Journal
JOURNAL OF CELL SCIENCE
Volume 131, Issue 17, Pages -Publisher
COMPANY BIOLOGISTS LTD
DOI: 10.1242/jcs.217125
Keywords
Pericentromeric heterochromatin; Spermatogenesis; Meiosis; Spermatids; Chromocenter
Categories
Funding
- March of Dimes Foundation [FY13-510]
- National Institutes of Health [GM119134, HL098691, GM098605, GM122776]
- NATIONAL HEART, LUNG, AND BLOOD INSTITUTE [K22HL098691] Funding Source: NIH RePORTER
- NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH SCIENCES [R21ES027117] Funding Source: NIH RePORTER
- NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF GENERAL MEDICAL SCIENCES [DP2GM119134, R01GM122776, R01GM098605] Funding Source: NIH RePORTER
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Spermatogenesis involves the progressive reorganization of heterochromatin. However, the mechanisms that underlie the dynamic remodeling of heterochromatin remain unknown. Here, we identify SCML2, a germline-specific Polycomb protein, as a critical regulator of heterochromatin organization in spermatogenesis. We show that SCML2 accumulates on pericentromeric heterochromatin (PCH) in male germ cells, where it suppresses PRC1-mediated monoubiquitylation of histone H2A at Lysine 119 (H2AK119ub) and promotes deposition of PRC2-mediated H3K27me3 during meiosis. In postmeiotic spermatids, SCML2 is required for heterochromatin organization, and the loss of SCML2 leads to the formation of ectopic patches of facultative heterochromatin. Our data suggest that, in the absence of SCML2, the ectopic expression of somatic lamins drives this process. Furthermore, the centromere proteinCENP-V is a specific marker of PCH in postmeiotic spermatids, and SCML2 is required for CENP-V localization on PCH. Given the essential functions of PRC1 and PRC2 for genome-wide gene expression in spermatogenesis, our data suggest that heterochromatin organization and spermatogenesis-specific gene expression are functionally linked. We propose that SCML2 coordinates the organization of heterochromatin and gene expression through the regulation of Polycomb complexes.
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