Knock-down of the methyltransferase Kmt6 relieves H3K27me3 and results in induction of cryptic and otherwise silent secondary metabolite gene clusters in Fusarium fujikuroi.

ABSTRACT: Filamentous fungi produce a vast array of secondary metabolites (SMs) and some play a role in agriculture or pharmacology. Sequencing of the rice pathogen Fusarium fujikuroi revealed the presence of far more SM-encoding genes than known products. SM production is energy-consuming and thus tightly regulated, leaving the majority of SM gene clusters silent under laboratory conditions. One important regulatory layer in SM biosynthesis involves histone modifications that render the underlying genes either silent or poised for transcription. Here, we show that the majority of the putative SM gene clusters in F. fujikuroi are located within facultative heterochromatin marked by trimethylated lysine 27 on histone 3 (H3K27me3). Kmt6, the methyltransferase responsible for establishing this histone

SUBMITTER: Studt L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5118082 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature