Keeping silent takes self-control: Maintenance of epigenetic stability through intrinsic enzyme autoregulation

Biological inheritance cannot be fully explained by genetics. Non-genetic, or epigenetic, mechanisms that are not encoded in the DNA sequence make important contributions to both the acquisition and transmission of traits. Histone posttranslational modifications including methylation, acetylation, and ubiquitylation, for instance, carry epigenetic information that is critical for both establishing and maintaining proper gene expression programs and cell identity. Histone and non-histone proteins package eukaryotic genomes into a complex called chromatin, which is a fundamental determinant of gene activity. Densely packed chromatin restricts access to DNA and is associated with inactive or silent parts of the genome, called heterochromatin. Whereas loose packaging facilitates access to DNA in active genomic regions, called euchromatin. My lab seeks to understand the mechanisms that govern genome organization, epigenetic gene regulation, and genome stability in health and disease. In my seminar, I will present the discovery of a novel autoregulatory mechanism in a conserved enzyme that mediates epigenetic gene silencing. I will also discuss our recent work on understanding the fundamental relationship between heterochromatin structure and function.