Control of histone demethylation by nuclear-localized α-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase
Fei Huang, Xiao Luo, Yang Ou, Zhaoxu Gao, Qiming Tang, Zhenzhen Chu, Xin‐Guang Zhu, Yuehui He
Abstract
Methylations on nucleosomal histones play fundamental roles in regulating eukaryotic transcription. Jumonji C domain–containing histone demethylases (JMJs) dynamically control the level of histone methylations. However, how JMJ activity is generally regulated is unknown. We found that the tricarboxylic acid cycle–associated enzyme α-ketoglutarate (α-KG) dehydrogenase (KGDH) entered the nucleus, where it interacted with various JMJs to regulate α-KG–dependent histone demethylations by JMJs, and thus controlled genome-wide gene expression in plants. We show that nuclear targeting is regulated by environmental signals and that KGDH is enriched at thousands of loci in Arabidopsis thaliana . Chromatin-bound KGDH catalyzes α-KG decarboxylation and thus may limit its local availability to KGDH-coupled JMJs, inhibiting histone demethylation. Thus, our results uncover a regulatory mechanism for histone demethylations by JMJs.