The H3K4 methyltransferase KMT2D is an essential cofactor for GATA1 at erythroid gene enhancers [GATA1 RNA-Seq]

In general, co-occupancy of GATA1 and KMT2D at erythroid enhancers was associated with stronger transcriptional activity than occupancy by GATA1 alone. Acute depletion of KMT2D in erythroid precursors caused rapid reductions of H3K4me1 and H3K27ac on a subset of GATA1-bound enhancers and impaired the expression of canonical erythroid genes, including ZFPM1, SLC4A1, and EPOR. Moreover, acute depletion of GATA1 or KMT2D individually caused downregulation of overlapping gene sets.

Thus, KMT2D controls erythropoiesis by selectively activating GATA1-dependent erythroid enhancers. Our studies identify KMT2D as a novel cofactor for transcriptional activation by GATA1 during erythropoiesis. More generally, our findings demonstrate how a lineage-specific TF cooperates with a ubiquitous epigenetic regulator to drive lineage-specific gene expression during cellular differentiation.