Sites of topoisomerase I action on X. laevis ribosomal chromatin: Transcriptionally active rDNA has an ∼200 bp repeating structure

The sites at which topoisomerase I interacts with the transcriptionally active ribosomal chromatin of Xenopus oocytes were mapped by treating oocyte nuclei first with camptothecin to stabilize topoisomerase I-rDNA reaction intermediates, and then with SDS to resolve these adducts as protein-linked nicks in the DNA. Strikingly, the topoisomerase I sites are concentrated in the region encoding the 18S, 5.8S, and 28S rRNAs, where they are spaced with a periodicity of approximately 200 nucleotides. Plasmid rDNA that has assembled into a nucleoprotein structure in an oocyte nuclear extract yields this same restricted pattern of sites, while rDNA that is not in a chromatin structure exhibits a continuum of topoisomerase I cleavages. Thus, the approximately 200 bp spacing of sites of topoisomerase I interaction evidently reflects rDNA chromatin structure. These results indicate that the active rRNA genes are organized into nucleosome-like arrays, with topoisomerase I located in the linker regions.