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DNA-sequence-specific erasers of epigenetic memory

Nature Genetics volume 48, pages 591–592 (2016)Cite this article

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How epigenetic regulators find their specific targets remains a challenging question. Two parallel studies show that REF6, a plant H3K27me3 demethylase, binds a specific DNA motif via its zinc-finger domains and recruits the SWI/SNF-type ATPase BRAHMA, demonstrating a sequence-specific recruitment mechanism for a chromatin-modifying complex.

Chromatin-based modulation of gene expression is mediated by the joint activities of enzymatic complexes that catalyze post-translational histone modifications and change chromatin structure. The evolutionarily conserved Polycomb group (PcG) and Trithorax group (TrxG) proteins act as a cellular memory system, mediating epigenetic gene repression and activation, respectively. PcG proteins associate into multimeric enzymatic protein complexes, including the Polycomb repressive complex 2 (PRC2) that catalyzes the repressive trimethylation of lysine 27 on histone H3 (H3K27me3) in animals and in plants1. PRC2 activity is opposed by the activities of the heterogeneous group of TrxG proteins2, including the H3K27me3-specific Jumonji C (JmjC)-domain-containing histone demethylases3,4 and the SWI/SNF-type chromatin-remodeling complexes. In animals, H3K27me3 demethylation is carried out by two related proteins—KDM6a (UTX) and KDM6b (JMJD3)3. Both lack homologs in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana, where the removal of H3K27me3 is catalyzed by the KDM4-related EARLY FLOWERING 6 (ELF6) and RELATIVE OF EARLY FLOWERING 6 (REF6) as well as the JmjC-domain-only histone demethylases JMJ30 and JMJ32 (ref. 4).

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Figure 1: Mechanism of REF6 recruitment and function.

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  1. Iva Mozgova and Claudia Köhler are in the Department of Plant Biology, Uppsala BioCenter, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences and the Linnean Center for Plant Biology, Uppsala, Sweden.,

    Iva Mozgova & Claudia Köhler

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  1. Iva Mozgova
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  2. Claudia Köhler
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Correspondence to Claudia Köhler.

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Mozgova, I., Köhler, C. DNA-sequence-specific erasers of epigenetic memory. Nat Genet 48, 591–592 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/ng.3579

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