Project description:Set2-mediated methylation of H3K36 (H3K36me) regulates a diverse number of activities including DNA repair, mRNA splicing and the suppression of inappropriate or ‘cryptic’ transcription. Here, we describe an unexpected connection between Set2-mediated H3K36me and the regulation of nutrient stress response. We find cells deleted for SET2 (set2∆) are sensitive to inhibitors of Tor1, Tor2 and MAP kinase pathways that regulate the nutrient response pathway. Further genetic and biochemical analyses confirm a role for Set2-mediated H3K36me in nutrient stress response. At the molecular level, set2∆ cells demonstrate a dysregulated genome-wide transcriptional response to nutrient stress. Remarkably, newly initiated and bi-directional transcription events within the bodies of genes develop in set2∆ cells during nutrient stress. Importantly, these antisense transcripts extend into the promoters of the genes they arise from, resulting in pervasive transcriptional interference. Our results suggest that Set2-enforced transcriptional fidelity is critical to the proper regulation highly-tuned transcription programs.
Project description:The transcription elongation factor Spt6 and the H3K36 methyltransferase Set2 are both required for H3K36 methylation and transcriptional fidelity in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. By selecting for suppressors of a transcriptional defect in an spt6 mutant, we have isolated dominant SET2 mutations (SET2sup mutations) in a region encoding a proposed autoinhibitory domain. The SET2sup mutations suppress the H3K36 methylation defect in the spt6 mutant, as well as in other mutants that impair H3K36 methylation. ChIP-seq studies demonstrate that the H3K36 methylation defect in the spt6 mutant, as well as its suppression by a SET2sup mutation, occur at a step following the recruitment of Set2 to chromatin. Other experiments show that a similar genetic relationship between Spt6 and Set2 exists in Schizosaccharomyces pombe. Taken together, our results suggest a conserved mechanism by which the Set2 autoinhibitory domain requires multiple interactions to ensure that H3K36 methylation occurs specifically on actively transcribed chromatin.
Project description:Histone H3K36 can be added up to three methyl groups to form mono-, di-, and tri-methylation states. Recent study has shown that Set2 can suppress a specific group of antisense transcripts, which largely depends on the presence of H3K36 methylation. However, whether different methylation states possess distinct regulatory mechanisms on antisense transcripts is still unclear. In this study, we identified two yeast mutants that lack H3K36 di-methylation and tri-methylation, respectively. We also identified novel antisense transcripts in the absence of Set2 with own bioinformatics pipeline. Our study showed that the expression of these antisense transcripts does not affect the expression of corresponding sense genes. Different H3K36 methylation states (me2/me3) are not specific for the regulation of antisense expression, implying a co-regulation mechanism between them. Altogether, our study developed a method to identify new antisense transcripts, examined the potential effect of H3K36 di-methylation and tri-methylation on production of antisense transcripts. This study would shed light on the mechanism underlying how H3K36 methylation functions in the production of antisense transcripts.
Project description:Histone modification affects life span in various organisms. The loss of Histone H3K36 methylation can shorten replicative life span in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. However, budding yeast, as a model organism for aging research, has replicative life span (RLS) and chronological life span (CLS). In this study, we showed that the loss of Histone H3K36 methylation can shorten CLS in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. We identified Ubc3/Bre1 mediates polyubiquitination of Set2 K25 and K530 at log phase and stationary phase, and Bre1 interacts with Ubc3 and Rad6 simultaneously. BRE1 knockout can stabilize Set2 protein to maintain H3K36me3 and regulate the transcription of aging related genes, such as DSE1/DSE2/SUN4/EGT2/SCW11. We also proved that Gcn5-mediated Set2 acetylation regulates Set2 protein stability and chronological aging. Altogether, our study showed that knockout of BRE1 and GCN5 regulate Set2 protein level by mediating the polyubiquitination of Set2 to influence the level of H3K36me3 and the transcription level of aging related genes enriched by H3K36me3, thereby extending the chronological life span.
