Efficient isolation of specific genomic regions by insertional chromatin immunoprecipitation (iChIP) with a second-generation tagged LexA DNA-binding domain

Comprehensive understanding of mechanisms of epigenetic regulation requires identification of molecules bound to genomic regions of interest in vivo. We have developed a novel method, insertional chromatin immunoprecipitatin (iChIP), to isolate specific genomic regions retaining molecular interaction in order to perform non-biased identification of interacting molecules in vivo. Here, we developed a second-generation tagged LexA DNA-binding domain, 3xFNLDD, for the iChIP analysis. 3xFNLDD consists of 3 x FLAG tags, a nuclear localization signal (NLS), the DNA-binding domain (DB) and the dimerization domain of the LexA protein. Expression of 3xFNLDD can be detected by immunoblot analysis as well as flowcytometry. We showed that iChIP using 3xFNLDD is able to consistently isolate more than 10% of input genomic DNA, several-fold more efficient compared to the first-generation tagged LexA DB. 3xFNLDD would be a useful tool to perform the iChIP analysis for locus-specific biochemical epigenetics.