Chemical modifications of histones can mediate diverse DNA-templated processes including gene transcription 1 – 3 . Here, we provide evidence for a new class of histone posttranslational modification (PTM), serotonylation of glutamine, which occurs at position 5 (Q5ser) on histone H3 in serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine, 5-HT) producing organisms. We demonstrate that tissue Transglutaminase 2 (TGM2) can serotonylate histone H3 tri-methylated lysine 4 (H3K4me3) marked nucleosomes resulting in the presence of combinatorial H3K4me3Q5ser in vivo . H3K4me3Q5ser displays a ubiquitous pattern of tissue expression in mammals, with enrichment observed in brain and gut, two organ systems responsible for the bulk of 5-HT production. Genome-wide analyses of human serotonergic neurons, developing mouse brain and cultured serotonergic cells indicate that the mark is enriched in euchromatin, is sensitive to cellular differentiation and correlates with permissive gene expression, phenomena that are linked to the mark’s potentiation of TFIID 4 – 6 interactions with H3K4me3. Cells ectopically expressing an H3 mutant that cannot be serotonylated display significantly altered expression of H3K4me3Q5ser target loci leading to deficits in differentiation. Taken together, these data identify a direct role for 5-HT, independent from its contributions to neurotransmission and cellular signaling, in the mediation of permissive gene expression.

Recent studies have identified serotonylation of glutamine-5 on histone H3 (H3Q5ser) as a novel posttranslational modification (PTM) associated with active transcription. While H3Q5ser is known to be installed by tissue transglutaminase 2 (TGM2), the substrate characteristics affecting deposition of the mark, at the level of both chromatin and individual nucleosomes, remain poorly understood. Here, we show that histone serotonylation is excluded from constitutive heterochromatic regions in mammalian cells. Biochemical studies reveal that the formation of higher-order chromatin structures associated with heterochromatin impose a steric barrier that is refractory to TGM2-mediated histone monoaminylation. A series of structure-activity relationship studies, including the use of DNA–barcoded nucleosome libraries, shows that steric hindrance also steers TGM2 activity at the nucleosome level, restricting monoaminylation to accessible sites within histone tails. Collectively, our data indicate that the activity of TGM2 on chromatin is dictated by substrate accessibility rather than by primary sequence determinants or by the existence of preexisting PTMs, as is the case for many other histone-modifying enzymes.

Nucleosomes frequently exist as asymmetric species in native chromatin contexts. Current methods for the traceless generation of these heterotypic chromatin substrates are inefficient and/or difficult to implement. Here, we report an application of the SpyCatcher/SpyTag system as a convenient route to assemble desymmetrized nucleoprotein complexes. This genetically encoded covalent tethering system serves as an internal chaperone, maintained through the assembly process, affording traceless asymmetric nucleosomes following proteolytic removal of the tethers. The strategy allows for generation of nucleosomes containing asymmetric modifications on single or multiple histones, thereby providing facile access to a range of substrates. Herein, we use such constructs to interrogate how nucleosome desymmetrization caused by the incorporation of cancer-associated histone mutations alters chromatin remodeling processes. We also establish that our system provides access to asymmetric dinucleosomes, which allowed us to query the geometric/symmetry constraints of the unmodified histone H3 tail in stimulating the activity of the histone lysine demethylase, KDM5B. By providing a streamlined approach to generate these sophisticated substrates, our method expands the chemical biology toolbox available for interrogating the consequences of asymmetry on chromatin structure and function.