Chromatin Immunoprecipitation Assay for the Identification of Arabidopsis Protein-DNA Interactions In Vivo

Summary

Chromatin immunoprecipitation is a powerful technique for the identification of DNA binding sites of Arabidopsis proteins in vivo. This procedure includes chromatin cross-linking and fragmentation, immunoprecipitation with selective antibodies against the protein of interest, and qPCR analysis of bound DNA. We describe a simple ChIP assay optimized for Arabidopsis plants.

Abstract

Intricate gene regulatory networks orchestrate biological processes and developmental transitions in plants. Selective transcriptional activation and silencing of genes mediate the response of plants to environmental signals and developmental cues. Therefore, insights into the mechanisms that control plant gene expression are essential to gain a deep understanding of how biological processes are regulated in plants. The chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) technique described here is a procedure to identify the DNA-binding sites of proteins in genes or genomic regions of the model species Arabidopsis thaliana. The interactions with DNA of proteins of interest such as transcription factors, chromatin proteins or posttranslationally modified versions of histones can be efficiently analyzed with the ChIP protocol. This method is based on the fixation of protein-DNA interactions in vivo, random fragmentation of chromatin, immunoprecipitation of protein-DNA complexes with specific antibodies, and quantification of the DNA associated with the protein of interest by PCR techniques. The use of this methodology in Arabidopsis has contributed significantly to unveil transcriptional regulatory mechanisms that control a variety of plant biological processes. This approach allowed the identification of the binding sites of the Arabidopsis chromatin protein EBS to regulatory regions of the master gene of flowering FT. The impact of this protein in the accumulation of particular histone marks in the genomic region of FT was also revealed through ChIP analysis.

Introduction

During recent years a wide range of genetic, molecular and genomic tools have been developed in the model species Arabidopsis thaliana. This technology has facilitated enormously the progress in understanding how plant development is regulated. Among the developmental processes studied using Arabidopsis as a model, the genetic control of flowering time has been extensively analyzed. These studies have shown that plants modulate very precisely the time of flowering in response to endogenous cues such as hormones and the age of the plant, and also to environmental signals such as photoperiod and temperature that synchronize flowering time with the natural cycle....

Protocol

1. Crosslinking of the Plant Material (1 hr)

1. Grow the Arabidopsis lines used in the experiment (wild type — WT — versus mutants, and/or lines expressing the tagged version of your protein of interest versus lines expressing the tag not fused to any protein) for 12-18 days on large Petri dishes (150 mm) with MS-agar medium (1 L: 1x Murashige & Skoog salts, 10 g sucrose, 0.5 g MES, pH 5.7 (KOH), 1% agar). Alternatively, grow plants on pots containing 3:1 mix of soil and vermiculite.
   CAUTION! Formaldehyde is toxic by inhalation, in contact with skin and if swallowed, and should be handled in a chemical hood wearing....

Results

Eight main steps can be singled out in this ChIP protocol for the identification of in vivo protein-DNA interactions, including growing and harvesting of plant material, cross-linking of chromatin, chromatin isolation, chromatin fragmentation, selective isolation of the complexes between DNA and the protein of interest by immunoprecipitation, protein digestion, DNA purification, and qPCR analysis (Figure 1). A crucial step in the ChIP protocol is the fixation of DNA-protein interactions in a cro.......

Discussion

The ChIP protocol described here is a reproducible and powerful technique to analyze interactions between proteins and specific DNA sequences in vivo in Arabidopsis plants. A successful identification of binding sites for the proteins of interest requires an adequate selection of plant organs or developmental stages where the relevant interactions are actually taking place. In addition, it is critical to obtain an appropriate fixation of the plant material and an optimal shearing of the chromatin by sonication. .......

Materials

List of materials used in this article

Name	Company	Catalog Number	Comments
MES	Sigma	M8250
MS (Murashige and Skoog Basal Salt Mixture)	Sigma	M5524
Formaldehyde 37%	Sigma	F8775-25	Use under the fume hood
Protease inhibitor mix cOmplete ULTRA Tablets, Mini, EDTA-free, EASYpack	Roche	5892791001
Bioruptor Standard sonication device	Diagenode	B01010002 (UCD200TO)
Glycine	Sigma	50046
QIAquick PCR Purification Kit	Qiagen	28104
Dynabeads magnetic beads coupled with protein A or protein G	Life Technologies	10003D/10001D	Check manufacturer’s manual for antibody affinity
Miracloth	Merck Millipore	475855
Triton X-100 Surfact-Amps Detergent Solution	Life Technologies	85112
(mouse, rat, rabbit…)-IgG	Diagenode	C15400001, C15420001, C15410206
Magnetic rack - DynaMag-2	Life Technologies	12321D
H3K9/14ac polyclonal antibody - Premium	Diagenode	C15410200-10
Chelex 100 Resin	Bio-Rad	142-2832
Proteinase K	Life Technologies	17916
Anti-Myc Tag Antibody, clone 4A6	Millipore	05-724
LightCycler 480 SYBR Green I Master	Roche	4707516001