Heterochromatin remodeling by CDK12 contributes to learning in Drosophila

We describe the epigenetic profiling of the H3K9me2 and HP1a in Drosophila third instar larvae before and after CDK12 depletion by RNA interference (RNAi). Here we show that CDK12 regulates heterochromatin dynamics in Drosophila chromosomes. Depletion of CDK12 induces the increased HP1a and H3K9me2 binding profile on the coding region of euchromatic genes, with the X chromosome being the most affected. These results are consistent with the polytene chromosome immunostaining pattern of HP1a and H3K9me2 after CDK12 knockdown in our initial cytological observations, which show that CDK12 depletion induce heterochromatin spreading on euchromatic arms, especially on the X chromosome. This study describes a novel role of the CDK12 complex in controlling the epigenetic transition between euchromatin and heterochromatin. Overall design: Examination of the genome-wide H3K9me2 and HP1a binding profile in wildtype larvae (WT) and CDK12-depleted larvae (CDK12-KD). Examination of the genome-wide CDK12 binding profile in wildtype larvae (WT). Twelve independent immunoprecipitations were conducted for each antibody. Two biological replicates were performed.