Histone acetylation of H3K9ac is evolutionarily conserved in Aiptasia and may play a role in regulating symbiosis

Acetylation of histones is one of the best understood modification and is exclusively linked to transcriptional activation. Yet, knowledge of histone modification's role and function in zooxanthellate cnidarians is profoundly lacking. Here, we investigated the binding patterns of histone 3 lysine 9 acetylation (H3K9ac) in the cnidarian model organism Aiptasia. Using a customized protocol, we conducted Chromatin Immunoprecipitation (ChIP) to study the genomic associations, distributions and regulatory function of H3K9ac in symbiotic anemones. This study aimed to extend our understanding of the cnidarian histone code using the coral-symbiosis model organism Aiptasia.