PRJNA265379
Global H3K36me3 pattern of Arabidopsis sdg8-5 mutant
Histone methylation, mediated by a conserved SET domain-containing group (SDG) of proteins, modulates gene expression in response to external and internal cues. This project focuses on the Arabidopsis histone methyltransferase SDG8. To assess the global role of SDG8, we compared the global histone methylation patterns and the transcriptome of sdg8-5 to wild type (WT) in the context of a transient carbon and light treatment. We showed that the complete deletion of SDG8 in sdg8-5 is associated with a dramatic reduction of H3K36me3 towards the 3’ of the gene body, which correlates with significant reduction in gene expression. We uncovered 1,084 “high confidence” functional targets of SDG8 – affected in both H3K36me3 marks and gene expression – that are associated with specific biological processes including defense, photosynthesis, nutrient metabolism and energy metabolism. Importantly, 71% of these functional targets are responsive to carbon and/or light. Our model suggests that SDG8 functions to mark specific sets of genes with H3K36me3 in the gene body for active transcription, to tune genes involved in primary metabolism that are responsive to the energy level in the environment. This discovery has relevance to agriculture and to a better understanding of epigenetic regulation.