Polycomb repressive complex 2 (PRC2) is involved in maintaining transcriptionally silent chromatin states through methylating lysine 27 of histone H3 by the catalytic subunit enhancer of zeste [E(z)]. Here, we report the diversity of PRC2 core subunit proteins in different eukaryotic supergroups with emphasis on the early-diverged lineages and explore the molecular evolution of PRC2 subunits by phylogenetics. For the first time, we identify the putative ortholog of E(z) in Discoba, a lineage hypothetically proximal to the eukaryotic root, strongly supporting emergence of PRC2 before the diversification of eukaryotes. Analyzing 283 species, we robustly detect a common presence of E(z) and ESC, indicating a conserved functional core. Full-length Su(z)12 orthologs were identified in some lineages and species only, indicating, nonexclusively, high divergence of VEFS-Box-containing Su(z)12-like proteins, functional convergence of sequence-unrelated proteins, or Su(z)12 dispensability. Our results trace E(z) evolution within the SET-domain protein family, proposing a substrate specificity shift during E(z) evolution based on SET-domain and H3 histone interaction prediction.

Biology Centre Czech Academy of Sciences Institute of Parasitology České Budějovice Czech Republic

Biology Centre Czech Academy of Sciences Institute of Plant Molecular Biology České Budějovice Czech Republic

Genetic Department Faculty of Agriculture Ain Shams University Cairo Egypt

University of South Bohemia Faculty of Science České Budějovice Czech Republic

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PDB
7KSR