Rapid and Low-Input Profiling of Histone Marks in Plants Using Nucleus CUT&Tag

Characterizing genome-wide histone posttranscriptional modifications and transcriptional factor occupancy is crucial for deciphering their biological functions. Chromatin immunoprecipitation followed by sequencing (ChIP-seq) is a powerful method for genome-wide profiling of histone modifications and transcriptional factor-binding sites. However, the current ChIP-seq experimental procedure in plants requires significant material and several days for completion. CUT&Tag is an alternative method of ChIP-seq for low-sample and single-cell epigenomic profiling using protein A-Tn5 transposase fusion proteins (PAT). In this study, we developed a nucleus CUT&Tag (nCUT&Tag) protocol based on the live-cell CUT&Tag technology. Our results indicate that nCUT&Tag could be used for histone modifications profiling in both monocot rice and dicot rapeseed using crosslinked or fresh tissues. In addition, both active and repressive histone marks such as H3K4me3 and H3K9me2 can be identified using our nCUT&Tag. More importantly, all the steps in nCUT&Tag can be finished in only 1 day, and the assay can be performed with as little as 0.01 g of plant tissue as starting materials. Therefore, our results demonstrate that nCUT&Tag is an efficient alternative strategy for plant epigenomic studies.

Automated summary

In this study, researchers developed a nucleus CUT&Tag (nCUT&Tag) protocol based on the live-cell CUT&Tag technology, which allows for histone modifications profiling in both monocot rice and dicot rapeseed using minimal starting materials and completing all steps in just 1 day. nCUT&Tag can identify active and repressive histone marks such as H3K4me3 and H3K9me2 efficiently, making it a promising alternative strategy for plant epigenomic studies.