Iron-responsive transcription factor Aft1 interacts with kinetochore protein Iml3 and promotes pericentromeric cohesin

Emerging Roles for Transcription Factors During Mitosis

The genome is dynamically reorganized, partitioned, and divided during mitosis. Despite their role in organizing interphase chromatin, transcription factors were largely believed to be mitotic spectators evicted from chromatin during mitosis, only able to reestablish their position on DNA upon entry into G1. However, a panoply of evidence now contradicts this early belief. Numerous transcription factors are now known to remain active during mitosis to achieve diverse purposes, including chromosome condensation, regulation of the centromere/kinetochore function, and control of centrosome homeostasis. Inactivation of transcription factors during mitosis results in chromosome segregation errors, key features of cancer. Moreover, active transcription and the production of centromere-derived transcripts during mitosis are also known to play key roles in maintaining chromosomal stability. Finally, many transcription factors are associated with chromosomal instability through poorly defined mechanisms. Herein, we will review the emerging roles of transcription factors and transcription during mitosis with a focus on their role in promoting the faithful segregation of sister chromatids.

Gene Expression Analysis of Yeast Strains with a Nonsense Mutation in the eRF3-Coding Gene Highlights Possible Mechanisms of Adaptation

In yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, there are two translation termination factors, eRF1 (Sup45) and eRF3 (Sup35), which are essential for viability. Previous studies have revealed that presence of nonsense mutations in these genes leads to amplification of mutant alleles (sup35-n and sup45-n), which appears to be necessary for the viability of such cells. However, the mechanism of this phenomenon remained unclear. In this study, we used RNA-Seq and proteome analysis to reveal the complete set of gene expression changes that occur during cellular adaptation to the introduction of the sup35-218 nonsense allele. Our analysis demonstrated significant changes in the transcription of genes that control the cell cycle: decreases in the expression of genes of the anaphase promoting complex APC/C (APC9, CDC23) and their activator CDC20, and increases in the expression of the transcription factor FKH1, the main cell cycle kinase CDC28, and cyclins that induce DNA biosynthesis. We propose a model according to which yeast adaptation to nonsense mutations in the translation termination factor genes occurs as a result of a delayed cell cycle progression beyond the G2-M stage, which leads to an extension of the S and G2 phases and an increase in the number of copies of the mutant sup35-n allele.

The polyHIS Tract of Yeast AMPK Coordinates Carbon Metabolism with Iron Availability

Energy status in all eukaryotic cells is sensed by AMP-kinases. We have previously found that the poly-histidine tract at the N-terminus of S. cerevisiae AMPK (Snf1) inhibits its function in the presence of glucose via a pH-regulated mechanism. We show here that in the absence of glucose, the poly-histidine tract has a second function, linking together carbon and iron metabolism. Under conditions of iron deprivation, when different iron-intense cellular systems compete for this scarce resource, Snf1 is inhibited. The inhibition is via an interaction of the poly-histidine tract with the low-iron transcription factor Aft1. Aft1 inhibition of Snf1 occurs in the nucleus at the nuclear membrane, and only inhibits nuclear Snf1, without affecting cytosolic Snf1 activities. Thus, the temporal and spatial regulation of Snf1 activity enables a differential response to iron depending upon the type of carbon source. The linkage of nuclear Snf1 activity to iron sufficiency ensures that sufficient clusters are available to support respiratory enzymatic activity and tests mitochondrial competency prior to activation of nuclear Snf1.

Modeling DNA trapping of anticancer therapeutic targets using missense mutations identifies dominant synthetic lethal interactions

Genetic screens can identify synthetic lethal (SL) interactions and uncover potential anticancer therapeutic targets. However, most SL screens have utilized knockout or knockdown approaches that do not accurately mimic chemical inhibition of a target protein. Here, we test whether missense mutations can be utilized as a model for a type of protein inhibition that creates a dominant gain-of-function cytotoxicity. We expressed missense mutations in the FEN1 endonuclease and the replication-associated helicase, CHL1, that inhibited enzymatic activity but retained substrate binding, and found that these mutations elicited a dominant SL phenotype consistent with the generation of cytotoxic protein-DNA or protein-protein intermediates. Genetic screens with nuclease-defective hFEN1 and helicase-deficient yCHL1 captured dominant SL interactions, in which ectopic expression of the mutant form, in the presence of the wild-type form, caused SL in specific mutant backgrounds. Expression of nuclease-defective hFEN1 in yeast elicited DNA binding-dependent dominant SL with homologous recombination mutants. In contrast, dominant SL interactions with helicase-deficient yCHL1 were observed in spindle-associated, Ctf18-alternative replication factor C (Ctf18-RFC) clamp loader complex, and cohesin mutant backgrounds. These results highlight the different mechanisms underlying SL interactions that occur in the presence of an inhibited form of the target protein and point to the utility of modeling trapping mutations in pursuit of more clinically relevant SL interactions.

