Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 19, 2026

In Vitro Ubiquitination and Deubiquitination Assays of Nucleosomal Histones
Published on: July 25, 2019
Histone H2B ubiquitylation is not required for histone H3 methylation at lysine 4 in tetrahymena
Zhe Wang1, Bowen Cui, Martin A Gorovsky
1Department of Biology, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York 14627, USA.
Abstract:
Ubiquitylation of histone H2B and/or a component of the system that ubiquitylates H2B is required for methylation of histone H3 at lysine 4 (H3K4) in yeasts and probably in humans. In this study, the single ubiquitylation site was mapped to conserved lysine 115 of the C-terminal region of histone H2B in the single-cell model organism Tetrahymena thermophila. In strains lacking H2B ubiquitylation, H3K4 methylation was not detectably affected. As in other organisms, the E2 ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme Ubc2 and the E3 ubiquitin ligase Bre1 were required for H2B ubiquitylation. However, neither enzyme was required for H3K4 methylation. These studies argue that, in T. thermophila, the histone ubiquitylation mechanism is not required for H3K4 methylation, demonstrating that different organisms can speak different languages in the "cross-talk" among post-translational modifications on different histones.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Histone Modification
Acetylation
The enzyme histone acetyltransferase adds acetyl group to the histones. Another enzyme, histone deacetylase,...
Histone Modification
Acetylation
The enzyme histone acetyltransferase adds acetyl group to the histones. Another enzyme, histone deacetylase,...
Heterochromatin
Constitutive heterochromatin: It is a highly compact region of chromatin that is mostly concentrated in the centromere and telomere. Unlike euchromatin, the amino acid at 9th...
Covalently Linked Protein Regulators
These groups modify specific amino acids in a protein.
Spreading of Chromatin Modifications
Writers
The writer is an enzyme that can...
Euchromatin
Euchromatin is the less dense region of the chromatin and stains lighter. Euchromatin contains histone H3 extensively...

