Histone acetyltransferase MOF

UniProtKB accession:  O02193

Grouped By:  Matching UniProtKB accession

UniProtKB description:  Histone acetyltransferase that catalyzes the formation of the majority of histone H4 acetylation at 'Lys-16' (H4K16ac), an epigenetic mark that prevents chromatin compaction and constitutes the only acetylation mark intergenerationally transmitted (PubMed:10882077, PubMed:18510926, PubMed:20620953, PubMed:22421046, PubMed:32502394). Catalytic component of the male-specific lethal (MSL) complex, a multiprotein complex essential for elevating transcription of the single X chromosome in the male (X chromosome dosage compensation) (PubMed:10882077, PubMed:11014199, PubMed:16543150, PubMed:18510926, PubMed:34133927, PubMed:9155031). The MSL complex specifically associates with the single X chromosome in males and mediates formation of H4K16ac, promoting a two-fold activation of X chromosome (PubMed:11258702, PubMed:18510926, PubMed:20620953, PubMed:22421046). Dosage compensation ensures that males with a single X chromosome have the same amount of most X-linked gene products as females with two X chromosomes (PubMed:18510926, PubMed:9155031). In oocytes, mof is also part of a maternal MSL subcomplex that mediates H4K16ac deposition for intergenerational transmission: H4K16ac prepares the chromatin landscape for establishment of nucleosome accessibility and poises genes for future activation (PubMed:32502394). H4K16ac constitutes the only acetylation mark maintained from oocytes to fertilized embryos (PubMed:32502394). Mof also constitutes the catalytic component of the non-specific lethal (NLS) complex, which promotes expression of housekeeping genes on X chromosome and autosomes (PubMed:20620953, PubMed:20620954, PubMed:22723752). The NSL complex promotes strong expression of housekeeping genes compared to the two-fold expression mediated by the MSL complex on X chromosome, suggesting that the activation potential of mof is constrained in the context of dosage compensation (PubMed:20620953).