The plant homeodomain (PHD) of Cfp1 directly binds to histone H3K4me1/me2/me3.
Mutation of conserved residues within Cfp1 PHD ablates this binding activity.
Cfp1-H3K4me binding is not required for rescue of Cfp1−/− ESC differentiation.
ESC differentiation needs retention of either DNA or histone binding activity of Cfp1.