Gatekeepers of chromatin: Small metabolites elicit big changes in gene expression

Eukaryotes are constantly fine-tuning their gene expression programs in response to the demands of the environment and the availability of nutrients. Such dynamic regulation of the genome necessitates versatile chromatin architecture. Rapid changes in transcript levels are brought about via a wide range of post-translational modifications of the histone proteins that control chromatin structure. Many enzymes responsible for these modifications have been identified and they require various metabolic cofactors or substrates for their activity. Herein, we highlight recent developments that have begun to reveal particular cellular metabolites that might in fact be underappreciated regulators of gene expression through their ability to modulate particular histone modifications.