Project description:Gene bodies of vertebrates and flowering plants are occupied by the histone variant H3.3 and DNA methylation. The origin and significance of these profiles remain largely unknown. DNA methylation and H3.3 enrichment profiles over gene bodies are correlated and both have a similar dependence on gene transcription levels. This suggests a mechanistic link between H3.3 and gene body methylation.We engineered an H3.3 knockdown in Arabidopsis thaliana and observed transcription reduction that predominantly affects genes responsive to environmental cues. When H3.3 levels are reduced, gene bodies show a loss of DNA methylation correlated with transcription levels. To study the origin of changes in DNA methylation profiles when H3.3 levels are reduced, we examined genome-wide distributions of several histone H3 marks, H2A.Z, and linker histone H1. We report that in the absence of H3.3, H1 distribution increases in gene bodies in a transcription-dependent manner.We propose that H3.3 prevents recruitment of H1, inhibiting H1's promotion of chromatin folding that restricts access to DNA methyltransferases responsible for gene body methylation. Thus, gene body methylation is likely shaped by H3.3 dynamics in conjunction with transcriptional activity.
Project description:Gene bodies of vertebrates and flowering plants are occupied by histone variant H3.3 and DNA methylation. The origin and significance of these profiles remain largely unknown. The profiles of enrichments in DNA methylation and H3.3 over gene bodies are correlated and both depend similarly on gene transcription levels. This suggests a mechanistic link between H3.3 and gene body methylation. We engineered H3.3 knockdown in Arabidopsis and observed transcription reduction that predominantly affected genes responsive to environmental cues. When H3.3 levels were reduced, gene bodies showed a loss of DNA methylation correlated with transcription levels. To study the origin of changes in DNA methylation profiles when H3.3 levels are reduced, we examined genome wide distributions of several histone H3 marks, H2A.Z, linker histone H1 and nucleosome densities. We observed that in absence of H3.3, H1 distribution increased in gene bodies. This depends on levels of gene transcription.We propose that H3.3 prevents recruitment of H1, which in turn promotes chromatin folding and antagonizes access to DNA methyltransferases responsible for gene body methylation. Thus, gene body methylation is likely shaped by H3.3 dynamics in relation with transcriptional activity.
Project description:Gene bodies of vertebrates and flowering plants are occupied by histone variant H3.3 and DNA methylation. The origin and significance of these profiles remain largely unknown. The profiles of enrichments in DNA methylation and H3.3 over gene bodies are correlated and both depend similarly on gene transcription levels. This suggests a mechanistic link between H3.3 and gene body methylation. We engineered H3.3 knockdown in Arabidopsis and observed transcription reduction that predominantly affected genes responsive to environmental cues. When H3.3 levels were reduced, gene bodies showed a loss of DNA methylation correlated with transcription levels. To study the origin of changes in DNA methylation profiles when H3.3 levels are reduced, we examined genome wide distributions of several histone H3 marks, H2A.Z, linker histone H1 and nucleosome densities. We observed that in absence of H3.3, H1 distribution increased in gene bodies. This depends on levels of gene transcription. We propose that H3.3 prevents recruitment of H1, which in turn promotes chromatin folding and antagonizes access to DNA methyltransferases responsible for gene body methylation. Thus, gene body methylation is likely shaped by H3.3 dynamics in relation with transcriptional activity.
Project description:Gene bodies of vertebrates and flowering plants are occupied by histone variant H3.3 and DNA methylation. The origin and significance of these profiles remain largely unknown. The profiles of enrichments in DNA methylation and H3.3 over gene bodies are correlated and both depend similarly on gene transcription levels. This suggests a mechanistic link between H3.3 and gene body methylation. We engineered H3.3 knockdown in Arabidopsis and observed transcription reduction that predominantly affected genes responsive to environmental cues. When H3.3 levels were reduced, gene bodies showed a loss of DNA methylation correlated with transcription levels. To study the origin of changes in DNA methylation profiles when H3.3 levels are reduced, we examined genome-wide distributions of several histone H3 marks, H2A.Z, linker histone H1 and nucleosome densities. We observed that in absence of H3.3, H1 distribution increased in gene bodies. This depends on levels of gene transcription. We propose that H3.3 prevents recruitment of H1, which in turn promotes chromatin folding and antagonizes access to DNA methyltransferases responsible for gene body methylation. Thus, gene body methylation is likely shaped by H3.3 dynamics in relation with transcriptional activity.
Project description:Gene bodies of vertebrates and flowering plants are occupied by histone variant H3.3 and DNA methylation. The origin and significance of these profiles remain largely unknown. The profiles of enrichments in DNA methylation and H3.3 over gene bodies are correlated and both depend similarly on gene transcription levels. This suggests a mechanistic link between H3.3 and gene body methylation. We engineered H3.3 knockdown in Arabidopsis and observed transcription reduction that predominantly affected genes responsive to environmental cues. When H3.3 levels were reduced, gene bodies showed a loss of DNA methylation correlated with transcription levels. To study the origin of changes in DNA methylation profiles when H3.3 levels are reduced, we examined genome wide distributions of several histone H3 marks, H2A.Z, linker histone H1 and nucleosome densities. We observed that in absence of H3.3, H1 distribution increased in gene bodies. This depends on levels of gene transcription. We propose that H3.3 prevents recruitment of H1, which in turn promotes chromatin folding and antagonizes access to DNA methyltransferases responsible for gene body methylation. Thus, gene body methylation is likely shaped by H3.3 dynamics in relation with transcriptional activity.
