Chromodomain protein CDYL is required for transmission/restoration of repressive histone marks

Faithful transmission or restoration of epigenetic information such as repressive histone modifications through generations is crit- ical for the maintenance of cell identity. We report here that chromodomain Y-like protein （CDYL）, a chromodomain-containing transcription corepressor, is physically associated with chromatin assembly factor 1 （CAF-1） and the repiicative heUcase MCM complex. We showed that CDYL bridges CAF-1 and MCM, facilitating histone transfer and deposition during DNA replication. We demonstrated that CDYI. recruits histone-modifying enzymes G9a, SETDB1, and EZH2 to replication forks, leading to the addition of H3Kgme2/3 and H3K27me2/3 on newly deposited histone H3. Significantly, depletion of CDYL impedes early S phase progres- sion and sensitizes cells to DNA damage. Our data indicate that CDYL plays an important role in the transmission/restoration of repressive histone marks, thereby preserving the epigenetic landscape for the maintenance of cell identity.