We describe a fluorescent reporter system that exploits the functional genomic tools available in budding yeast to systematically assess consequences of genetic perturbations on gene expression. We used our Reporter-Synthetic Genetic Array (R-SGA) method to screen for regulators of core histone gene expression. We discovered that the histone chaperone Rtt106 functions in a pathway with two other chaperones, Asf1 and the HIR complex, to create a repressive chromatin structure at core histone promoters. We found that activation of histone (HTA1) gene expression involves both relief of Rtt106-mediated repression by the activity of the histone acetyltransferase Rtt109 and restriction of Rtt106 to the promoter region by the bromodomain-containing protein Yta7. We propose that the maintenance of Asf1/HIR/Rtt106-mediated repressive chromatin domains is the primary mechanism of cell-cycle regulation of histone promoters. Our data suggest that this pathway may represent a chromatin regulatory mechanism that is broadly used across the genome.

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Journal Article | Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

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Fillingham J, Kainth P, Lambert JP, van Bakel H, Tsui K, Peña-Castillo L, Nislow C, Figeys D, Hughes TR, Greenblatt J, ... Show all

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