Inheritance of Polycomb repressive complex 2 (PRC2)-mediated gene silencing involves self-propagation of histone H3 lysine 27 (H3K27) methylation from an initial nucleation site, but how the first H3K27 methylation marks are established is not fully understood. A recent study reveals that PRC2 can reconstitute H3K27 methylation de novo in cells that have lost the mark. This reconstitution is dependent on the PRC2 core component SUZ12, which provides a novel link between initiation and self-propagation of this critical epigenetic mark.
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Sharif, J., Koseki, H. Rewriting the past: de novo activity of PRC2 restores global H3K27 methylation patterns. Nat Struct Mol Biol 25, 197–199 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41594-018-0039-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41594-018-0039-3
