Altemose, NicolasNoor, NudratBitoun, EmmanuelleTumian, AfidalinaImbeault, MichaelChapman, J. RossAricescu, A. RaduMyers, Simon R.2018-01-152018-01-152018-01-15201710.7554/e.Life.28383https://infoscience.epfl.ch/handle/20.500.14299/143915WOS:000416379900001PRDM9 binding localizes almost all meiotic recombination sites in humans and mice. However, most PRDM9-bound loci do not become recombination hotspots. To explore factors that affect binding and subsequent recombination outcomes, we mapped human PRDM9 binding sites in a transfected human cell line and measured PRDM9-induced histone modifications. These data reveal varied DNA-binding modalities of PRDM9. We also find that human PRDM9 frequently binds promoters, despite their low recombination rates, and it can activate expression of a small number of genes including CTCFL and VCX. Furthermore, we identify specific sequence motifs that predict consistent, localized meiotic recombination suppression around a subset of PRDM9 binding sites. These motifs strongly associate with KRAB-ZNF protein binding, TRIM28 recruitment, and specific histone modifications. Finally, we demonstrate that, in addition to binding DNA, PRDM9's zinc fingers also mediate its multimerization, and we show that a pair of highly diverged alleles preferentially form homo-multimers.text::journal::journal article::research article