Histone methyltransferase Dot1L recruits O-GlcNAc transferase to target chromatin sites to regulate histone O-GlcNAcylation

Abstract

O-GlcNAc transferase (OGT) is the distinctive enzyme responsible for catalyzing O-GlcNAc addition to the serine or threonine residues of thousands of cytoplasmic and nuclear proteins involved in such basic cellular processes as DNA damage repair, RNA splicing, and transcription preinitiation and initiation complex assembly. However, the molecular mechanism by which OGT regulates gene transcription remains elusive. Using proximity labeling-based mass spectrometry, here, we searched for functional partners of OGT and identified interacting protein Dot1L, a conserved and unique histone methyltransferase known to mediate histone H3 Lys79 methylation, which is required for gene transcription, DNA damage repair, cell proliferation, and embryo development. Although this specific interaction with OGT does not regulate the enzymatic activity of Dot1L, we show that it does facilitate OGT-dependent histone O-GlcNAcylation. Moreover, we demonstrate that OGT associates with Dot1L at transcription start sites and that depleting Dot1L decreases OGT associated with chromatin globally. Notably, we also show that downregulation of Dot1L reduces the levels of histone H2B S112 O-GlcNAcylation and histone H2B K120 ubiquitination in vivo, which are associated with gene transcription regulation. Taken together, these results reveal that O-GlcNAcylation of chromatin is dependent on Dot1L.