Histone H1 is required for proper regulation of pyruvate decarboxylase gene expression in Neurospora crassa

We show that Neurospora crassa has a single histone Ell gene, hH1, which encodes a typical linker histone with highly basic N- and C-terminal tails and a central globular domain. A green fluorescent protein-tagged histone Ell chimeric protein was localized exclusively to nuclei. Mutation of hH1 by repeat-induced point mutation (RIP) did not result in detectable defects in morphology, DNA methylation, mutagen sensitivity, DNA repair, fertility, RIP, chromosome pairing, or chromosome segregation. Nevertheless, hH1 mutants had mycelial elongation rates that were lower than normal on all tested carbon sources. This slow linear growth phenotype, however, was less evident on medium containing ethanol. The pyruvate decarboxylase gene, cfp, was abnormally derepressed in hH1 mutants on ethanol-containing medium. This derepression was also found when an ectopically integrated fusion of the cfp gene promoter to the reporter gene hph was analyzed. Thus, Neurospora histone HI is required for the proper regulation of cfp, a gene with a key role in the respiratory-fermentative pathway.