The essential function of HP1 beta: a case of the tail wagging the dog?

Mustafa Billur, Hans D Bartunik, Prim B Singh

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

21 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

A large body of work in various organisms has shown that the presence of HP1 structural proteins and methylated lysine 9 of histone H3 (H3K9me) represent the characteristic hallmarks of heterochromatin. We propose that a more critical assessment of the physiological importance of the H3K9me-HP1 interaction is warranted in light of recent studies on the mammalian HP1 beta protein. Based on this new research, we conclude that the essential function of HP1 beta (and perhaps that of its orthologues in other species) lies outside the canonical heterochromatic H3K9me-HP1 interaction. We suggest instead that binding of a small fraction of HP1 beta to the H3 histone fold performs a critical role in heterochromatin function and organismal survival.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)115-23
Number of pages9
JournalTrends in Biochemical Sciences
Volume35
Issue number2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Feb 2010

Keywords

  • Animals
  • Chromosomal Proteins, Non-Histone
  • Histones
  • Humans
  • Journal Article
  • Review

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