title: The histone variant H2A.W defines heterochromatin and promotes chromatin condensation in Arabidopsis.
abstract: Histone variants play crucial roles in gene expression, genome integrity, and chromosome segregation. We report that the four H2A variants in Arabidopsis define different genomic features, contributing to overall genomic organization. The histone variant H2A.W marks heterochromatin specifically and acts in synergy with heterochromatic marks H3K9me2 and DNA methylation to maintain transposon silencing. In vitro, H2A.W enhances chromatin condensation by promoting fiber-to-fiber interactions via its conserved C-terminal motif. In vivo, H2A.W is required for heterochromatin condensation, demonstrating that H2A.W plays critical roles in heterochromatin organization. Similarities in conserved motifs between H2A.W and another H2A variant in metazoans suggest that plants and animals share common mechanisms for heterochromatin condensation.
authors.affiliation: Temasek Lifesciences Laboratory, 1 Research Link, National University of Singapore, 117604 Singapore, Singapore; Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, 14 Science Drive 4, 117543 Singapore, Singapore.
authors.forename: Ramesh
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Yelagandula
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular, Cell, and Developmental Biology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA.
authors.forename: Hume
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Stroud
authors.affiliation: Temasek Lifesciences Laboratory, 1 Research Link, National University of Singapore, 117604 Singapore, Singapore.
authors.forename: Sarah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Holec
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA.
authors.forename: Keda
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular, Cell, and Developmental Biology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA; Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA; Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA.
authors.forename: Suhua
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Feng
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular, Cell, and Developmental Biology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA.
authors.forename: Xuehua
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhong
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA.
authors.forename: Uma M
authors.initials: UM
authors.lastname: Muthurajan
authors.affiliation: Temasek Lifesciences Laboratory, 1 Research Link, National University of Singapore, 117604 Singapore, Singapore; Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, 14 Science Drive 4, 117543 Singapore, Singapore.
authors.forename: Xin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Nie
authors.affiliation: Temasek Lifesciences Laboratory, 1 Research Link, National University of Singapore, 117604 Singapore, Singapore.
authors.forename: Tomokazu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kawashima
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular, Cell, and Developmental Biology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA; Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA.
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Groth
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA; Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA.
authors.forename: Karolin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Luger
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular, Cell, and Developmental Biology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA; Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA; Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA. Electronic address: jacobsen@ucla.edu.
authors.forename: Steven E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Jacobsen
authors.affiliation: Temasek Lifesciences Laboratory, 1 Research Link, National University of Singapore, 117604 Singapore, Singapore; Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, 14 Science Drive 4, 117543 Singapore, Singapore. Electronic address: fred@tll.org.sg.
authors.forename: Frédéric
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Berger
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D017360:Arabidopsis / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D042002:Chromatin Assembly and Disassembly; D019175:DNA Methylation; D004251:DNA Transposable Elements; D055106:Genome-Wide Association Study; D006570:Heterochromatin / Q000378:metabolism*; D006657:Histones / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016415:Sequence Alignment
chemical_list: D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins; D004251:DNA Transposable Elements; D006570:Heterochromatin; D006657:Histones