Histone 4 lysine 5/12 acetylation enables developmental plasticity of Pristionchus mouth form

Michael S. Werner, Tobias Loschko, Thomas King, Shelley Reich, Tobias Theska, Mirita Franz-Wachtel, Boris Macek and Ralf J. Sommer ()
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Michael S. Werner: Max Planck Institute for Biology Tübingen
Tobias Loschko: Max Planck Institute for Biology Tübingen
Thomas King: The University of Utah
Shelley Reich: The University of Utah
Tobias Theska: Max Planck Institute for Biology Tübingen
Mirita Franz-Wachtel: University of Tübingen
Boris Macek: University of Tübingen
Ralf J. Sommer: Max Planck Institute for Biology Tübingen

Nature Communications, 2023, vol. 14, issue 1, 1-14

Abstract: Abstract Development can be altered to match phenotypes with the environment, and the genetic mechanisms that direct such alternative phenotypes are beginning to be elucidated. Yet, the rules that govern environmental sensitivity vs. invariant development, and potential epigenetic memory, remain unknown. Here, we show that plasticity of nematode mouth forms is determined by histone 4 lysine 5 and 12 acetylation (H4K5/12ac). Acetylation in early larval stages provides a permissive chromatin state, which is susceptible to induction during the critical window of environmental sensitivity. As development proceeds deacetylation shuts off switch gene expression to end the critical period. Inhibiting deacetylase enzymes leads to fixation of prior developmental trajectories, demonstrating that histone modifications in juveniles can carry environmental information to adults. Finally, we provide evidence that this regulation was derived from an ancient mechanism of licensing developmental speed. Altogether, our results show that H4K5/12ac enables epigenetic regulation of developmental plasticity that can be stored and erased by acetylation and deacetylation, respectively.

Date: 2023
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-37734-z

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