Summary How epigenetic information is transmitted from generation to generation remains largely unknown. Deletion of the C. elegans Histone H3 lysine 4 dimethyl (H3K4me2) demethylase spr-5 leads to inherited accumulation of the euchromatic H3K4me2 mark and progressive decline in fertility. Here we identified multiple chromatin-modifying factors, including novel H3K4me1/me2 and H3K9me3 methyltransferases, an H3K9me3 demethylase and an H3K9me reader, which either suppress or accelerate the progressive transgenerational phenotypes of spr-5 mutant worms. Our findings uncover a network of chromatin regulators that control the trans-generational flow of epigenetic information, and suggest that the balance between euchromatic H3K4 and heterochromatic H3K9 methylation regulates trans-generational effects on fertility.

The aquaglyceroprin Fps1 is responsible for glycerol transport in yeast in response to changes in extracellular osmolarity. Control of Fps1 channel activity in response to hyperosmotic shock involves a redundant pair of regulators, Rgc1 (regulator of the glycerol channel 1) and Rgc2, and the MAPK Hog1 (high-osmolarity glycerol response 1). However, the mechanism by which these factors influence channel activity is unknown. We show that Rgc2 maintains Fps1 in the open channel state in the absence of osmotic stress by binding to its C-terminal cytoplasmic domain. This interaction involves a tripartite pleckstrin homology (PH) domain within Rgc2 and a partial PH domain within Fps1. Activation of Hog1 in response to hyperosmotic shock induces the rapid eviction of Rgc2 from Fps1 and consequent channel closure. Hog1 was recruited to the N-terminal cytoplasmic domain of Fps1, which it uses as a platform from which to multiply phosphorylate Rgc2. Thus, these results reveal the mechanism by which Hog1 regulates Fps1 in response to hyperosmotic shock.

Regulation of histone methylation levels has long been implicated in multiple cellular processes, many of which involve transcription. Here, however, we report a unique role for the Caenorhabditis elegans histone demethylase SPR-5 in meiotic DNA double-strand break repair (DSBR). SPR-5 shows enzymatic activity toward H3K4me2 both in vitro and in the nematode germline, and spr-5 mutants show several phenotypes indicating a perturbation of DSBR, including increased p53-dependent germ cell apoptosis, increased levels of the DSBR marker RAD-51, and sensitivity toward DSB-inducing treatments. spr-5 mutants show no transcriptional misregulation of known DSBR involved genes. Instead, SPR-5 shows a rapid subcellular relocalization upon DSB-inducing treatment, which suggests that SPR-5 may function directly in DSBR.lysine specific histone demethylase | meiosis D ynamic regulation of histone methylation status has been linked to multiple biological processes, including transcriptional activation and repression, sex chromosome silencing, and DNA damage response (reviewed in refs. 1 and 2). The recent discovery of histone demethylase enzymes has offered opportunities to further understand the function of these modifications. Histone H3 methylation occurs at multiple lysine (K) residues (H3K4, K9, K27, K36, and K79), and each of these lysine moieties can be methylated to mono-, di-, and trimethylated states. Both the location and the degree of methylation are believed to play a role in the determination of the distinct function a specific methylation event plays in the regulation of chromatin structure and function. Histone H3 methylation at lysine 4 (H3K4me) is a particularly intriguing modification: it has not only been strongly linked to transcriptional activation and enhancer function but more recently has been shown to be enriched at meiotic recombination hotspots (3-7), indicating a potential role for epigenetic control of hotspot localization in regulating meiotic double-strand break (DSB) initiation.The mammalian histone demethylase LSD1 was originally identified as an H3K4me2/1-specific demethylase (8), and studies of LSD1 in various species have presented several common phenotypes suggestive of a role for LSD1 in meiosis. For example, fission yeast lacking LSD1 have a sporulation defect, and flies show a female sterility phenotype (9-11). More recently, a mutation in spr-5, a Caenorhabditis elegans ortholog of LSD1, was found to show a phenotype of progressive sterility (12). The authors used whole-animal samples to identify spr-5 target genes and showed a progressive increase of H3K4me2 for a subset of genes, including spermatogenesis genes (12). The sterility phenotypes detected in several organisms are suggestive of a role for LSD1 orthologs in meiosis; however, LSD1 function in the germline remains largely unknown.Here we examined the germline function of spr-5, using tissuespecific techniques in C. elegans. These experiments uncovered an unexpected set of phenotypes indicating perturbed DSB repair (DSBR), link...

Histone methylation is dynamically regulated to shape the epigenome and adjust central nuclear processes including transcription, cell cycle control and DNA repair. Lysine-specific histone demethylase 2 (LSD2) has been implicated in multiple types of human cancers. However, its functions remain poorly understood. This study investigated the histone demethylase LSD2 homolog AMX-1 in C. elegans and uncovered a potential link between H3K4me2 modulation and DNA interstrand crosslink (ICL) repair. AMX-1 is a histone demethylase and mainly localizes to embryonic cells, the mitotic gut and sheath cells. Lack of AMX-1 expression resulted in embryonic lethality, a decreased brood size and disorganized premeiotic tip germline nuclei. Expression of AMX-1 and of the histone H3K4 demethylase SPR-5 is reciprocally up-regulated upon lack of each other and the mutants show increased H3K4me2 levels in the germline, indicating that AMX-1 and SPR-5 regulate H3K4me2 demethylation. Loss of AMX-1 function activates the CHK-1 kinase acting downstream of ATR and leads to the accumulation of RAD-51 foci and increased DNA damage-dependent apoptosis in the germline. AMX-1 is required for the proper expression of mismatch repair component MutL/MLH-1 and sensitivity against ICLs. Interestingly, formation of ICLs lead to ubiquitination-dependent subcellular relocalization of AMX-1. Taken together, our data suggest that AMX-1 functions in ICL repair in the germline.

Many fungal species use glycerol as a compatible solute with which to maintain osmotic homeostasis in response to changes in external osmolarity. In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, intracellular glycerol concentrations are regulated largely by the high osmolarity glycerol (HOG) response pathway, both through induction of glycerol biosynthesis and control of its flux through the plasma membrane Fps1 glycerol channel. The channel activity of Fps1 is also controlled by a pair of positive regulators, Rgc1 and Rgc2. In this study, we demonstrate that Candida glabrata, a fungal pathogen that possesses two Fps1 orthologs and two Rgc1/-2 orthologs, accumulates glycerol in response to hyperosmotic stress. We present an initial characterization of mutants with deletions in the C. glabrata FPS1 (CAGL0C03267 [www.candidagenome.org]) and FPS2 (CAGL0E03894) genes and find that a double mutant accumulates glycerol, experiences constitutive cell wall stress, and is hypersensitive to treatment by caspofungin, an antifungal agent that targets the cell wall. This mutant is cleared more efficiently in mouse infections than is wild-type C. glabrata by caspofungin treatment. Finally, we demonstrate that one of the C. glabrata RGC orthologs complements an S. cerevisiae rgc1 rgc2 null mutant, supporting the conclusion that this regulatory assembly is conserved between these species.