Fig. 5: NHCCs relate to sex-specific features.
From: Inter-chromosomal contacts demarcate genome topology along a spatial gradient
a Alluvial-style plots show unique gonosome-autosome NHCCs (q < 0.05) for chromosome X in (left) female datasets or in (center) male datasets, and (right) common gonosome-autosome NHCCs for chromosome X among male and female datasets. n = number of interactions. Interactions are colored based on autosome’s origin where p-arm = red, and q-arm = black (opacity 10%). XX = chromosome X from female data, XY = chromosome X from male data. X “chromosomes” are outlined in blue, Y “chromosomes” are outlined in orange, “autosomes” are outlined in black. Asterisks describe genomic regions of hg38 in megabases (Mb). b Same as panel a but for (left) X-Y gonosome-gonosome NHCCs and (right) Y gonosome-autosome NHCCs in male datasets. c Constitutive female NHCCs (>50% of datasets) are shown in genome topology map with XX (blue) and female communities (colored datapoints). Dashed boxes highlight Xq-telomeric anchor region. d Same as panel c, but for male datasets. In addition to Xq-telomeric anchor region, dashed boxes highlight constitutive XY-Y contacts. e Scaled average sex-specific gene expression of GTex52 per 1 Mb bin across (left) female and (right) male genome topology (high [intense color] vs. low expression [white]). f Overlap of supervised and unsupervised Signature results separated by sex. g Working model of the inter-chromosomal topology across human cell types. Constitutive NHCCs coalesce at the speckles and demarcate together with inter-centromeric and inter-telomeric interactions a major spatial genome gradient. Cell-type-specific NHCCs locate to discrete hubs distal to the main axis of genome activity (i.e., NHCCs in neurons, heart). Constitutive NHCCs happen in euchromatin and possess more genes with higher expression in comparison to non-interacting regions.
