Biology subjects

Merino-Urteaga, R.

Publications and source records attributed to Merino-Urteaga, R..

3 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2026

A Modular Framework for Automated Segmentation and Analysis of AFM Imaging of Chromatin Organization

Chromatin organization underlies essential genome functions, but its nanoscale organization remains challenging to capture and quantify with precision. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) offers direct structural readouts of DNA and chromatin, yet translating these rich images into reproducible biological metrics has been limited by the lack of standardized, scalable analysis tools. Here we present DNAsight, an automated analysis framework that integrates machine learning (ML)-based segmentation with modular, base-pair-calibrated quantification of DNA spatial organization, looping, nucleosome spacing, and protein clustering. Applied across diverse chromatin-associated proteins, DNAsight reveals protein-specific organizational signatures, including topology-dependent compaction by integration host factor (IHF), condition-dependent changes in loop-like DNA structures in cohesin-CTCF-precocious dissociation of sisters 5A (PDS5A) reactions, and promoter-driven multimerization of GAGA factor (GAF) clusters. The framework further enables direct extraction of nucleosome spacing distributions from raw AFM images, providing a label-free route to investigate chromatin fiber architecture. Together, these advances establish DNAsight as a generalizable and scalable approach for converting AFM measurements into quantitative insights into the physical principles of chromatin organization. O_FIG O_LINKSMALLFIG WIDTH=200 HEIGHT=79 SRC="FIGDIR/small/708946v2_ufig1.gif" ALT="Figure 1"> View larger version (31K): org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@1225883org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@1e1041dorg.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@1d53d18org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@9e0a2a_HPS_FORMAT_FIGEXP M_FIG C_FIG

biophysics↗

bioRxiv2025

Ultrafast CTCF dynamics control cohesin barrier function

Genomes are organized into chromatin loops through cohesin-mediated extrusion, with CTCF acting as a polar boundary element. As cohesin approaches CTCF at kilobase-per-second speeds, it must rapidly choose whether to stall or bypass. How CTCF encodes this probabilistic decision within a brief encounter window has remained unclear. Here we show that CTCF governs this probabilistic outcome by rapidly sampling a dynamic ensemble of conformations generated by spontaneous rearrangements of its DNA-binding zinc fingers. This ensemble is tuned by DNA sequence, CpG methylation, nearby nucleosomes, and the cohesin regulator PDS5A before cohesin engagement. Upon cohesin binding, PDS5A enhances loop-anchor mechanical stability, reinforcing orientation-dependent boundaries. These findings establish conformational ensemble tuning, rather than static occupancy, as a regulatory principle linking base pair-scale motions to megabase-scale genome organization. One sentence summaryChromatin boundary function is governed not by CTCF occupancy alone, but by a tunable ensemble of DNA-bound conformations that probabilistically gates cohesin capture.

biophysics↗

bioRxiv2024

Reliable amplification of highly repetitive or low complexity sequence DNA enabled by superhelicase-mediated isothermal amplification

PCR is a cornerstone of molecular biology, but many biologically important DNA templates remain difficult to amplify. Long tandem repeats, low-complexity tracts, and sequences with extreme base composition often yield low product levels, smeared bands, stutter products, or truncated amplicons. These failures can arise because repeated cycles of thermal denaturation and reannealing promote off-register annealing, polymerase slippage, secondary-structure formation, and incomplete extension. Previously, we developed SSB-Helicase Assisted Rapid PCR (SHARP), an isothermal amplification method in which an engineered superhelicase and single-stranded DNA-binding protein replace the thermal melting step of PCR with enzymatic strand separation. Here, we tested whether SHARP can improve amplification of templates that are refractory to conventional PCR. SHARP robustly amplified up to six identical tandem repeats of the Widom 601 nucleosome-positioning sequence and up to 35 identical ankyrin repeats, targets that were poorly amplified by conventional PCR under the conditions tested. SHARP also amplified templates with extreme base composition, including a 95% AT-rich template and GC-rich templates (up to ~95% GC), as well as a 99-repeat CGG tract associated with Fragile X syndrome and a CAG/CAA repeat tract from mutant HTT exon 1 associated with Huntington disease. Together, these results show that helicase-driven isothermal amplification can expand access to repetitive and compositionally extreme DNA sequences that are challenging for conventional thermocycling-based PCR.

bioengineering↗