Drosophila H1 Regulates the Genetic Activity of Heterochromatin by Recruitment of Su(var)3-9

Eukaryotic genomes harbor transposable elements and other repetitive sequences that must be silenced. Small RNA interference pathways play a major role in their repression. Here, we reveal another mechanism for silencing these sequences in Drosophila. Depleting the linker histone H1 in vivo leads to...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) 2013-04, Vol.340 (6128), p.78-81
Main Authors: Lu, Xingwu, Wontakal, Sandeep N., Kavi, Harsh, Kim, Byung Ju, Guzzardo, Paloma M., Emelyanov, Alexander V., Xu, Na, Hannon, Gregory J., Zavadil, Jiri, Fyodorov, Dmitry V., Skoultchi, Arthur I.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Chromatin
DNA
Drosophila
Drosophila melanogaster - genetics
Drosophila Proteins - genetics
Drosophila Proteins - metabolism
Eukaryotes
gene expression
Gene Silencing
Genetic linkage
Genetics
Genomes
germ cells
Heterochromatin
Heterochromatin - metabolism
Histones
Histones - genetics
Histones - metabolism
Insects
Larvae
lysine
methyltransferases
Muscle Proteins - genetics
Nucleosomes
Repetitive Sequences, Nucleic Acid - genetics
Repressor Proteins - metabolism
RNA
RNA Interference
somatic cells
Transcription Factors - genetics
transposons
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Eukaryotic genomes harbor transposable elements and other repetitive sequences that must be silenced. Small RNA interference pathways play a major role in their repression. Here, we reveal another mechanism for silencing these sequences in Drosophila. Depleting the linker histone H1 in vivo leads to strong activation of these elements. H1-mediated silencing occurs in combination with the heterochromatin-specific histone H3 lysine 9 methyltransferase Su(var) 3-9. H1 physically interacts with Su(var) 3-9 and recruits it to chromatin in vitro, which promotes H3 methylation. We propose that H1 plays a key role in silencing by tethering Su(var) 3-9 to heterochromatin. The tethering function of H1 adds to its established role as a regulator of chromatin compaction and accessibility.
ISSN:0036-8075
1095-9203
DOI:10.1126/science.1234654