Cooperativity, specificity, and evolutionary stability of polycomb targeting in Drosophila

International audienceMetazoan genomes are partitioned into modular chromosomal domains containing active or repressive chromatin. In flies, Polycomb group (PcG) response elements (PREs) recruit PHO and other DNA-binding factors and act as nucleation sites for the formation of Polycomb repressive domains. The sequence specificity of PREs is not well understood. Here, weuse comparative epigenomics and transgenic assays to show that Drosophila domain organization and PRE specification are evolutionarily conserved despite significant cis-element divergence within Polycomb domains, where ascis-element evolution is strongl y correlated with transcription factor binding divergence outside of Polycomb domains. Cooperative interactions of PcG complexes and their recruiting factor PHO stabilize PHO recruitment to low-specificity sequences. Consistently, PHO recruitment tosites within Polycomb domains is stabilized byPRC1. These data suggest that cooperative ratherthan hierarchical interactions among low-affinity se-quences, DNA-binding factors, and the Polycomb machinery are giving rise to specific and strongly conserved 3D structures in Drosophil