Distinct and predictive histone lysine acetylation patterns at promoters, enhancers, and gene bodies

Abstract

In eukaryotic cells, histone lysines are frequently acetylated. However, unlike modifications such as methylations, histone acetylation modifications are often considered redundant. As such, the functional roles of distinct histone acetylations are largely unexplored. We previously developed an algorithm RFECS to discover the most informative modifications associated with the classification or prediction of mammalian enhancers. Here, we used this tool to identify the modifications most predictive of promoters, enhancers, and gene bodies. Unexpectedly, we found that histone acetylation alone performs well in distinguishing these unique genomic regions. Further, we found the association of characteristic acetylation patterns with genic regions and association of chromatin state with splicing. Taken together, our work underscores the diverse functional roles of histone acetylation in gene regulation and provides several testable hypotheses to dissect these roles.