Cited by 204Neurobiology and Insect Physiology ResearchEpigenetics and DNA MethylationMemory and Neural Mechanisms

Epigenetic Regulation of Learning and Memory by Drosophila EHMT/G9a

Open access
Kramer, Jamie M., Kochinke, Korinna, Oortveld, Merel A. W., Marks, Hendrik, Kramer, Daniela, de Jong, Eiko K., Asztalos, Zoltan, Westwood, J. Timothy +6 more·2011·PLoS Biology

Abstract

The epigenetic modification of chromatin structure and its effect on complex neuronal processes like learning and memory is an emerging field in neuroscience. However, little is known about the "writers" of the neuronal epigenome and how they lay down the basis for proper cognition. Here, we have dissected the neuronal function of the Drosophila euchromatin histone methyltransferase (EHMT), a member of a conserved protein family that methylates histone 3 at lysine 9 (H3K9). EHMT is widely expressed in the nervous system and other tissues, yet EHMT mutant flies are viable. Neurodevelopmental and behavioral analyses identified EHMT as a regulator of peripheral dendrite development, larval locomotor behavior, non-associative learning, and courtship memory. The requirement for EHMT in memory was mapped to 7B-Gal4 positive cells, which are, in adult brains, predominantly mushroom body neurons. Moreover, memory was restored by EHMT re-expression during adulthood, indicating that cognitive defects are reversible in EHMT mutants. To uncover the underlying molecular mechanisms, we generated genome-wide H3K9 dimethylation profiles by ChIP-seq. Loss of H3K9 dimethylation in EHMT mutants occurs at 5% of the euchromatic genome and is enriched at the 5' and 3' ends of distinct classes of genes that control neuronal and behavioral processes that are corrupted in EHMT mutants. Our study identifies Drosophila EHMT as a key regulator of cognition that orchestrates an epigenetic program featuring classic learning and memory genes. Our findings are relevant to the pathophysiological mechanisms underlying Kleefstra Syndrome, a severe form of intellectual disability caused by mutations in human EHMT1, and have potential therapeutic implications. Our work thus provides novel insights into the epigenetic control of cognition in health and disease.

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1371/journal.pbio.1000569

Cites

66 of 66 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Claims the paper makes

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

Self-check

Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.

The self-check needs the paper’s full text.

Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Kramer, J. M., Kochinke, K., Oortveld, M. A. W., Marks, H., Kramer, D., de Jong, E. K., Asztalos, Z., Westwood, J. T., Stunnenberg, H. G., Sokolowski, M. B., Keleman, K., Zhou, H., van Bokhoven, H., & Schenck, A.
Affiliations
  • Radboud University Nijmegen (NL)
  • Radboud University Medical Center (NL)
  • University of Toronto (CA)
  • Research Institute of Molecular Pathology (AT)
Corresponding author
Schenck, Annette
Venue
PLoS Biology
Published
2011-01-04
Volume
9
Issue
1
Pages
e1000569
ISSN
  • 1544-9173 (ISSN-L)
  • 1545-7885
OpenAlex
W2075764106
Cited by
204
References
66
Citations by year
2026: 1 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 8 · 2022: 15 · 2021: 13 · 2020: 9 · 2019: 23 · 2018: 15 · 2017: 19 · 2016: 17 · 2015: 19 · 2014: 12 · 2013: 18 · 2012: 15
FWCI
7.02
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • PLoS Biology (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Radboud Repository (Radboud University) (submittedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
  • Figshare (submittedVersion, cc-by)
  • Radboud Repository (Radboud University) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
Funders
  • European Commission (241995)
  • Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung
  • Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neurobiology and Insect Physiology Research
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Epigenetics and DNA Methylation
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Memory and Neural Mechanisms
Keywords
G9a, histone methyltransferase, H3K9 dimethylation, chromatin epigenetics, learning and memory, mushroom body neurons, dendrite formation, non-associative learning, cognitive restoration, intellectual disability, Kleefstra syndrome, EHMT1, Drosophila
MeSH terms
Animals, Courtship, Dendrites, DNA, Drosophila, Humans, Larva, Learning, Locomotion, Memory, Methylation, Nervous System, Phylogeny, Histone-Lysine N-Methyltransferase, Sequence Deletion, Gene Expression Profiling, Euchromatin, Epigenesis, Genetic

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review