Histone Modifications in the Cell Cycle of C. elegans Embryogenesis: A Comparative Review

Cell division is a highly regulated process that actively involves dynamic changes to the genetic material within the nucleus. DNA is faithfully replicated in the S-Phase of the cell cycle, being converted from loose, relaxed chromatin into tight, condensed chromosomes to be segregated in mitosis. In addition to scaffolding proteins that shape these mitotic chromosomes, post-translational modifications of histones within nucleosomes modulate chromosome dynamics throughout the cell cycle. In this review, we use a comparative approach to highlight some of the major epigenetic marks affected by the cell cycle during embryogenesis of Caenorhabditis elegans: H4K20me1, H3S10ph, H4S1ph, H2AS1ph, and H3T118ph. These five histone post-translational modifications will be specifically highlighted in the context of the mitotic cell cycle, as they are well documented in the C. elegans literature.