Regulation of ectopic heterochromatin-mediated epigenetic diversification by the JmjC family protein Epe1.

H3K9 methylation (H3K9me) is a conserved marker of heterochromatin, a transcriptionally silent chromatin structure. Knowledge of the mechanisms for regulating heterochromatin distribution is limited. The fission yeast JmjC domain-containing protein Epe1 localizes to heterochromatin mainly through its interaction with Swi6, a homologue of heterochromatin protein 1 (HP1), and directs JmjC-mediated H3K9me demethylation in vivo.