Chen Davidovich
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davidovichlab.bsky.social
Chen Davidovich
@davidovichlab.bsky.social
Gene repression, RNA and all chromatin things.
@MonashUni, Melbourne, Australia.
https://www.davidovich-lab.com/
Pinned
1/ H3K27me3 mimicry has repeatedly emerged through evolution, but what's the physiological relevance?

We show that JARID2 and PALI1 mimic H3K27me3 to antagonise PRC2 in vivo and restrict the spread of Polycomb domains.
🧵
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by Chen Davidovich
1/3 New bioRxiv preprint from the lab: “Minute-scale coupling of chromatin marks and transcriptional bursts”. Led by Xiohui Gao & Chaebeen Ko. bioRxiv : www.biorxiv.org/cgi/content/...
February 11, 2026 at 4:06 AM
Reposted by Chen Davidovich
Loss of SUMOylation drives aberrant PRC1 clustering and 3D genome rewiring independent of H3K27me3 https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.02.05.704038v1
February 7, 2026 at 6:33 AM
Reposted by Chen Davidovich
Epigenetics Update - DOT1L provides transcriptional memory through PRC1.1 antagonism go.nature.com/4qh5aXB

Chen Davidovich and Omer Gilan (Monash University) reporting in Nat Cell Biol

#Epigenetics #DOT1L #PolyComb
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Gain deeper insights into gene regulation; epigenometech.com
February 6, 2026 at 12:50 PM
Reposted by Chen Davidovich
Very excited to share our new Molecular Cell paper on missense mutations in Polycomb genes and how they can disrupt chromatin regulation to drive neurodevelopmental disorders. A huge thank you to everyone involved, and to our amazing collaborators!
www.cell.com/molecular-ce...
Unbalanced chromatin binding of Polycomb complexes drives neurodevelopmental disorders
Borges, González-Blanco, Arigela, et al. report new missense mutations in the PRC1 genes RNF2 and RING1 in individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders. Functional dissection of a deleterious variant...
www.cell.com
February 6, 2026 at 4:09 PM
Reposted by Chen Davidovich
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

happy i could be a part of this paper from the Gilan lab out now. Along with many other things, it provides strong evidence of chromatin memory for gene activation, and suggests that DOT1L is the missing link balancing the fast and slow arms of the MLL/Polycomb axis
DOT1L provides transcriptional memory through PRC1.1 antagonism - Nature Cell Biology
Neville, Ferguson et al. show that non-canonical Polycomb repressive complex 1.1-mediated gene silencing is antagonized by DOT1L and is required for the therapeutic efficacy of Menin and DOT1L inhibit...
www.nature.com
February 3, 2026 at 9:29 PM
Reposted by Chen Davidovich
Science update from my postdoc Peiyuan Chai - his work “glycoRNA complexed with heparan sulfate regulates VEGF-A signaling” is now published @nature.com uncovering a new layer or glycoRNA-regulation of growth factor mediated control physiological processes rdcu.be/e1bBX
January 28, 2026 at 5:45 PM
Reposted by Chen Davidovich
@pravrutharaman.bsky.social got super intrigued about EZHIP/CATACOMB, previously identified as a histone H3K27M mimic of PRC2. You can read about her efforts here: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... We hope these analyses will help spur more analyses in this very cool gene! 1/
Dynamic evolution of EZHIP, an inhibitor of the Polycomb Repressive Complex 2 in mammals
The Polycomb Repressive Complex 2 (PRC2) is an ancient, conserved chromatin-interacting complex that controls gene expression, facilitating differentiation and cellular identity during development. It...
www.biorxiv.org
December 13, 2025 at 10:08 PM
Reposted by Chen Davidovich
Two alternative isoforms of PRC2 accessory subunit AEBP2 modulate developmental Polycomb functions in opposite ways - with broadly-expressed AEBP2L acting as an intrinsic inhibitor in somatic cells
@adrianbracken.bsky.social @davidovichlab.bsky.social and colleagues
www.embopress.org/doi/full/10....
November 4, 2025 at 12:51 PM
Reposted by Chen Davidovich
@ckadoch.bsky.social and I are excited to welcome you to Geneva for the 2026 Keystone Symposium on Epigenetics and Gene Regulation in Health and Disease — short talk and poster slots are still open. Don’t miss the deadlines.
Video: youtu.be/sLfyuQuH8F0
KSQA: Dr Karim-Jean Armache / Dr. Cigall Kadoch (Epigenetics and Gene Regulation)
YouTube video by KeystoneSymposia
youtu.be
November 3, 2025 at 2:43 PM
2/ Done in collaboration with the lab of @adrianbracken.bsky.social, who wrote a great 🧵 explaining the work. bsky.app/profile/adri...
1/ 🚀 AEBP2 isn’t what we thought.

You were told that AEBP2 promotes PRC2 activity on chromatin.

We found the opposite: the most prevalent AEBP2 isoform inhibits PRC2 activity.

👉 surl.li/cgwqcq

A thread 🧵
October 31, 2025 at 10:42 PM
1/ It's long been assumed that AEBP2 recruit PRC2 to chromatin. Now, we show that AEBP2 usually does the exact opposite:
The only isoform of AEBP2 that is expressed in most cell types and tissues inhibits the chromatin-binding activity of PRC2. www.embopress.org/doi/full/10....
Auto-inhibition of PRC2 by the broadly expressed long isoform of AEBP2 | The EMBO Journal
imageimageAEBP2 is an accessory subunit of the PRC2 complex previously implicated both in promoting and antagonizing Polycomb repressive activity. This study reveals that its alternative isoforms, AEB...
www.embopress.org
October 31, 2025 at 10:42 PM
Reposted by Chen Davidovich
1/ 🚀 AEBP2 isn’t what we thought.

