The role of specific HAT-HDAC interactions in transcriptional elongation

• We previously reported genome-wide evidence that the Gcn5 histone cetyltransferase (HAT) is located in the transcribed region of highly xpressed genes and that it plays an important role in transcriptional longation in the fission yeast, Schizosaccharomyces pombe (EMBO Reports 009; 10: 1009-14). Furthermore, the specific interplay between Gcn5 and he Clr3 histone deacetylase (HDAC) controls the acetylation levels of ysine-14 in histone H3 in the same class of highly expressed genes. utants of histone H3 that cannot be acetylated at residue 14 show imilar stress phenotypes to those observed for mutants lacking Gcn5. In his Extra View article we review these findings in relation to related iterature and extend important aspects of the original study. Notably, cn5 and Gcn5-dependent acetylation of histone H3K14 tend to be more nriched in the upstream regions of genes that require Gcn5 for correct xpression compared to genes that are independent of Gcn5. This suggests critical role of Gcn5 in the transcriptional initiation of these enes. Gcn5 is however most highly enriched in the transcribed regions f these gene sets but there is no difference between Gcn5-dependent and cn5-independent gene sets. Thus we suggest that Gcn5 plays an important ut redundant role in the transcriptional elongation of these genes. The ir2 HDAC has a similar genomic localization and enzymatic activity to lr3. We studied gcn5 Delta sir2 Delta double mutants that do not show a uppressed phenotype in relation to gcn5 Delta single mutants, compared o gcn5 Delta clr3 Delta mutants that do, in order to better understand he specificity of the interplay between Gcn5 and Clr3. In some classes f non-highly expressed genes the clr3 Delta mutant tends to restore evels of histone H3K14 acetylation in the double mutant strain more ffectively than sir2 Delta.

Subject headings

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Biologi -- Cellbiologi (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Biological Sciences -- Cell Biology (hsv//eng)

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

art (subject category)