Regulation of plant immunity through histone H3 β-hydroxybutyrylation-mediated transcriptional control
- Qiutao Xu
- Zhengting Chen
- Rui Wang
- Xuan Ma
- Yuhang Duan
- Du Hai
- Jing Chen
- Zhongyi Cheng
- Lu Zheng
- Junbin Huang
- Jisen Zhang
- Yu Zhao
- Xiaoyang Chen
2025-07-17
Histone lysine β-hydroxybutyrylation (Kbhb) is a novel type of histone acylation whose prevalence and function remain unclear in plants. Here, we systematically characterized H3K9bhb in rice ( Oryza sativa ) and found that it is enriched at transcription start site (TSS) regions and serves as an active mark for gene expression. We demonstrated functional differences between H3K9bhb and the well-studied H3K9ac histone modification, particularly in regulating genes involved in the rice immune response. We also discovered that the exogenous application of β-hydroxybutyrate induces H3K9bhb deposition and promotes the expression of defense-related genes, enhancing disease resistance. Furthermore, we identified OsSRT1, OsSRT2, and OsHDA705 as key players in the removal of Kbhb. We also conducted a Kbhb proteomic analysis and identified 2159 Kbhb sites on 1128 proteins, providing a valuable resource for future studies of Kbhb. This research advances our understanding of plant epigenetic regulation by establishing Kbhb as a cellular post-translational modification with the potential to regulate plant immune responses.