Enrichment of H3K9me2 on Unsynapsed Chromatin in Caenorhabditis elegans Does Not Target de Novo Sites.

ABSTRACT: Many organisms alter the chromatin state of unsynapsed chromosomes during meiotic prophase, a phenomenon hypothesized to function in maintaining germline integrity. In Caenorhabditis elegans, histone H3 lysine 9 dimethylation (H3K9me2) is detected by immunolabeling as enriched on unsynapsed meiotic chromosomes. Loss of the SET domain protein, MET-2, greatly reduces H3K9me2 abundance and results in germline mortality. Here, we used him-8 mutations to disable X chromosome synapsis and performed a combination of molecular assays to map the sites of H3K9me2 accumulation, evaluate H3K9me2 abundance in germline vs. whole animals, and evaluate the impact of H3K9me2 loss on the germline transcriptome. Our data indicate that H3K9me2 is elevated broadly across the X chromosome and at defined X chrom

SUBMITTER: Guo Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4555223 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature