This study is led by Professor Zeng Tao( Institute of Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China ). The authors identified two H3K36 methyltransferases, Ash1 and Set2, i n Magnaportheoryzae , which causes the devastating worldwide rice blast disease. The authors firstlycreated single and double deletion strains and detected the level of H3K26me2/3. Subsequently, the authorsfurther depict the detailed occupancy of H3K26me2/3 in the deletion mutants by ChIP-seq. Combing with their transcriptomes, the authors analyzed their tr anscriptional regulation and association with facultativeheterochromatin.
Combined with methods of RNA-seq and ChIP-seq, the authors revealedthat both Ash1 and Set2 are redundantly required for the full H3K36me2/3 activity in M.oryzae . Moreover, Ash1 and Set2 distinguish genomicH3K36me2/3-marked regions and are differentially associated with repressed and activated transcriptionrespectively. Furthermore, Ash1-catalysedH3K36me2is co-localized with facultative heterochromatin H3K27me3 atthe chromatinand Ash1is required for the enrichment and transcriptional silencing of H3K27me3-occupied genes. With the different roles of Ash1 and Set2 in H3K36me2/3 enrichment and transcriptionalregulation on the stress-responsive genes, they differentially response to various stresses in M. oryzae .
Overall, the authors reveal a novel mechanism by which two H3K36 methyltransferases catalyzeH3K36me2/3 that differentially associate with transcriptional activities and contribute to enrichmentof facultative heterochromatin. In summary, these new insights in distribution patterns and transcriptionaleffects of H3K36me2/3 broaden our currentunderstanding of chromatin-based transcriptionin eukaryotes.
See the article:
Two H3K36 methyltransferases differentially associatewith transcriptional activity and enrichment of facultativeheterochromatin in rice blast fungus.
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s42994-023-00127-3
aBIOTECH
Two H3K36 methyltransferases differentially associate with transcriptional activity and enrichment of facultative heterochromatin in rice blast fungus
18-Dec-2023