Lower-order methylation states underlie the maintenance and re-establishment of Polycomb modifications in <i>Drosophila</i> embryogenesis.

ABSTRACT: Polycomb Group (PcG) proteins regulate the chromatin composition of an embryo by facilitating the mono, di, and tri-methylation of Histone H3 Lysine 27 (H3K27me1/2/3). For the zygote to inherit an H3K27 methylation blueprint from its mother, PcG-modified states established during oogenesis must persist through early embryogenesis until the onset of large-scale zygotic transcription (Zygotic Genome Activation, ZGA). However, questions have persisted regarding the relative contributions of two molecular mechanisms to the propagation of H3K27 methylation through early development: 1) allosteric regulation of the H3K27 methyltransferase Enhancer of Zeste ( E(z) ) by existing H3K27me2/3, and 2) nucleation of E(z) activity at chromatin by DNA binding factors. Here, we investigate how allostery a

SUBMITTER: Degen EA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12324246 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature