Analysis of histone modification status in Arabidopsis genome by ChIP-chip system

Abstract

Post-translational modifications of histone N-tail affect chromatin and gene activities. Histone deacetylase affects gene silencing and heterochromatin formation in eukaryotes. In Arabidopsis, histone deacetylase 6 (HDA6) is involved in epigenetic gene silencing. We studied the enrichments of histone H4 acetylation in hda6 mutant on the genome-wide by ChIP-chip system. These genome-wide analyses show that about 160 independent peaks of histone H4 hyperacetylation, located on the TSS were detected. These were correlated with gene expression in hda6 mutant. Notably, HDA6 was required for the repression of transposable elements such as Sahdu and Copia near the centromere. In order to reveal the genome-wide histone modification sites, specifically targeted by HDA6, ChIP-chip analyses are in progress. We would like to discuss the role of histone modification status in the gene regulation mechanism in Arabidopsis.