Molecular regulation of histone H3 trimethylation by COMPASS and the regulation of gene expression

Jessica Schneider, Adam Wood, Jung Shin Lee, Rebecca Schuster, Jeff Dueker, Courtney Maguire, Selene K. Swanson, Laurence Florens, Michael P. Washburn, Ali Shilatifard*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

250 Scopus citations

Abstract

The Set1-containing complex COMPASS, which is the yeast homolog of the human MLL complex, is required for mono-, di-, and trimethylation of lysine 4 of histone H3. We have performed a comparative global proteomic screen to better define the role of COMPASS in histone trimethylation. We report that both Cps60 and Cps40 components of COMPASS are required for proper histone H3 trimethylation, but not for proper regulation of telomere-associated gene silencing. Purified COMPASS lacking Cps60 can mono- and dimethylate but is not capable of trimethylating H3K4. Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) studies indicate that the loss subunits of COMPASS required for histone trimethylation do not affect the localization of Set1 to chromatin for the genes tested. Collectively, our results suggest a molecular requirement for several components of COMPASS for proper histone H3 trimethylation and regulation of telomere-associated gene expression, indicating multiple roles for different forms of histone methylation by COMPASS.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)849-856
Number of pages8
JournalMolecular cell
Volume19
Issue number6
DOIs
StatePublished - Sep 16 2005

Funding

The authors are grateful to Mrs. Kristen Tenney for critically reading the manuscript. This work was supported in part by a grant from the National Institutes of Health (1R01GM069905) to A.S. A.S. is a Scholar of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Molecular Biology
  • Cell Biology

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