Dynamic 3D genome architecture of cotton fiber reveals subgenome-coordinated chromatin topology for 4-staged single-cell differentiation

BACKGROUND: Despite remarkable advances in our knowledge of epigenetically mediated transcriptional programming of cell differentiation in plants, little is known about chromatin topology and its functional implications in this process. RESULTS: To interrogate its significance, we establish the dynamic three-dimensional (3D) genome architecture of the allotetraploid cotton fiber, representing a typical single cell undergoing staged development in plants. We show that the subgenome-relayed switching of the chromatin compartment from active to inactive is coupled with the silencing of developmentally repressed genes, pinpointing subgenome-coordinated contribution to fiber development. We identify 10,571 topologically associating domain-like (TAD-like) structures, of which 25.6% are specifically organized in different stages and 75.23% are subject to partition or fusion between two subgenomes. Notably, dissolution of intricate TAD-like structure cliques showing long-range interactions represents a prominent characteristic at the later developmental stage. Dynamic chromatin loops are found to mediate the rewiring of gene regulatory networks that exhibit a significant difference between the two subgenomes, implicating expression bias of homologous genes. CONCLUSIONS: This study sheds light on the spatial-temporal asymmetric chromatin structures of two subgenomes in the cotton fiber and offers a new insight into the regulatory orchestration of cell differentiation in plants. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13059-022-02616-y.