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HDAC1 SUMOylation promotes Argonaute-directed transcriptional silencing in C. elegans.

ABSTRACT: Eukaryotic cells use guided search to coordinately control dispersed genetic elements. Argonaute proteins and their small RNA cofactors engage nascent RNAs and chromatin-associated proteins to direct transcriptional silencing. The small ubiquitin-like modifier (SUMO) has been shown to promote the formation and maintenance of silent chromatin (called heterochromatin) in yeast, plants, and animals. Here, we show that Argonaute-directed transcriptional silencing in Caenorhabditis elegans requires SUMOylation of the type 1 histone deacetylase HDA-1. Our findings suggest how SUMOylation promotes the association of HDAC1 with chromatin remodeling factors and with a nuclear Argonaute to initiate de novo heterochromatin silencing.

SUBMITTER: Kim H

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8131101 | biostudies-literature | 2021 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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HDAC1 SUMOylation promotes Argonaute-directed transcriptional silencing in C. elegans.

Kim Heesun H Ding Yue-He YH Zhang Gangming G Yan Yong-Hong YH Conte Darryl D Dong Meng-Qiu MQ Mello Craig C CC

eLife 20210518

Eukaryotic cells use guided search to coordinately control dispersed genetic elements. Argonaute proteins and their small RNA cofactors engage nascent RNAs and chromatin-associated proteins to direct transcriptional silencing. The small ubiquitin-like modifier (SUMO) has been shown to promote the formation and maintenance of silent chromatin (called heterochromatin) in yeast, plants, and animals. Here, we show that Argonaute-directed transcriptional silencing in Caenorhabditis elegans req ...[more]

PMID: 34003109

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