Genome-Wide Studies of Histone Demethylation Catalysed by the Fission Yeast Homologues of Mammalian LSD1
2007

Study of Histone Demethylation in Fission Yeast

publication Evidence: moderate

Author Information

Author(s): Michael Opel, David Lando, Carolina Bonilla, Sarah C. Trewick, Abdelhalim Boukaba, Julian Walfridsson, James Cauwood, Petra J.H. Werler, Antony M. Carr, Tony Kouzarides, Natalia V. Murzina, Robin C. Allshire, Karl Ekwall, Ernest D. Laue

Primary Institution: University of Cambridge

Hypothesis

The study investigates the role of fission yeast homologues of mammalian LSD1 in histone demethylation and gene expression regulation.

Conclusion

The SWIRM/PAO domain proteins Swm1 and Swm2 in fission yeast can demethylate lysine 9 of histone H3 and are involved in regulating gene expression.

Supporting Evidence

  • Swm1 and Swm2 proteins form a complex that demethylates H3K9.
  • Deletion of swm1 increases global levels of H3K9me2 and H3K4me2.
  • The study found that Swm1 both up-regulates and down-regulates gene expression.

Takeaway

This study shows that certain proteins in yeast can remove specific chemical tags from DNA packaging proteins, which helps control how genes are turned on or off.

Methodology

The study used chromatin-immunoprecipitation and DNA microarray analysis to examine changes in histone methylation and gene expression.

Limitations

The study primarily focuses on the role of Swm1 and Swm2, which may not encompass all factors involved in histone demethylation.

Statistical Information

P-Value

3.18×10-7

Statistical Significance

p<0.05

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

10.1371/journal.pone.0000386

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