GRID-seq reveals the global RNA-chromatin interactome

Higher eukaryotic genomes are bound by a large number of coding and non-coding RNAs, but approaches to comprehensively map the identity and binding sites of these RNAs are lacking. Here we report a method to in situ capture global RNA interactions with DNA by deep sequencing (GRID-seq), which enables the comprehensive identification of the entire repertoire of chromatin-interacting RNAs and their respective binding sites. In human, mouse and Drosophila cells, we detected a large set of tissue-specific coding and non-coding RNAs that are bound to active promoters and enhancers, especially super-enhancers. Assuming that most mRNA-chromatin interactions indicate the physical proximity of a promoter and an enhancer, we constructed a three-dimensional global connectivity map of promoters and enhancers, revealing transcription activity-linked genomic interactions in the nucleus.