Publications

• Histone H3 K36 methylation is associated with transcription elongation in Schizosaccharomyces pombe.

  Morris S.A., Shibata Y., Noma K., Tsukamoto Y., Warren E., Temple B., Grewal S.I.S., Strahl B.D.

  Set2 methylation of histone H3 at lysine 36 (K36) has recently been shown to be associated with RNA polymerase II (Pol II) elongation in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. However, whether this modification is conserved and associated with transcription elongation in other organisms is not known. Here we r ... >> More

  Set2 methylation of histone H3 at lysine 36 (K36) has recently been shown to be associated with RNA polymerase II (Pol II) elongation in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. However, whether this modification is conserved and associated with transcription elongation in other organisms is not known. Here we report the identification and characterization of the Set2 ortholog responsible for K36 methylation in the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe. We find that similar to the budding yeast enzyme, S. pombe Set2 is also a robust nucleosome-selective H3 methyltransferase that is specific for K36. Deletion of the S. pombe set2+ gene results in complete abolishment of K36 methylation as well as a slow-growth phenotype on plates containing synthetic medium. These results indicate that Set2 is the sole enzyme responsible for this modification in fission yeast and is important for cell growth under stressed conditions. Using the chromatin immunoprecipitation assay, we demonstrate that K36 methylation in S. pombe is associated with the transcribed regions of Pol II-regulated genes and is devoid in regions that are not transcribed by Pol II. Consistent with a role for Set2 in transcription elongation, we find that S. pombe Set2 associates with the hyperphosphorylated form of Pol II and can fully rescue K36 methylation and Pol II interaction in budding yeast cells deleted for Set2. These results, along with our finding that K36 methylation is highly conserved among eukaryotes, imply a conserved role for this modification in the transcription elongation process. << Less

  Eukaryot. Cell 4:1446-1454(2005) [PubMed] [EuropePMC]

• Set2 is a nucleosomal histone H3-selective methyltransferase that mediates transcriptional repression.

  Strahl B.D., Grant P.A., Briggs S.D., Sun Z.-W., Bone J.R., Caldwell J.A., Mollah S., Cook R.G., Shabanowitz J., Hunt D.F., Allis C.D.

  Recent studies of histone methylation have yielded fundamental new insights pertaining to the role of this modification in gene activation as well as in gene silencing. While a number of methylation sites are known to occur on histones, only limited information exists regarding the relevant enzyme ... >> More

  Recent studies of histone methylation have yielded fundamental new insights pertaining to the role of this modification in gene activation as well as in gene silencing. While a number of methylation sites are known to occur on histones, only limited information exists regarding the relevant enzymes that mediate these methylation events. We thus sought to identify native histone methyltransferase (HMT) activities from Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Here, we describe the biochemical purification and characterization of Set2, a novel HMT that is site-specific for lysine 36 (Lys36) of the H3 tail. Using an antiserum directed against Lys36 methylation in H3, we show that Set2, via its SET domain, is responsible for methylation at this site in vivo. Tethering of Set2 to a heterologous promoter reveals that Set2 represses transcription, and part of this repression is mediated through the HMT activity of the SET domain. These results suggest that Set2 and methylation at H3 Lys36 play a role in the repression of gene transcription. << Less

  Mol. Cell. Biol. 22:1298-1306(2002) [PubMed] [EuropePMC]

• Set2-catalyzed methylation of histone H3 represses basal expression of GAL4 in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

  Landry J., Sutton A., Hesman T., Min J., Xu R.-M., Johnston M., Sternglanz R.

  Recent work has shown that histone methylation is an important regulator of transcription. While much is known about the roles of histone methyltransferases (HMTs) in the establishment of heterochromatin, little is known of their roles in the regulation of actively transcribed genes. We describe a ... >> More

  Recent work has shown that histone methylation is an important regulator of transcription. While much is known about the roles of histone methyltransferases (HMTs) in the establishment of heterochromatin, little is known of their roles in the regulation of actively transcribed genes. We describe an in vivo role of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae HMT, Set2. We identified SET2 as a gene necessary for repression of GAL4 basal expression and show that the evolutionarily conserved SACI, SACII, and SET domains of Set2 are necessary for this repression. We confirm that Set2 catalyzes methylation of lysine 36 on the N-terminal tail of histone H3. Conversion of lysine 36 to an unmethylatable arginine causes a decrease in the repression of GAL4 transcription, as does a Delta set2 mutation. We further show that lysine 36 of histone H3 at GAL4 is methylated and that this methylation is dependent upon the presence of SET2. << Less

  Mol. Cell. Biol. 23:5972-5978(2003) [PubMed] [EuropePMC]

• Roles of H3K36-specific histone methyltransferases in transcription: antagonizing silencing and safeguarding transcription fidelity.

  Huang C., Zhu B.

  Histone H3K36 methylation is well-known for its role in active transcription. In <i>Saccharomyces cerevisiae</i>, H3K36 methylation is mediated solely by SET2 during transcription elongation. In metazoans, multiple H3K36-specific methyltransferases exist and contribute to distinct biochemical acti ... >> More

  Histone H3K36 methylation is well-known for its role in active transcription. In <i>Saccharomyces cerevisiae</i>, H3K36 methylation is mediated solely by SET2 during transcription elongation. In metazoans, multiple H3K36-specific methyltransferases exist and contribute to distinct biochemical activities and subsequent functions. In this review, we focus on the H3K36-specific histone methyltransferases in metazoans, and discuss their enzymatic activity regulation and their roles in antagonizing Polycomb silencing and safeguarding transcription fidelity. << Less

  Biophys Rep 4:170-177(2018) [PubMed] [EuropePMC]

• Asf1 can promote trimethylation of H3 K36 by Set2.

  Lin L.J., Minard L.V., Johnston G.C., Singer R.A., Schultz M.C.

  Asf1 is a conserved histone H3/H4 chaperone that can assemble and disassemble nucleosomes and promote histone acetylation. Set2 is an H3 K36 methyltransferase. The functions of these proteins intersect in the context of transcription elongation by RNA polymerase II: both contribute to the establis ... >> More

  Asf1 is a conserved histone H3/H4 chaperone that can assemble and disassemble nucleosomes and promote histone acetylation. Set2 is an H3 K36 methyltransferase. The functions of these proteins intersect in the context of transcription elongation by RNA polymerase II: both contribute to the establishment of repressive chromatin structures that inhibit spurious intragenic transcription. Here we characterize further interactions between budding yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) Asf1 and Set2 using assays of intragenic transcription, H3/H4 posttranslational modification, coding region cross-linking of Asf1 and Set2, and cooccurrence of Asf1 and Set2 in protein complexes. We find that at some genes Asf1 and Set2 control chromatin metabolism as components of separate pathways. However, the existence of a low-abundance complex containing both proteins suggests that Asf1 and Set2 can more directly collaborate in chromatin regulation. Consistent with this possibility, we show that Asf1 stimulates Set2 occupancy of the coding region of a highly transcribed gene by a mechanism that depends on Asf1 binding to H3/H4. This function of Asf1 promotes the switch from di-to trimethylation of H3 K36 at that gene. These results support the view that Set2 function in chromatin metabolism can intimately involve histone chaperone Asf1. << Less

  Mol. Cell. Biol. 30:1116-1129(2010) [PubMed] [EuropePMC]