Project description:Set2-mediated H3K36 methylation states redundantly repress the production of antisense transcripts:: role in transcription regulation
Project description:Nucleosome dynamics facilitated by histone turnover is required for transcription as well as DNA replication and repair. Histone turnover is often associated with various histone modifications such as H3K56 acetylation (H3K56Ac), H3K36 methylation (H3K36me), and H4K20 methylation (H4K20me). In order to correlate histone modifications and transcription-dependent histone turnover, we performed genome wide analyses for euchromatic regions in G2/M-arrested fission yeast. The results show that transcription-dependent histone turnover at 5’ promoter and 3’ termination regions is directly correlated with the occurrence of H3K56Ac and H4K20 mono-methylation (H4K20me1) in actively transcribed genes. Furthermore, the increase of H3K56Ac and H4K20me1 and antisense RNA production was observed in the absence of the histone H3K36 methyltransferase Set2 and histone deacetylase complex (HDAC) that are involved in the suppression of histone turnover within the coding regions. These results together indicate that H4K20me1 as well as H3K56Ac are bona fide marks for transcription-dependent histone turnover in fission yeast.
Project description:Histone modification affects life span in various organisms. The loss of Histone H3K36 methylation can shorten replicative life span in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. However, budding yeast, as a model organism for aging research, has replicative life span (RLS) and chronological life span (CLS). In this study, we showed that the loss of Histone H3K36 methylation can shorten CLS in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. We identified Ubc3/Bre1 mediates polyubiquitination of Set2 K25 and K530 at log phase and stationary phase, and Bre1 interacts with Ubc3 and Rad6 simultaneously. BRE1 knockout can stabilize Set2 protein to maintain H3K36me3 and regulate the transcription of aging related genes, such as DSE1/DSE2/SUN4/EGT2/SCW11. We also proved that Gcn5-mediated Set2 acetylation regulates Set2 protein stability and chronological aging. Altogether, our study showed that knockout of BRE1 and GCN5 regulate Set2 protein level by mediating the polyubiquitination of Set2 to influence the level of H3K36me3 and the transcription level of aging related genes enriched by H3K36me3, thereby extending the chronological life span.
Project description:We characterized the role of H3K36 methylation in regulating repair of UV damage from the transcribed strand (TS) of yeast genes by the transcription coupled nucleotide excision repair (TC-NER) pathway. TC-NER is triggered when RNA polymerase stalls at UV damage, such as a UV-induced cyclobutane pyrimidine dimer (CPD). During transcription, the histone methyltransferase Set2 methylates histone H3K36, but it is not known if H3K36 methylation regulates TC-NER. Here, we report genome-wide repair maps of UV-induced cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers (CPDs) in yeast cells containing mutants in histone H3K36 (or set2).
Project description:H3K36 methylation by Set2 targets Rpd3S histone deacetylase to 3â transcribed regions, repressing internal cryptic promoters and slowing elongation. To further explore the function of this pathway, global transcription was analyzed in yeast experiencing a series of carbon source shifts. Many previously unreported cryptic ncRNAs are induced by specific carbon sources, showing that cryptic promoters can be environmentally regulated. Also, approximately 230 mRNA genes show altered induction or repression upon SET2 deletion. A majority of Set2-repressed genes have overlapping lncRNA transcription. At these promoters, H3K36me3 and deacetylation by Rpd3S leads to slower or reduced induction. Unexpectedly, Set2 derepresses 159 genes, apparently by mediating a balance between Rpd3S and Rpd3L. Therefore, in addition to repression of cryptic transcription, H3K36 methylation maintains optimal expression dynamics of many mRNAs.
Project description:In budding yeast, Set2 catalyzes di- and trimethylation of H3K36 (H3K36me2 and H3K36me3) via an interaction between its SRI domain and C-terminal repeats of RNA polymerase II (Pol2) phosphorylated at Ser2 and Ser5 (CTD-S2,5-P). H3K36me2 recruits the Rpd3S histone deacetylase complex to repress cryptic transcription from transcribed regions. In fission yeast, Set2 is also responsible for H3K36 methylation, which represses a subset of RNAs including heterochromatic and subtelomeric RNAs, at least in part via recruitment of Clr6 complex II, a homolog of Rpd3S. Here, we show that CTD-S2Pâdependent interaction of fission yeast Set2 with Pol2 via the SRI domain is required for formation of H3K36me3, but not H3K36me2. H3K36me3 silenced heterochromatic and subtelomeric transcripts through post-transcriptional and transcriptional mechanisms, respectively, whereas H3K36me2 did not. Clr6 complex II appeared not to be responsible for heterochromatic silencing. Our results demonstrate that H3K36 methylation has multiple outputs in fission yeast; these findings provide insight into the multiple roles of H3K36 methylation in metazoans, which have different enzymes for synthesis of H3K36me1/2 and H3K36me3. Gene expression profile at exponentially-growing phase.in the fission yeast deletion mutants of set2.