Terminal differentiation of muscle cells follows a precisely orchestrated p
rogram of transcriptional regulatory events at the promoters of both muscle
-specific and ubiquitous genes. Two distinct families of transcriptional co
-activators, GCN5/PCAF and CREB-binding protein (CBP)/p300, are crucial to
this process. While both possess histone acetyl-transferase (HAT) activity,
previous studies have failed to identify a requirement for CBP/p300 HAT fu
nction in myogenic differentiation. We have addressed this issue directly u
sing a chemical inhibitor of CBP/p300 in addition to a negative transdomina
nt mutant. Our results clearly demonstrate that CBP/p300 HAT activity is cr
itical for myogenic terminal differentiation. Furthermore, this requirement
is restricted to a subset of events in the differentiation program: cell f
usion and specific gene expression. These data help to define the requireme
nts for enzymatic function of distinct coactivators at different stages of
the muscle cell differentiation program.