Abstract Cohesin consists of the Smc1-Smc3-Rad21 tripartite ring and the SA protein that interacts with Rad21. The Nipped-B protein loads cohesin topologically around chromosomes to mediate sister chromatid cohesion and facilitate long-range control of gene transcription. It is largely unknown how Nipped-B and cohesin associate specifically with gene promoters and transcriptional enhancers, or how sister chromatid cohesion is established. Here we use genome-wide chromatin immunoprecipitation in Drosophila cells to show that SA and the Fs(1)h (BRD4) BET domain protein help recruit Nipped-B and cohesin to enhancers and DNA replication origins, while the MED30 subunit of the Mediator complex directs Nipped-B and Rad21 to promoters. All enhancers and their neighboring promoters are close to DNA replication origins and bind SA with proportional levels of cohesin subunits. Most promoters are far from origins and lack SA, but bind Nipped-B and Rad21 with sub-proportional amounts of Smc1, indicating that they bind SA-deficient cohesin part of the time. Genetic data confirm that Nipped-B and Rad21 function together with Fs(1)h in vivo to facilitate Drosophila development. These findings demonstrate that Nipped-B and cohesin are differentially targeted to enhancers and promoters and suggest models for how SA and DNA replication help establish sister chromatid cohesion and facilitate enhancer-promoter communication. They indicate that SA is not an obligatory cohesin subunit but a factor that controls cohesin location on chromosomes.

Cohesin occupancy and composition at enhancers and promoters are linked to DNA replication origin proximity inDrosophila