Evidence that Localized Variation in Primate Sequence Divergence Arises from an Influence of Nucleosome Placement on DNA Repair

Understanding the origins of localized substitution rate heterogeneity has important implications for identifying functional genomic sequences. Outside of gene regions, the origins of rate heterogeneity remain unclear. Experimental studies establish that chromatin compaction affects rates of both DNA lesion formation and repair. A functional association between chromatin status and 5-methyl-cytosine also exists. These suggest that both the total rate and the type of substitution will be affected by chromatin status. Regular positioning of nucleosomes, the building block of chromatin, further predicts that substitution rate and type should vary spatially in an oscillating manner. We addressed chromatin's influence on substitution rate and type in primates. Matched numbers of sites were sampled from Dnase I hypersensitive (DHS) and closed chromatin control flank (Flank). Likelihood ratio tests revealed significant excesses of total and of transition substitutions in Flank compared with matched DHS for both intergenic and intronic samples. An additional excess of CpG transitions was evident for the intergenic, but not intronic, regions. Fluctuation in substitution rate along approximately 1,800 primate promoters was measured using phylogenetic footprinting. Significant positive correlations were evident between the substitution rate and a nucleosome score from resting human T-cells, with up to approximately 50% of the variance in substitution rate accounted for. Using signal processing techniques, a dominant oscillation at approximately 200 bp was evident in both the substitution rate and the nucleosome score. Our results support a role for differential DNA repair rates between open and closed chromatin in the spatial distribution of rate heterogeneity.