You were told that AEBP2 promotes PRC2 activity on chromatin.

We found the opposite: the most prevalent AEBP2 isoform inhibits PRC2 activity.

👉 surl.li/cgwqcq

A thread 🧵
October 31, 2025 at 10:53 AM
Reposted by Chen Davidovich
📣 Abstract Deadline Extended!
Due to popular demand, we’ve extended the submission deadline — giving you a few extra days to finalise your abstract.
Don’t miss out on being part of Lorne’s legacy!
👉 Submit today: www.lorneproteins.org
#LorneProteins #DeadlineExtended #ProteinScience
October 26, 2025 at 10:59 PM
Reposted by Chen Davidovich
ARC says Discovery Projects outcomes will be tomorrow (Tuesday). Linkage Projects (2025, round 1) on Wed. Over past ~year, it's often been at about 11am (Canberra).

My bot will pick up the change to RMS & post immediately.

ARC should email outcomes to lead CIs, but might take an 1hr or so for DPs
October 26, 2025 at 11:17 PM
Reposted by Chen Davidovich
🧵1/Exciting news in cancer epigenetics! Our latest research, "AEBP2-Directed H3K27me2 Defines a Specific Vulnerability in EZH2-mutant Lymphoma", is now available on www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1.... Here's a thread summarizing our findings!👇
#CancerResearch #Epigenetics #Chromatin #Lymphoma
AEBP2-Directed H3K27me2 Defines a Specific Vulnerability in EZH2-mutant Lymphoma
The catalytic subunit of Polycomb Repressive Complex 2 (PRC2), EZH2, is recurrently mutated in 25% of diffuse large B-cell lymphomas (DLBCL), causing increased H3K27me3 and decreased H3K27me2 levels. ...
www.biorxiv.org
October 17, 2025 at 7:11 AM
Reposted by Chen Davidovich
EEE meeting is BACK! Early Embryogenesis & Epigenetics conference in Berlin 02/2026.
Checkout great program and over 12 slots for (not so) short talks for submitted abstracts!. Early registration now open -
w.molgen.mpg.de/embryo2026
September 28, 2025 at 12:00 AM
Reposted by Chen Davidovich
Super glad to contribute to this study on chromatin evolution in brown algae! Special thanks to Jeromine Vigneau, @borglab.bsky.social and Susana Coelho for making this happen.

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Rewiring of chromatin regulation underlies the evolution of brown algal multicellularity
Chromatin structure plays a central role in regulating transcription, genome stability, and epigenetic inheritance in eukaryotes. Much of our understanding of chromatin architecture and histone post-t...
www.biorxiv.org
September 19, 2025 at 7:02 PM
Reposted by Chen Davidovich
Genes and Gin: A Synthetic Biology Social 🎉

Join us for a fun night of Genes and Gin - learn to play the synthetic card game "Remediate!", created by a group of researchers within our Centre.

Make sure you register for catering:
www.eventbrite.com.au/e/genes-and-...

See you on the rooftop!
September 18, 2025 at 12:58 AM
Reposted by Chen Davidovich
Many of the most complex and useful functions in biology emerge at the scale of whole genomes.

Today, we share our preprint “Generative design of novel bacteriophages with genome language models”, where we validate the first, functional AI-generated genomes 🧵
September 17, 2025 at 3:03 PM
Reposted by Chen Davidovich
Very excited to share an excellent review from @teresa-urli.bsky.social, published one week before her PhD defense! We did a deep dive into the fascinating biology of the variant Polycomb complex, PRC1.6 (1/5) journals.plos.org/plosgenetics...
Epigenetic relay: Polycomb-directed DNA methylation in mammalian development
In mammals, repression of germline-specific gene expression is essential for preserving somatic cell identity and preventing disease. Germline gene silencing is often dependent on the presence of prom...
journals.plos.org
September 15, 2025 at 7:04 PM
Reposted by Chen Davidovich
Excited to share the paper from my work in the Dean lab @johninnescentre.bsky.social out now in @cp-molcell.bsky.social. Huge thanks to all the co-authors - it was a great collaborative effort! Watch out for the associated cover artwork coming out next week 🎉 www.cell.com/molecular-ce...
VEL-dependent polymerization maintains the chromatin association of Polycomb proteins for the switch to epigenetic silencing
Schulten et al. show that VEL polymerization domains produce higher-order protein assemblies to maintain chromatin association of Polycomb proteins, enabling a stable epigenetic switch at the floral r...
www.cell.com
August 26, 2025 at 6:04 PM
Reposted by Chen Davidovich
Finally out on @devbiol.bsky.social‬: we find that Epop mutant mice have near-perfect Polycomb phenotype (orderly posterior shift of vertebral identity🩻) linked to accelerated HOX clock⏰.

Bonus: Epop has maternal effect!

Study co-led by the the labs of Bernie Payer and @lucianodicroce.bsky.social
The PRC2-associated factor EPOP is required for Hox gene regulation during axial development in mice
The Polycomb repressive complex 2 (PRC2) is an essential modulator of gene repression. We previously reported that, in mouse embryonic stem cells, PRC…
www.sciencedirect.com
August 25, 2025 at 7:44 PM
Reposted by Chen Davidovich
🚨New preprint from the lab🚨
🧬 What keeps certain chromatin domains anchored at the nuclear periphery? Our new genome-wide HiDRO screen uncovers a key role for RNA-binding protein hnRNPK.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Mechanistic and Epigenetic Partitioning of Lamina-Associated Chromatin Revealed by a Genome-Wide Imaging Screen
The nuclear periphery is a key site for heterochromatin organization in eukaryotic cells, where lamina-associated domains (LADs) promote transcriptional repression and genome stability. Despite their ...
www.biorxiv.org
August 14, 2025 at 7:01 PM