CFP ‐1 interacts with HDAC 1/2 complexes in C. elegans development

CXXC
finger binding protein 1 (
CFP
‐1) is an evolutionarily conserved protein that binds to non‐methylated CpG‐rich promoters in mammals and
Caenorhabditis elegans
. This conserved epigenetic regulator is part of the
COMPASS
complex that contains the H3K4me3 methyltransferase
SET
1 in mammals and
SET
‐2 in
C. elegans
. Previous studies have indicated the importance of
CFP1
in embryonic stem cell differentiation and cell fate specification. However, neither the function nor the mechanism of action of
CFP1
is well understood at the organismal level. Here, we have used
cfp‐1(tm6369)
and
set‐2(bn129) C. elegans
mutants to investigate the function of
CFP
‐1 in gene induction and development. We have characterised
C. elegans
COMPASS
mutants
cfp‐1(tm6369)
and
set‐2(bn129)
and found that both
cfp‐1
and
set‐2
play an important role in the regulation of fertility and development of the organism. Furthermore, we found that both
cfp‐1
and
set‐2
are required for H3K4 trimethylation and play a repressive role in the expression of heat shock and salt‐inducible genes. Interestingly, we found that
cfp‐1
but not
set‐2
genetically interacts with histone deacetylase (
HDAC
1/2) complexes to regulate fertility, suggesting a function of
CFP
‐1 outside of the
COMPASS
complex. Additionally, we found that
cfp‐1
and
set‐2
independently regulate fertility and development of the organism. Our results suggest that
CFP
‐1 genetically interacts with
HDAC
1/2 complexes to regulate fertility, independent of its function within the
COMPASS
complex. We propose that
CFP
‐1 could cooperate with the
COMPASS
complex and/or
HDAC
1/2 in a context‐dependent manner.