Project description:In addition to being a hallmark at active genes, histone variant H3.3 is deposited by ATRX at repressive chromatin regions, including the telomeres. It is unclear how H3.3 promotes heterochromatin assembly. We show that H3.3 is targeted for K9 trimethylation to establish a heterochromatic state enriched in trimethylated H3.3K9 at telomeres. In H3f3a(-/-) and H3f3b(-/-) mouse embryonic stem cells (ESCs), H3.3 deficiency results in reduced levels of H3K9me3, H4K20me3 and ATRX at telomeres. The H3f3b(-/-) cells show increased levels of telomeric damage and sister chromatid exchange (t-SCE) activity when telomeres are compromised by treatment with a G-quadruplex (G4) DNA binding ligand or by ASF1 depletion. Overexpression of wild-type H3.3 (but not a H3.3K9 mutant) in H3f3b(-/-) cells increases H3K9 trimethylation level at telomeres and represses t-SCE activity induced by a G4 ligand. This study demonstrates the importance of H3.3K9 trimethylation in heterochromatin formation at telomeres. It provides insights into H3.3 function in maintaining integrity of mammalian constitutive heterochromatin, adding to its role in mediating transcription memory in the genome.
Project description:Histone variants have been proposed to act as determinants for posttranslational modifications with widespread regulatory functions. We identify a histone-modifying enzyme that selectively methylates the replication-dependent histone H3 variant H3.1. The crystal structure of the SET domain of the histone H3 lysine-27 (H3K27) methyltransferase ARABIDOPSIS TRITHORAX-RELATED PROTEIN 5 (ATXR5) in complex with a H3.1 peptide shows that ATXR5 contains a bipartite catalytic domain that specifically "reads" alanine-31 of H3.1. Variation at position 31 between H3.1 and replication-independent H3.3 is conserved in plants and animals, and threonine-31 in H3.3 is responsible for inhibiting the activity of ATXR5 and its paralog, ATXR6. Our results suggest a simple model for the mitotic inheritance of the heterochromatic mark H3K27me1 and the protection of H3.3-enriched genes against heterochromatization during DNA replication.
Project description:Uhrf1-dependent histone H3 ubiquitylation plays a crucial role in the maintenance of DNA methylation via the recruitment of the DNA methyltransferase Dnmt1 to DNA methylation sites. However, the involvement of deubiquitylating enzymes (DUBs) targeting ubiquitylated histone H3 in the maintenance of DNA methylation is largely unknown. With the use of Xenopus egg extracts, we demonstrate here that Usp7, a ubiquitin carboxyl-terminal hydrolase, forms a stable complex with Dnmt1 and is recruited to DNA methylation sites during DNA replication. Usp7 deubiquitylates ubiquitylated histone H3 in vitro. Inhibition of Usp7 activity or its depletion in egg extracts results in enhanced and extended binding of Dnmt1 to chromatin, suppressing DNA methylation. Depletion of Usp7 in HeLa cells causes enhanced histone H3 ubiquitylation and enlargement of Dnmt1 nuclear foci during DNA replication. Our results thus suggest that Usp7 is a key factor that regulates maintenance of DNA methylation.
Project description:Histone variants, such as histone H3.3, replace canonical histones within the nucleosome to alter chromatin accessibility and gene expression. Although the biological roles of selected histone post-translational modifications (PTMs) have been extensively characterized, the potential differences in the function of a given PTM on different histone variants is almost always elusive. By applying proteomics and genomics techniques, we investigate the role of lysine 27 tri-methylation specifically on the histone variant H3.3 (H3.3K27me3) in the context of mouse embryonic stem cell pluripotency and differentiation as a model system for development. We demonstrate that while the steady state overall levels of methylation on both H3K27 and H3.3K27 decrease during differentiation, methylation dynamics studies indicate that methylation on H3.3K27 is maintained more than on H3K27. Using a custom-made antibody, we identify a unique enrichment of H3.3K27me3 at lineage-specific genes, such as olfactory receptor genes, and at binding motifs for the transcription factors FOXJ2/3. REST, a predicted FOXJ2/3 target that acts as a transcriptional repressor of terminal neuronal genes, was identified with H3.3K27me3 at its promoter region. H3.3K27A mutant cells confirmed an upregulation of FOXJ2/3 targets upon the loss of methylation at H3.3K27. Thus, while canonical H3K27me3 has been characterized to regulate the expression of transcription factors that play a general role in differentiation, our work suggests H3.3K27me3 is essential for regulating distinct terminal differentiation genes. This work highlights the importance of understanding the effects of PTMs not only on canonical histones but also on specific histone variants, as they may exhibit distinct roles.