Enables chromatin binding activity and deacetylase activity. Involved in several processes, including cellular response to organic cyclic compound; negative regulation of macromolecule metabolic process; and negative regulation of osteoblast differentiation. Located in nucleus. Biomarker of amphetamine abuse; hypertension; and renovascular hypertension. Human ortholog(s) of this gene implicated in Cornelia de Lange syndrome 5 and Wilson-Turner syndrome. Orthologous to human HDAC8 (histone deacetylase 8). [provided by Alliance of Genome Resources, Apr 2022]