Project description:Crucial mechanisms are required to restrict self-propagating heterochromatin spreading within defined boundaries and prevent euchromatic gene silencing. In the filamentous fungus Neurospora crassa, the JmjC domain protein DNA METHYLATION MODULATOR-1 (DMM-1) prevents aberrant spreading of heterochromatin, but the molecular details remain unknown. Here, we revealed that DMM-1 is highly enriched in a well-defined 5-kb heterochromatin domain and constrained its aberrant spreading. Interestingly, aberrant spreading of the 5-kb heterochromatin domain observed in the dmm-1KO strain is accompanied by the sharp deposition of histone variant H2A.Z, and deletion of H2A.Z abolishes aberrant spreading of the 5-kb heterochromatin domain into adjacent euchromatin. Furthermore, lysine 56 of histone H3 is deacetylated at the expanded heterochromatin regions, and mimicking H3K56 acetylation with an H3K56Q mutation effectively blocks H2A.Z-mediated aberrant spreading of the 5-kb heterochromatin domain. More importantly, genome-wide analyses demonstrated the general roles of H3K56 deacetylation and H2A.Z deposition in aberrant spreading of heterochromatin. Altogether, our results illustrate a previously unappreciated regulatory process that mediates aberrant heterochromatin spreading.
Project description:Heterochromatin is a specialized form of chromatin that restricts access to DNA and inhibits genetic processes, including transcription and recombination. In Neurospora crassa, constitutive heterochromatin is characterized by trimethylation of lysine 9 on histone H3, hypoacetylation of histones, and DNA methylation. Here we explore whether the conserved histone demethylase, lysine-specific demethylase 1 (LSD1), regulates heterochromatin in Neurospora, and if so, how. Though LSD1 is implicated in heterochromatin regulation, its function is inconsistent across different systems; orthologs of LSD1 have been shown to either promote or antagonize heterochromatin expansion by removing H3K4me or H3K9me respectively. We identify three members of the Neurospora LSD complex (LSDC): LSD1, PHF1, and BDP-1, and strains deficient for any exhibit variable spreading of heterochromatin and establishment of new heterochromatin domains dispersed across the genome. Heterochromatin establishment outside of canonical domains in Neurospora share the unusual characteristic of DNA methylation-dependent H3K9me3; typically, H3K9me3 establishment is independent of DNA methylation. Consistent with this, the hyper-H3K9me3 phenotype of LSD1 knock-out strains is dependent on the presence of DNA methylation, as well as HCHC-mediated histone deacetylation, suggesting spreading is dependent on some feedback mechanism. Altogether, our results suggest LSD1 works in opposition to HCHC to maintain proper heterochromatin boundaries.
Project description:Both H3K9me3 and DNA methylation are subject to spreading mechanisms to effectively cover incipient chromatin across heterochromatin domains. Boundary elements and associated limiting factors are necessary to prevent heterochromatin from spreading into neighboring, gene-rich heterochromatin. LSD1 was identified to be one such factor, given previous studies in other models and high conservation throughout eukaryotes. This study identifies the LSD complex in Neurospora and characterizes the heterochromatin spreading defect in Neurospora crassa ∆lsd1 strains. We found ∆lsd1 strains to possess variable extents of excessive heterochromatin spreading, and that this is dependent on the presence of DNA methylation, unlike at canonical heterochromatin domains where loss of DNA methylation has no effect on the presence of other heterochromatin marks (H3K9me3 and HP1-binding). Our findings provide insight of LSD1 function in heterochromatin regulation.
Project description:Repression of facultative heterochromatin is essential for developmental processes in numerous organisms. Methylation of histone H3 lysine 27 (H3K27) by Polycomb repressive complex 2 is a prominent feature of facultative heterochromatin in both fungi and higher eukaryotes. Although this methylation is frequently crucial for silencing, the detailed mechanism of repression remains poorly understood. We utilized a forward genetics approach to identify three previously uncharacterized genes required to maintain silencing at facultative heterochromatin genes in Neurospora crassa: sds3 (NCU01599), rlp1 (RPD3L protein 1; NCU09007) and rlp2 (RPD3L protein 2; NCU02898). We found that SDS3, RLP1, and RLP2 associate with N. crassa homologs of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae RPD3L complex and are required for repression of a subset of H3K27-methylated genes. Loss of these genes does not lead to loss of H3K27 methylation but increases acetylation of histone H3 lysine 14 at upregulated genes, and SDS3 binding levels are highest at genes derepressed upon loss of sds3, rlp1, and rlp2, implying that RPD3L-driven deacetylation is a previously undescribed factor required for silencing of facultative heterochromatin in N. crassa.
Project description:Repression of facultative heterochromatin is essential for developmental processes in numerous organisms. Methylation of histone H3 lysine 27 (H3K27) by Polycomb repressive complex 2 is a prominent feature of facultative heterochromatin in both fungi and higher eukaryotes. Although this methylation is frequently crucial for silencing, the detailed mechanism of repression remains poorly understood. We utilized a forward genetics approach to identify three previously uncharacterized genes required to maintain silencing at facultative heterochromatin genes in Neurospora crassa: sds3 (NCU01599), rlp1 (RPD3L protein 1; NCU09007) and rlp2 (RPD3L protein 2; NCU02898). We found that SDS3, RLP1, and RLP2 associate with N. crassa homologs of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae RPD3L complex and are required for repression of a subset of H3K27-methylated genes. Loss of these genes does not lead to loss of H3K27 methylation but increases acetylation of histone H3 lysine 14 at upregulated genes, and SDS3 binding levels are highest at genes derepressed upon loss of sds3, rlp1, and rlp2, implying that RPD3L-driven deacetylation is a previously undescribed factor required for silencing of facultative heterochromatin in N. crassa.
