Chromatin reader component of the super elongation complex (SEC), a complex required to increase the catalytic rate of RNA polymerase II transcription by suppressing transient pausing by the polymerase at multiple sites along the DNA (PubMed:20159561, PubMed:20471948, PubMed:25417107, PubMed:27105114, PubMed:27545619). Specifically recognizes and binds acylated histone H3, with a preference for histone H3 that is crotonylated (PubMed:25417107, PubMed:27105114, PubMed:27545619, PubMed:30374167, PubMed:30385749). Crotonylation marks active promoters and enhancers and confers resistance to transcriptional repressors (PubMed:25417107, PubMed:27105114, PubMed:27545619). Recognizes and binds histone H3 crotonylated at ‘Lys-9’ (H3K9cr), and with slightly lower affinity histone H3 crotonylated at ‘Lys-18’ (H3K18cr) (PubMed:27105114). Also recognizes and binds histone H3 acetylated and butyrylated at ‘Lys-9’ (H3K9ac and H3K9bu, respectively), but with lower affinity than crotonylated histone H3 (PubMed:25417107, PubMed:27105114, PubMed:30385749). In the SEC complex, MLLT3 is required to recruit the complex to crotonylated histones (PubMed:27105114, PubMed:27545619). Recruitment of the SEC complex to crotonylated histones promotes recruitment of DOT1L on active chromatin to deposit histone H3 ‘Lys-79’ methylation (H3K79me) (PubMed:25417107). Plays a key role in hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) maintenance by preserving, rather than conferring, HSC stemness (PubMed:31776511). Acts by binding to the transcription start site of active genes in HSCs and sustaining level of H3K79me2, probably by recruiting DOT1L (PubMed:31776511).
