. S., Cole, M. F., Frampton, G. M., Brambrink, T., Johnstone, S. E., Guenther, M. G., Johnston, W. K., Wernig, M., Newman, J. J., et al. (2008) · Cell · doi:10.1016/j.cell.2008.07.020 · Cited by 1,405
A map of the cis-regulatory sequences in the mouse genome
Shen, Y., Yue, F., McCleary, D. F., Ye, Z., Edsall, L., Kuan, S., Wagner, U., Dixon, J., Lee, L., Lobanenkov, V. V., et al. (2012) · Nature · doi:10.1038/nature11243 · Cited by 1,361 · cited 3×
“H3K4me3, H3K4me1, H3K27ac, p300, CTCF, ChIPseq, mESC and cortex RNA-seq Figures 1-4, Supplemental Figures 5,10,2023 Shen, Y. et al. A Map of cis-Regulatory Sequences in the Mouse Genome. in submission (2012).(32) Lung Fibroblast 5C Supplemental Figure 4 Wang, K.C. et al. A long noncoding RNA maintains active chromatin…”
BackgroundInfluentialSelf-citationChromosome TerritoriesPreprint
Cremer, T. J., & Cremer, M. (2010) · Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives in Biology · doi:10.1101/cshperspect.a003889 · Cited by 1,195
Cited by
Sorted by citations
A 3D Map of the Human Genome at Kilobase Resolution Reveals Principles of Chromatin Looping
Rao, S. S. P., Huntley, M. H., Durand, N. C., Stamenova, E. K., Bochkov, I. D., Robinson, J. T., Sanborn, A. L., Machol, I., Omer, A. D., Lander, E. S., et al. (2014) · Cell · doi:10.1016/j.cell.2014.11.021 · Cited by 9,212
Integrative analysis of 111 reference human epigenomes
Roadmap Epigenomics Consortium, Kundaje, A., Meuleman, W., Ernst, J., Bilenky, M., Yen, A., Heravi-Moussavi, A., Kheradpour, P., Zhang, Z., Wang, J., et al. (2015) · Nature · doi:10.1038/nature14248 · Cited by 6,368
Self-citationMaster Transcription Factors and Mediator Establish Super-Enhancers at Key Cell Identity Genes
Whyte, W. A., Orlando, D. A., Hnisz, D., Abraham, B. J., Lin, C. Y., Kagey, M. H., Rahl, P. B., Lee, T. I., & Young, R. A. (2013) · Cell · doi:10.1016/j.cell.2013.03.035 · Cited by 4,143
Super-enhancers in the control of cell identity and disease
Hnisz, D., Abraham, B. J., Lee, T. I., Lau, A., Saint-André, V., Sigova, A. A., Hoke, H. A., & Young, R. A. (2013) · Cell · doi:10.1016/j.cell.2013.09.053 · Cited by 3,662
Selective Inhibition of Tumor Oncogenes by Disruption of Super-Enhancers
Lovén, J., Hoke, H. A., Lin, C. Y., Lau, A., Orlando, D. A., Vakoc, C. R., Bradner, J. E., Lee, T. I., & Young, R. A. (2013) · Cell · doi:10.1016/j.cell.2013.03.036 · Cited by 2,961
Metadata
- Authors
- Dixon, J. R., Selvaraj, S., Yue, F., Kim, A., Li, Y., Shen, Y., Hu, M., Liu, J. S., & Ren, B.
- Affiliations
- Ludwig Cancer Research (BE)
- Harvard University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Ren, Bing
- Venue
- Nature
- Published
- 2012-04-11
- Volume
- 485
- Issue
- 7398
- Pages
- 376-380
- ISSN
- 0028-0836 (ISSN-L)
- 1476-4687
- PMC
- PMC3356448
- OpenAlex
- W2070021921
- Cited by
- 6,829
- References
- 33
- Citations by year
- 2026: 356 · 2025: 432 · 2024: 550 · 2023: 544 · 2022: 567 · 2021: 690 · 2020: 661 · 2019: 629 · 2018: 568 · 2017: 524 · 2016: 423 · 2015: 351 · 2014: 237 · 2013: 220 · 2012: 66
- FWCI
- 112.45
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Licence
- www.springer.com/tdm (tdm)
- Locations
- Nature (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- Digital Access to Scholarship at Harvard (DASH) (Harvard University) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
- eScholarship (California Digital Library) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (R01GH003991)
- National Human Genome Research Institute (R01HG003991)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Genomics and Chromatin Dynamics
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Genetics › Chromosomal and Genetic Variations
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Chromatin Remodeling and Cancer
- Keywords
- topological domains, 3D genome organization, chromatin interactions, topologically associating domains, Hi-C, 5C, mouse X chromosome, X inactivation center, CTCF, heterochromatin, chromosome territories, embryonic stem cells, SINE retrotransposons
- MeSH terms
- CCCTC-Binding Factor, Animals, Binding Sites, Cell Differentiation, Chromatin, Chromosomes, Female, Heterochromatin, Humans, Male, Mammals, Repressor Proteins, RNA, Transfer, Genome, Evolution, Molecular, Genes, Essential, Short Interspersed Nucleotide Elements, Mice, Embryonic Stem Cells
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review