Transcriptional regulation in eukaryotes requires the transcriptional machinery to negotiate the complexities of DNA packaged into chromatin. Specific modifications of the core histone proteins serve to regulate transcription and ensure that genes are expressed at the right place and the right time [1]. Not surprisingly, the interaction between the transcriptional apparatus and chromatin is a tango in which the partners are in a close embrace. Cyclin-dependent kinase 9 (CDK9) and its orthologs control both transcription and transcription-coupled chromatin modifications in a variety of species [2], [3]. However, the mechanisms that intertwine CDK9 function with chromatin appear to be distinct in different organisms. A new manuscript in this issue of PLoS Genetics sheds light onto how Cdk9 function is interconnected with the monoubiquitination of histone H2B in the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe [4].