Cohesin cofactor dosage sets the rate of loop extrusion, rendering genome folding tunable yet vulnerable to genetic disruption

DNA loop extrusion by cohesin is central to genome organization, yet it remains unclear how cells can tune extrusion kinetics to achieve precise and functional chromosome folding patterns. Here we show that extrusion rate acts as a tunable biophysical parameter in cells, quantitatively dialed by the respective dosage of the cohesin cofactors NIPBL and PDS5.

Modulation of extrusion rate can offset changes in cohesin lifetime to buffer steady-state chromosome structure and transcriptional states, even in the face of abnormal extrusion dynamics. These findings provide a long-sought mechanistic basis for the genetic interactions between cohesin cofactors and for the molecular origin of haploinsufficiency in cohesinopathies, such as Cornelia de Lange syndrome.