Phosphorylation of epigenetic “readers, writers and erasers”: Implications for developmental reprogramming and the epigenetic basis for health and disease

Epigenetic reprogramming that occurs during critical periods of development can increase the susceptibility to many diseases in adulthood. Programming of the epigenome during development occurs via the activity of a variety of epigenetic modifiers, including “readers, writers and erasers” of histone methyl marks. Posttranslational modification of these programmers can alter their activity, resulting in global or gene-specific changes in histone methylation and gene transcription. This review summarizes what is currently known about phosphorylation of histone methyltransferases (“writers”), demethylases (“erasers”) and effector proteins (“readers) that program the epigenome, and the impact of this posttranslational modification on their activity. Understanding how the activity of these epigenetic programmers is perturbed by environmental exposures via changes in phosphorylation is key to understanding mechanisms of developmental reprogramming and the epigenetic basis of health and disease.