Yeast Sir2 deacetylates histone H4 lysine 16 and is known to have a role in ageing, but the exact mechanism is not known. Here, an age-associated decrease in Sir2 abundance is shown to be accompanied by an increase in H4 lysine 16 acetylation and loss of histones in replicatively old yeast cells, resulting in compromised transcriptional silencing.
- Weiwei Dang
- Kristan K. Steffen
- Shelley L. Berger
