biostudies-literatureQin LNational Natural Science Foundation of China271https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC11051235biostudies-literatureUnknown10(4)Histone post-translational modification is one of the main mechanisms of epigenetic regulation, which plays a crucial role in the control of gene expression and various biological processes. However, whether or not it affects fungal virulence in <i>Sclerotinia sclerotiorum</i> is not clear. In this study, we identified and cloned the histone methyltransferase <i>Defective in methylation 5</i> (<i>Dim5</i>) in <i>S. sclerotiorum</i>, which encodes a protein containing a typical SET domain. <i>SsDim5</i> was found to be dynamically expressed during infection. Knockout experiment demonstrated that deletion of <i>SsDim5</i> reduced the virulence in <i>Ssdim5-1/Ssdim5-2</i> mutant strains, accompanied by a significant decrease in H3K9 trimethylation levels. Transcriptomic analysis further reveaJournal of fungi (Basel, Switzerland)Histone Methyltransferase <i>Ss</i>Dim5 Regulates Fungal Virulence through H3K9 Trimethylation in <i>Sclerotinia sclerotiorum</i>.PMC11051235grant 3197183631971836Qin LCui KXia SNong JGong XZhao YTang XfalseHistone Methyltransferase <i>Ss</i>Dim5 Regulates Fungal Virulence through H3K9 Trimethylation in <i>Sclerotinia sclerotiorum</i>.Histone post-translational modification is one of the main mechanisms of epigenetic regulation, which plays a crucial role in the control of gene expression and various biological processes. However, whether or not it affects fungal virulence in <i>Sclerotinia sclerotiorum</i> is not clear. In this study, we identified and cloned the histone methyltransferase <i>Defective in methylation 5</i> (<i>Dim5</i>) in <i>S. sclerotiorum</i>, which encodes a protein containing a typical SET domain. <i>SsDim5</i> was found to be dynamically expressed during infection. Knockout experiment demonstrated that deletion of <i>SsDim5</i> reduced the virulence in <i>Ssdim5-1/Ssdim5-2</i> mutant strains, accompanied by a significant decrease in H3K9 trimethylation levels. Transcriptomic analysis further revea2024-01-01T00:00:00Z2024 Apr2026-04-13T03:25:20.776Z2026-04-13T03:12:50.551ZS-EPMC110512353866794210.3390/jof10040271