Figure 6.

Histone H3 lysine 9 dimethylation (H3K9me2) abundance is elevated in him-8 and low in the germline relative to the soma. (A, C) Representative protein blots probed with pan-H3 antibody and antibodies against several modified forms of histone H3. The number of whole adult hermaphrodites or dissected adult hermaphrodite gonad arms used to prepare extract for each lane is indicated. As the C. elegans gonad is primarily germ line, most of the histone H3 in gonad extracts is from germ cells (see Impact of H3K9me2 loss on the gonad transcriptome). Aliquots of a single extract were probed for total H3 and an individual H3 modification. Signal was quantified and the ratio of H3 modification to pan-H3 signal was calculated to determine the normalized value for each modification. (B) Histogram represents the ratio of normalized H3K9me2 signal in him-8 relative to wild-type (N2) whole animals and isolated gonads. H3K9me2 signal is greater in him-8 whole animals and gonads. (D) Histogram represents the ratio of normalized signal in isolated gonads relative to whole animals. Note that the Y-axis scale is different in B and D. Data represent three biological replicates for H3K4me1 and two biological replicates for each other mark (see the section Materials and Methods). Error bars, SEM.