Open AccessMeasuring the buffering capacity of gene silencing in Saccharomyces cerevisiae
Author(s) -
Kenneth Wu,
Namrita Dhillon,
Kelvin Du,
Rohinton T. Kamakaka
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
proceedings of the national academy of sciences of the united states of america
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1091-6490
pISSN - 0027-8424
DOI - 10.1073/pnas.2111841118
Subject(s) - gene silencing , chromatin , nucleosome , biology , histone , saccharomyces cerevisiae , genetics , microbiology and biotechnology , repressor , gene , transcription factor
Significance Gene silencing, once established, is stably maintained for several generations. Despite the high fidelity of the inheritance of the silent state, individual components of silenced chromatin are in constant flux. Models suggest that silent loci can tolerate fluctuations in Sir proteins and histone acetylation levels, but the level of tolerance is unknown. To understand the quantitative relationships between H4K16 acetylation, Sir proteins, and silencing, we developed assays to quantitatively alter a H4K16 acetylation mimic allele and Sir protein levels and measure the effects of these changes on silencing. Our data suggest that a two- to threefold change in levels of histone marks and specific Sir proteins affects the stability of the silent state of a large chromatin domain.