Polycomb/Trithorax response elements (PRE/TREs) can switch their function reversibly between silencing and activation, by mechanisms that are poorly understood. Here we show that a switch in forward and reverse noncoding transcription from the Drosophila vestigial (vg) PRE/TRE switches the status of the element between silencing (induced by the forward strand) and activation (induced by the reverse strand). In vitro, both ncRNAs inhibit PRC2 histone methyltransferase activity, but in vivo only the reverse strand binds PRC2. Over-expression of the reverse strand evicts PRC2 from chromatin and inhibits its enzymatic activity. We propose that interactions of RNAs with PRC2 are differentially regulated in vivo, allowing regulated inhibition of local PRC2 activity. Genome-wide analysis shows that strand switching of ncRNAs occurs at several hundred PcG binding sites in fly and vertebrate genomes. This work identifies a novel and potentially widespread class of PRE/TREs that switch function by switching the direction of ncRNA transcription.

cis-Regulatory DNA elements contain multiple binding sites for activators and repressors of transcription. Among these elements are enhancers, which establish gene expression states, and Polycomb/Trithorax response elements (PREs), which take over from enhancers and maintain transcription states of several hundred developmentally important genes. PREs are essential to the correct identities of both stem cells and differentiated cells. Evolutionary differences in cis-regulatory elements are a rich source of phenotypic diversity, and functional binding sites within regulatory elements turn over rapidly in evolution. However, more radical evolutionary changes that go beyond motif turnover have been difficult to assess. We used a combination of genome-wide bioinformatic prediction and experimental validation at specific loci, to evaluate PRE evolution across four Drosophila species. Our results show that PRE evolution is extraordinarily dynamic. First, we show that the numbers of PREs differ dramatically between species. Second, we demonstrate that functional binding sites within PREs at conserved positions turn over rapidly in evolution, as has been observed for enhancer elements. Finally, although it is theoretically possible that new elements can arise out of nonfunctional sequence, evidence that they do so is lacking. We show here that functional PREs are found at nonorthologous sites in conserved gene loci. By demonstrating that PRE evolution is not limited to the adaptation of preexisting elements, these findings document a novel dimension of cis-regulatory evolution.

The Drosophila Trithorax group (TrxG) protein ASH1 remains associated with mitotic chromatin through mechanisms that are poorly understood. ASH1 dimethylates histone H3 at lysine 36 via its SET domain. Here, we identify domains of the TrxG protein ASH1 that are required for mitotic chromatin attachment in living Drosophila. Quantitative live imaging demonstrates that ASH1 requires AT hooks and the BAH domain but not the SET domain for full chromatin binding in metaphase, and that none of these domains are essential for interphase binding. Genetic experiments show that disruptions of the AT hooks and the BAH domain together, but not deletion of the SET domain alone, are lethal. Transcriptional profiling demonstrates that intact ASH1 AT hooks and the BAH domain are required to maintain expression levels of a specific set of genes, including several involved in cell identity and survival. This study identifies in vivo roles for specific ASH1 domains in mitotic binding, gene regulation, and survival that are distinct from its functions as a histone methyltransferase.