Strand-Specific Analysis of Proteins at Replicating DNA Strands by Enrichment and Sequencing of Protein-Associated Nascent DNA Method

Genome duplication is orchestrated by replisome proteins, including helicases, which unwind double-stranded DNA into individual antiparallel single strands, each requiring distinct modes of replication: continuous (leading) and discontinuous (lagging). Understanding the interactions of chromatin-associated proteins with replicating DNA strands in vivo is crucial for elucidating the mechanisms of chromatin assembly and DNA repair coupled to DNA replication. This protocol presents the enrichment and sequencing of protein-associated nascent DNA (eSPAN) method, designed to quantify relative protein levels on nascent leading and lagging DNA strands at replication forks. The eSPAN procedure starts with chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP, in yeast) or cleavage under targets and tagmentation (CUT&Tag; in mammalian cells) of a protein of interest, followed by enrichment of the protein-associated nascent DNA by bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) immunoprecipitation. Strand-specific next-generation sequencing is applied to isolated ssDNA. This technique can be used to determine whether a protein is enriched at leading or lagging replication forks. The eSPAN provides genome-wide strand-preference of chromatin-associated proteins, including histones at replication forks.