Identification of a PRC2 Accessory Subunit Required for Subtelomeric H3K27 Methylation in Neurospora crassa

Abstract

Polycomb repressive complex 2 (PRC2) catalyzes methylation of histone H3 at lysine 27 (H3K27) in genomic regions of most eukaryotes and is critical for maintenance of the associated transcriptional repression. However, the mechanisms that shape the distribution of H3K27 methylation, such as recruitment of PRC2 to chromatin and/or stimulation of PRC2 activity, are unclear. Here, using a forward genetic approach in the model organism Neurospora crassa , we identified two alleles of a gene, NCU04278 , encoding an unknown P RC2 a ccessory s ubunit (PAS).