Adaptation to iron deficiency in human pathogenic fungi

Iron is an essential micronutrient for virtually all eukaryotic organisms and plays a central role during microbial infections. Invasive fungal diseases are associated with strikingly high rates of mortality, but their impact on human health is usually underestimated. Upon a fungal infection, hosts restrict iron availability in order to limit the growth and virulence of the pathogen. Here, we use two model yeasts, Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Schizosaccharomyces pombe, to delve into the response to iron deficiency of human fungal pathogens, such as Candida glabrata, Candida albicans, Aspergillus fumigatus and Cryptococcus neoformans. Fungi possess common and species-specific mechanisms to acquire iron and to control the response to iron limitation. Upon iron scarcity, fungi activate a wide range of elegant strategies to capture and import exogenous iron, mobilize iron from intracellular stores, and modulate their metabolism to economize and prioritize iron utilization. Hence, iron homeostasis genes represent remarkable virulence factors that can be used as targets for the development of novel antifungal treatments.

The regulation of iron homeostasis in the fungal human pathogen Candida glabrata

Iron is an essential element to most microorganisms, yet an excess of iron is toxic. Hence, living cells have to maintain a tight balance between iron uptake and iron consumption and storage. The control of intracellular iron concentrations is particularly challenging for pathogens because mammalian organisms have evolved sophisticated high-affinity systems to sequester iron from microbes and because iron availability fluctuates among the different host niches. In this review, we present the current understanding of iron homeostasis and its regulation in the fungal pathogen Candida glabrata. This yeast is an emerging pathogen which has become the second leading cause of candidemia, a life-threatening invasive mycosis. C. glabrata is relatively poorly studied compared to the closely related model yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae or to the pathogenic yeast Candida albicans. Still, several research groups have started to identify the actors of C. glabrata iron homeostasis and its transcriptional and post-transcriptional regulation. These studies have revealed interesting particularities of C. glabrata and have shed new light on the evolution of fungal iron homeostasis.

Genetic instability in budding and fission yeast-sources and mechanisms

Cells are constantly confronted with endogenous and exogenous factors that affect their genomes. Eons of evolution have allowed the cellular mechanisms responsible for preserving the genome to adjust for achieving contradictory objectives: to maintain the genome unchanged and to acquire mutations that allow adaptation to environmental changes. One evolutionary mechanism that has been refined for survival is genetic variation. In this review, we describe the mechanisms responsible for two biological processes: genome maintenance and mutation tolerance involved in generations of genetic variations in mitotic cells of both Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Schizosaccharomyces pombe. These processes encompass mechanisms that ensure the fidelity of replication, DNA lesion sensing and DNA damage response pathways, as well as mechanisms that ensure precision in chromosome segregation during cell division. We discuss various factors that may influence genome stability, such as cellular ploidy, the phase of the cell cycle, transcriptional activity of a particular region of DNA, the proficiency of DNA quality control systems, the metabolic stage of the cell and its respiratory potential, and finally potential exposure to endogenous or environmental stress.

The stability of budding and fission yeast genomes is influenced by two contradictory factors: (1) the need to be fully functional, which is ensured through the replication fidelity pathways of nuclear and mitochondrial genomes through sensing and repairing DNA damage, through precise chromosome segregation during cell division; and (2) the need to acquire changes for adaptation to environmental challenges.

Rad9 interacts with Aft1 to facilitate genome surveillance in fragile genomic sites under non-DNA damage-inducing conditions in S. cerevisiae

DNA damage response and repair proteins are centrally involved in genome maintenance pathways. Yet, little is known about their functional role under non-DNA damage-inducing conditions. Here we show that Rad9 checkpoint protein, known to mediate the damage signal from upstream to downstream essential kinases, interacts with Aft1 transcription factor in the budding yeast. Aft1 regulates iron homeostasis and is also involved in genome integrity having additional iron-independent functions. Using genome-wide expression and chromatin immunoprecipitation approaches, we found Rad9 to be recruited to 16% of the yeast genes, often related to cellular growth and metabolism, while affecting the transcription of ∼2% of the coding genome in the absence of exogenously induced DNA damage. Importantly, Rad9 is recruited to fragile genomic regions (transcriptionally active, GC rich, centromeres, meiotic recombination hotspots and retrotransposons) non-randomly and in an Aft1-dependent manner. Further analyses revealed substantial genome-wide parallels between Rad9 binding patterns to the genome and major activating histone marks, such as H3K36me, H3K79me and H3K4me. Thus, our findings suggest that Rad9 functions together with Aft1 on DNA damage-prone chromatin to facilitate genome surveillance, thereby ensuring rapid and effective response to possible DNA damage events.

