Histone H3 lysine9 acetylation, rather than lysine4 trimethylation, marks meiotic recombination hotspots and promotes recombination initiation in fission yeast

Histone modifications are associated with meiotic recombination hotspots, discrete sites with augmented recombination frequency. For example, trimethylation of histone H3 lysine4 (H3K4me3) marks most hotspots in budding yeast and mouse. Modified histones are known to regulate meiotic recombination partly by promoting DNA double strand break (DSB) formation, but the role and precise landscape of histone modifications at hotspots remain unclear. Here, we studied hotspot-associated modifications in fission yeast and found general features: acetylation of H3 lysine9 (H3K9ac) is strikingly elevated, and H3K4me3 is not significantly enriched. Remarkably, elimination of H3K9ac reduced binding of the DSB-inducing enzyme Rec12 and DSB at hotspots. We also found that the H3K4 metyltransferase Set1 promotes DSB formation at some loci, but it restricts Rec12 binding to hotspots. These results suggest that H3K9ac rather than H3K4me3 is a hotspot-associated mark involved in meiotic DSB formation in fission yeast. S.pombe cells in a pat1-114 background were induced to enter meiosis by the haploid meiosis system, and harvested one hour after the induction. ChIP were performed using anti-H3Cter, H3K9ac, -H3K14ac and -H3K4me3 antibodies. pat1-114 rad50S rec12+-FLAG cells in a wild type, H3K9A or set1+ deletion background were induced to enter meiosis by the haploid meiosis system, and harvested five hours after the induction. ChIP were performed using anti-FLAG antibodies.