Histone H3G34R mutation causes replication stress, homologous recombination defects and genomic instability in S. pombe

Recurrent somatic mutations of H3F3A in aggressive pediatric high-grade gliomas generate K27M or G34R/V mutant histone H3.3. H3.3-G34R/V mutants are common in tumors with mutations in p53 and ATRX, an H3.3-specific chromatin remodeler. To gain insight into the role of H3-G34R, we generated fission yeast that express only the mutant histone H3. H3-G34R specifically reduces H3K36 tri-methylation and H3K36 acetylation, and mutants show partial transcriptional overlap with set2 deletions. H3-G34R mutants exhibit genomic instability and increased replication stress, including slowed replication fork restart, although DNA replication checkpoints are functional. H3-G34R mutants are defective for DNA damage repair by homologous recombination (HR), and have altered HR protein dynamics in both damaged and untreated cells. These data suggest H3-G34R slows resolution of HR-mediated repair and that unresolved replication intermediates impair chromosome segregation. This analysis of H3-G34R mutant fission yeast provides mechanistic insight into how G34R mutation may promote genomic instability in glioma. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.27406.001