Essential functions of iron-requiring proteins in DNA replication, repair and cell cycle control

Eukaryotic cells contain numerous iron-requiring proteins such as iron-sulfur (Fe-S) cluster proteins, hemoproteins and ribonucleotide reductases (RNRs). These proteins utilize iron as a cofactor and perform key roles in DNA replication, DNA repair, metabolic catalysis, iron regulation and cell cycle progression. Disruption of iron homeostasis always impairs the functions of these iron-requiring proteins and is genetically associated with diseases characterized by DNA repair defects in mammals. Organisms have evolved multi-layered mechanisms to regulate iron balance to ensure genome stability and cell development. This review briefly provides current perspectives on iron homeostasis in yeast and mammals, and mainly summarizes the most recent understandings on iron-requiring protein functions involved in DNA stability maintenance and cell cycle control.

Antimicrobial activity of Metschnikowia pulcherrima on wine yeasts

AIMS

In the present study, it was investigated the antagonistic behaviour of Metschnikowia pulcherrima, as biocontrol agent, against the main wine yeast species involved in the winemaking process.

METHODS AND RESULTS

Seven strains of M. pulcherrima were evaluated for the antimicrobial activity against 114 yeast strains belonging to Pichia, Candida, Hanseniaspora, Kluyveromyces, Saccharomycodes, Torulaspora, Brettanomyces and Saccharomyces genera. Results showed both different inter-generic and intra-generic responses to the antimicrobial action of M. pulcherrima strains. Interestingly, the antimicrobial activity of M. pulcherrima did not have any influence on the growth of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Instead, M. pulcherrima displayed a broad and effective antimicrobial action on undesired wild spoilage yeasts, such as Brettanomyces/Dekkera, Hanseniaspora and Pichia genera. Fermentation trials carried out in synthetic grape must confirmed the antimicrobial activity of M. pulcherrima, determining the early death of the non-Saccharomyces co-inoculated cultures.

CONCLUSIONS

The antimicrobial activity of M. pulcherrima does not seem due to proteinaceous compounds such as killer phenomenon, but to the pulcherriminic acid (the precursor of pulcherrimin pigment) that depletes iron present in the medium, making it not available to the other yeasts.

SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY

These data agree with and further support the potential use of selected M. pulcherrima strains in controlled multistarter fermentations with S. cerevisiae starter cultures.

Aft2, a novel transcription regulator, is required for iron metabolism, oxidative stress, surface adhesion and hyphal development in Candida albicans

Morphological transition and iron metabolism are closely relevant to Candida albicans pathogenicity and virulence. In our previous study, we demonstrated that C. albicans Aft2 plays an important role in ferric reductase activity and virulence. Here, we further explored the roles of C. albicans Aft2 in numerous cellular processes. We found that C. albicans Aft2 exhibited an important role in iron metabolism through bi-directional regulation effects on iron-regulon expression. Deletion of AFT2 reduced cellular iron accumulation under iron-deficient conditions. Furthermore, both reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity were remarkably increased in the aft2Δ/Δ mutant, which were thought to be responsible for the defective responses to oxidative stress. However, we found that over-expression of C. albicans AFT2 under the regulation of the strong PGK1 promoter could not effectively rescue Saccharomyces cerevisiae aft1Δ mutant defects in some cellular processes, such as cell-wall assembly, ion homeostasis and alkaline resistance, suggesting a possibility that C. albicans Aft2 weakened its functional role of regulating some cellular metabolism during the evolutionary process. Interestingly, deletion of AFT2 in C. albicans increased cell surface hydrophobicity, cell flocculation and the ability of adhesion to polystyrene surfaces. In addition, our results also revealed that C. albicans Aft2 played a dual role in regulating hypha-specific genes under solid and liquid hyphal inducing conditions. Deletion of AFT2 caused an impaired invasive growth in solid medium, but an increased filamentous aggregation and growth in liquid conditions. Moreover, iron deficiency and environmental cues induced nuclear import of Aft2, providing additional evidence for the roles of Aft2 in transcriptional regulation.

Metal-sensing transcription factors Mac1p and Aft1p coordinately regulate vacuolar copper transporter CTR2 in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

CTR2 encodes a low-affinity copper transporter that mediates the mobilization of vacuolar copper stores in yeast. We previously reported that CTR2 can be upregulated by copper deficiency via copper-sensing transcription factor Mac1p. In the present study, we found that iron depletion also induces the transcription of CTR2. The upregulation of CTR2 induced by iron depletion was abrogated by the genetic deletion of either Mac1p or iron-sensing transcription factor Aft1p. The ablation of either MAC1 or AFT1 also abrogated CTR2 expression induced by copper depletion. Our further study revealed that exogenous Aft1p upregulates CTR2 transcription only in the presence of Mac1p, whereas exogenous Mac1p upregulates CTR2 transcription only in the presence of Aft1p. Exogenous Mac1p and Aft1p form a stable complex and synergistically enhance CTR2 transcription. These data suggest that Aft1p and Mac1p might corporately regulate transcription of CTR2.