Thomas Jenuwein

Thomas Jenuwein co-discovered the first histone lysine methyltransferase SUV39H1, demonstrating that histone H3K9 methylation recruits heterochromatin protein 1 (HP1) to establish constitutive heterochromatin, a discovery that opened the entire field of histone methylation enzymology. His work showed that loss of H3K9me3 and heterochromatin destabilization causes genomic instability through derepression of pericentromeric satellite repeats and transposable elements, contributing to chromosome segregation errors and cancer predisposition. He has established that H3K9 methylation safeguards genome integrity by maintaining repeat element silencing. His conceptual and experimental contributions to histone methylation biology earned him the Gruber Prize in Genetics.