Researchers Map 12 Histone Marks Across 12 Species, Finding Conserved Activation but Divergent Gene Silencing
Updated
Updated · Nature.com · Aug 3
Researchers Map 12 Histone Marks Across 12 Species, Finding Conserved Activation but Divergent Gene Silencing
3 articles · Updated · Nature.com · Aug 3
Summary
A new iChIP2 chromatin-profiling method let researchers simultaneously track 12 histone modifications across 12 eukaryotic species, including amoebozoans, rhizarians, discobans and cryptomonads.
The cross-species analysis found euchromatin states at active promoters and gene bodies were highly conserved, suggesting core gene-activation programs are ancient across eukaryotes.
Repressive heterochromatin linked to silenced genes and transposable elements varied widely, with different lineages using combinations of H3K9me3, H3K27me3 and distinct H3K79 methylation states.
The findings indicate that while many histone modifications themselves are evolutionarily conserved, their functional readout has diversified, producing lineage-specific chromatin landscapes over eukaryotic evolution.