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Approximately 75% of the human genome is transcribed, the majority of which does not encode protein. However, many noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs) are rapidly degraded after transcription, and relatively few have established functions, questioning the significance of this observation. Here we show that esBAF, a SWI/SNF family nucleosome remodeling factor, suppresses transcription of ncRNAs from ∼57,000 nucleosome-depleted regions (NDRs) throughout the genome of mouse embryonic stem cells (ESCs). We show that esBAF functions to both keep NDRs nucleosome-free and promote elevated nucleosome occupancy adjacent to NDRs. Reduction of adjacent nucleosome occupancy upon esBAF depletion is strongly correlated with ncRNA expression, suggesting that flanking nucleosomes form a barrier to pervasive transcription. Upon forcing nucleosome occupancy near two NDRs using a nucleosome-positioning sequence, we found that esBAF is no longer required to silence transcription. Therefore, esBAF's function to enforce nucleosome occupancy adjacent to NDRs, and not its function to maintain NDRs in a nucleosome-free state, is necessary for silencing transcription over ncDNA. Finally, we show that the ability of a strongly positioned nucleosome to repress ncRNA depends on its translational positioning. These data reveal a novel role for esBAF in suppressing pervasive transcription from open chromatin regions in ESCs.

Mentorship is experience and/or knowledge‐based guidance. Mentors support, sponsor and advocate for mentees. Having one or more mentors when you seek advice can significantly influence and improve your research endeavours, well‐being and career development. Positive mentee–mentor relationships are vital for maintaining work–life balance and success in careers. Early‐career researchers (ECRs), in particular, can benefit from mentorship to navigate challenges in academic and nonacademic life and careers. Yet, strategies for selecting mentors and maintaining interactions with them are often underdiscussed within research environments. In this Words of Advice, we provide recommendations for ECRs to seek and manage mentorship interactions. Our article draws from our experiences as ECRs and published work, to provide suggestions for mentees to proactively promote beneficial mentorship interactions. The recommended practices highlight the importance of identifying mentorship needs, planning and selecting multiple and diverse mentors, setting goals, and maintaining constructive, and mutually beneficial working relationships with mentors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Writing recommendation letters on behalf of students and other early‐career researchers is an important mentoring task within academia. An effective recommendation letter describes key candidate qualities such as academic achievements, extracurricular activities, outstanding personality traits, participation in and dedication to a particular discipline, and the mentor's confidence in the candidate's abilities. In this Words of Advice, we provide guidance to researchers on composing constructive and supportive recommendation letters, including tips for structuring and providing specific and effective examples, while maintaining a balance in language and avoiding potential biases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]