Project description:Repression of facultative heterochromatin is essential for developmental processes in numerous organisms. Methylation of histone H3 lysine 27 (H3K27) by Polycomb repressive complex 2 is a prominent feature of facultative heterochromatin in both fungi and higher eukaryotes. Although this methylation is frequently crucial for silencing, the detailed mechanism of repression remains poorly understood. We utilized a forward genetics approach to identify three previously uncharacterized genes required to maintain silencing at facultative heterochromatin genes in Neurospora crassa: sds3 (NCU01599), rlp1 (RPD3L protein 1; NCU09007) and rlp2 (RPD3L protein 2; NCU02898). We found that SDS3, RLP1, and RLP2 associate with N. crassa homologs of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae RPD3L complex and are required for repression of a subset of H3K27-methylated genes. Loss of these genes does not lead to loss of H3K27 methylation but increases acetylation of histone H3 lysine 14 at upregulated genes, and SDS3 binding levels are highest at genes derepressed upon loss of sds3, rlp1, and rlp2, implying that RPD3L-driven deacetylation is a previously undescribed factor required for silencing of facultative heterochromatin in N. crassa.
Project description:Heterochromatin spreading leads to the silencing of genes within its path, and boundary elements have evolved to constrain such spreading. In fission yeast, heterochromatin at centromeres I and III is flanked by inverted repeats termed IRCs, which are required for proper boundary functions. However, the mechanisms by which IRCs prevent heterochromatin spreading are unknown. Here, we identified Bdf2, homologous to the mammalian BET family of double bromodomain proteins involved in diverse types of cancers, as a factor required for proper boundary function at IRCs. Bdf2 is enriched at IRCs through its interaction with the boundary protein Epe1. The bromodomains of Bdf2 recognize acetylated histone H4 tails and antagonize Sir2-mediated deacetylation of histone H4K16 to prevent heterochromatin spreading. Our results thus illustrate a mechanism of establishing chromosome boundaries at specific sites through the recruitment of a factor that protects euchromatic histone modifications. They also reveal a previously unappreciated function of H4K16 acetylation, which cooperates with H3K9 methylation to regulate heterochromatin spreading. Two samples, H4K16ac & Bdf2-Flag
Project description:Facultative heterochromatin in the filamentous fungus Neurospora crassa is identified by the repressive histone mark H3K27me3 and is primarily subtelomeric, while constitutive heterochromatin, marked by the DIM-5-catalzyed H3K9me3, is found at centromeres, telomeres, and smaller dispersed regions. In strains lacking constitutive heterochromatin (e.g., Δdim-5), H3K27me2/3 relocalizes to the regions formerly marked by H3K9me3. H3K27me3 is catalyzed by the SET-7 histone methyltransferase subunit of the Polycomb Repressive Complex 2 (PRC2); another PRC2 member, Neurospora p55 (NPF) regulates subtelomeric H3K27me2/3. Despite the de-repression of >70 genes, a Δset-7 strain has no distinguishable phenotype. To investigate the facultative heterochromatin contribution to genome organization, we performed high-throughput “chromosome conformation capture” (Hi-C) on mutants with impacted H3K27me2/3 deposition. A Δset-7 strain has decreased inter-/intra-subtelomeric contacts among others; this pattern is mirrored in a Δnpf strain, which lacks subtelomeric H3K27me3. In a Δset-7 strain, telomere bundles were often uncoupled from the nuclear membrane and de-repressed genes were subtelomeric. The chromosome conformation of a Δset-7;Δdim-5 double mutant was similar to Δset-7, suggesting that facultative heterochromatin relocalization does not compensate for H3K9me3 loss and rescue the Neurospora genome organization in strains with defective constitutive heterochromatin.
Project description:Heterochromatin spreading leads to the silencing of genes within its path, and boundary elements have evolved to constrain such spreading. In fission yeast, heterochromatin at centromeres I and III is flanked by inverted repeats termed IRCs, which are required for proper boundary functions. However, the mechanisms by which IRCs prevent heterochromatin spreading are unknown. Here, we identified Bdf2, homologous to the mammalian BET family of double bromodomain proteins involved in diverse types of cancers, as a factor required for proper boundary function at IRCs. Bdf2 is enriched at IRCs through its interaction with the boundary protein Epe1. The bromodomains of Bdf2 recognize acetylated histone H4 tails and antagonize Sir2-mediated deacetylation of histone H4K16 to prevent heterochromatin spreading. Our results thus illustrate a mechanism of establishing chromosome boundaries at specific sites through the recruitment of a factor that protects euchromatic histone modifications. They also reveal a previously unappreciated function of H4K16 acetylation, which cooperates with H3K9 methylation to regulate heterochromatin spreading.