GSE173235
Panoramix SUMOylation at chromatin recruits the heterochromatin machinery to piRNA target loci [CUT&RUN]
Nuclear Argonaute proteins, guided by small RNAs, mediate sequence-specific heterochromatin formation. The molecular principles that link Argonaute–small RNA complexes, once bound to a nascent target RNA, to general heterochromatin effectors are poorly understood. Here, we uncover the mechanistic basis of how the PIWI interacting RNA (piRNA) pathway engages the heterochromatin machinery in Drosophila. Piwi-mediated recruitment of the corepressor complex SFiNX to chromatin leads to SUMOylation of its Panoramix subunit. SUMOylation, together with a hydrophobic LxxLL motif in the intrinsically disordered repressor domain of Panoramix, are necessary and sufficient to recruit Small ovary (Sov), a multi-zinc finger protein essential for general heterochromatin formation and viability. Structure-guided mutations that abrogate the Panoramix-Sov interaction or that prevent Panoramix SUMOylation uncouple Sov from the piRNA pathway, resulting in viable but sterile flies that exhibit de-repression of Piwi-targeted transposons. Thus, coupling the piRNA-guided recruitment of a corepressor to chromatin with its SUMOylation underlies sequence-specific heterochromatin formation. Overall design: CUT&RUN of OSCs.