{
  "abstract": "The chromatin components that are involved in organizing eukaryotic genomes into active and inactive compartments remain unclear. In analysing viable Caenorhabditis elegans mutants lacking different chromatin-regulatory proteins, we found that the HP1-type factor HPL-2 and the MBT-domain protein LIN-61 jointly contribute to chromatin compartmentalization. Genomic regions bound by both proteins and their cognate histone mark H3 lysine 9 dimethylation (H3K9me2) form broad interfaces of 30-50 kilobases that engage in combinatorial interactions, which we term 'Varied Ensembles of Long-range ChROmatin interactions' (VELCROs). Remarkably, VELCROs are defined by high density of H3K9me2, HPL-2, and LIN-61 sites, but not by the intensity of their individual peaks. Mutants that display defective chromatin compartmentalization are impaired in VELCROs. Polymer simulations show that VELCROs can drive a phase transition that segregates B from A chromatin compartments depending on peak densities. Our work identifies VELCROs as stochastic ensembles of interactions constrained within defined chromatin hubs that shape genome compartmentalization.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Bioscience Program, Division of Biomedical Sciences, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) , Thuwal 23955-6900 ,",
    "Mechanisms of Chromatin Patterning, MCD unit (UMR5077), Centre for Integrative Biology (CBI-CNRS), University of Toulouse , Toulouse 31400 ,",
    "Gen2i, 29 chemin du Marin , Toulouse 31100 ,",
    "Department of Genome & RNAs, MCD unit (UMR5077), Centre for Integrative Biology (CBI-CNRS), University of Toulouse , Toulouse 31400 ,",
    "Dynamics of Biological Systems, Centre for Human and Molecular Biology (ZHMB), Saarland University , Saarbrücken 66123 ,"
  ],
  "article_type": "research article",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 16,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Yogesh Ostwal"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Fernando Muzzopappa"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Alexandre Heurteau"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Raoul Raffel"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Alaguraj Veluchamy",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-5349-5794"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Karthik Eswara",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-7356-6361"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Ahlem Boudellioua"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Shakila Ali"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Reema Kumari"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3
      ],
      "name": "David Depierre"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Satya Vadlamani"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3
      ],
      "name": "Naomi Schickele"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3
      ],
      "name": "Stéphane Schaak"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1,
        4
      ],
      "name": "Fabian Erdel",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-2888-7777"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3
      ],
      "name": "Olivier Cuvier"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Wolfgang Fischle",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-2335-8932"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/3aqhjm4ww24hy.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.1093/nar/gkag1082",
  "fulltext_url": "https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC13728634",
  "id": "3aqhjm4ww24hy",
  "issns": [
    "0305-1048",
    "1362-4962"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://academic.oup.com/nar/article/doi/10.1093/nar/gkag1082/9010723",
  "language": "eng",
  "licence": "CC-BY-NC",
  "licence_label": "CC BY-NC",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "heading",
      "AcademicSubjects/SCI00010"
    ],
    [
      "heading",
      "Gene regulation, Chromatin and Epigenetics"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": null,
  "pdf_url": "https://academic.oup.com/nar/article-pdf/54/20/gkag1082/72841859/gkag1082.pdf",
  "pmcid": "PMC13728634",
  "pmid": "42974766",
  "published": "2026-10-01",
  "publisher": "Oxford University Press (OUP)",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/3aqhjm4ww24hy.ris",
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    {
      "first_seen": "2026-11-04T15:20:49Z",
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    {
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      "native_id": "PMC13728634",
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      "url": "https://doi.org/10.1093/nar/gkag1082"
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  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "biochemistry",
      "origin": "issn:0305-1048",
      "subfield": "molecular-biology"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Varied Ensembles of Long-range ChROmatin interactions drive chromatin compartmentalization",
  "title_text": "Varied Ensembles of Long-range ChROmatin interactions drive chromatin compartmentalization",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-11-07T12:21:35Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/3aqhjm4ww24hy",
  "venue": "Nucleic Acids Research",
  "versions": []
}