Transcription factors read a second regulatory code in chromatin

Abstract

Transcription factors (TFs) decode gene regulatory information written in DNA, yet how this vocabulary is interpreted within chromatin remains largely unexplored. Here, using an upgraded NCAP-SELEX platform, we systematically map the nucleosomal DNA recognition landscapes of 269 human TFs. We uncover a widespread, chromatin-dependent mode of sequence recognition: many TFs recognize motifs on nucleosomal DNA that are distinct from their canonical naked-DNA binding sites, revealing that nucleosome architecture encodes a second gene regulatory code in chromatin. Cryo-electron microscopy structures of TF-nucleosome complexes demonstrate that this second code is read through a combination of nucleosome-induced DNA deformation and direct protein-histone contacts. Functional analyses show that these chromatin-encoded motifs actively promote chromatin accessibility and drive cell-type-specific cis-regulatory activity in vivo. Strikingly, a single TF can deploy its canonical and nucleosome-derived motif repertoires to partition and govern entirely distinct physiological programs. Together, our findings establish that TFs interpret two complementary layers of genomic information: the primary DNA sequence and a second code written into the nucleosome architecture. This chromatin-encoded layer of regulatory information fundamentally expands our understanding of how TF specificity is achieved and how gene regulatory networks are wired in multicellular organisms.