InterPro domain: IPR013178

Histone acetylation is required in many cellular processes including transcription, DNA repair, and chromatin assembly. This family contains the fungal RTT109 protein, which is required for H3K56 acetylation [ 1 ]. In Schizosaccharomyces pombe (Fission yeast) loss of RTT109 results in the loss of H3K56 acetylation, both on bulk histone and on chromatin [ 2 ]. RTT109 and H3K56 acetylation appear to correlate with actively transcribed genes and associate with the elongating form of Pol II in yeast [ 3 ]. This family also includes p300/CBP acetyltransferase, which has different catalytic properties and cofactor regulation to RTT109 [ 3 ]. CREB-binding protein (CBP) is a transcriptional co-activator that acetylates both histones and non-histone proteins [ 4 , 5 , 6 ]. CBP binds specifically to phosphorylated CREB and enhances its transcriptional activity toward cAMP-responsive genes [ 7 , 8 ].

1. Rtt109 acetylates histone H3 lysine 56 and functions in DNA replication. Science 315, 653-5
2. Rtt109 is required for proper H3K56 acetylation: a chromatin mark associated with the elongating RNA polymerase II. J. Biol. Chem. 281, 37270-4
3. Fungal Rtt109 histone acetyltransferase is an unexpected structural homolog of metazoan p300/CBP. Nat. Struct. Mol. Biol. 15, 738-45
4. p300 forms a stable, template-committed complex with chromatin: role for the bromodomain. Mol. Cell. Biol. 21, 3876-87
5. CBP and p300: HATs for different occasions. Biochem. Pharmacol. 68, 1145-55
6. Acetylation of nuclear receptors in cellular growth and apoptosis. Biochem. Pharmacol. 68, 1199-208
7. A transcriptional switch mediated by cofactor methylation. Science 294, 2507-11
8. SUMO modification negatively modulates the transcriptional activity of CREB-binding protein via the recruitment of Daxx. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 102, 16973-8