1
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Saad S, Swigut T, Tabatabaee S, Lalgudi P, Jarosz DF, Wysocka J. DNA binding and mitotic phosphorylation protect polyglutamine proteins from assembly formation. Cell 2025; 188:2974-2991.e20. [PMID: 40239647 DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2025.03.031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2024] [Revised: 12/20/2024] [Accepted: 03/17/2025] [Indexed: 04/18/2025]
Abstract
Polyglutamine (polyQ) expansion is associated with pathogenic protein aggregation in neurodegenerative disorders. However, long polyQ tracts are also found in many transcription factors (TFs), such as FOXP2, a TF implicated in human speech. Here, we explore how FOXP2 and other glutamine-rich TFs avoid unscheduled assembly. Throughout interphase, DNA binding, irrespective of sequence specificity, has a solubilizing effect. During mitosis, multiple phosphorylation events promote FOXP2's eviction from chromatin and supplant the solubilizing function of DNA. Further, human-specific amino acid substitutions linked to the evolution of speech map to a mitotic phospho-patch, the "EVO patch," and reduce the propensity of the human FOXP2 to assemble. Fusing the pathogenic form of Huntingtin to either a DNA-binding domain, a phosphomimetic variant of this EVO patch, or a negatively charged peptide is sufficient to diminish assembly formation, suggesting that hijacking mechanisms governing solubility of glutamine-rich TFs may offer new strategies for treatment of polyQ expansion diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shady Saad
- Department of Chemical and Systems Biology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Tomek Swigut
- Department of Chemical and Systems Biology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Saman Tabatabaee
- Department of Chemical and Systems Biology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Pranav Lalgudi
- Department of Genetics, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Daniel F Jarosz
- Department of Chemical and Systems Biology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA; Department of Developmental Biology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.
| | - Joanna Wysocka
- Department of Chemical and Systems Biology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA; Department of Developmental Biology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA; Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.
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2
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Tycko J, Van MV, Aradhana, DelRosso N, Ye H, Yao D, Valbuena R, Vaughan-Jackson A, Xu X, Ludwig C, Spees K, Liu K, Gu M, Khare V, Mukund AX, Suzuki PH, Arana S, Zhang C, Du PP, Ornstein TS, Hess GT, Kamber RA, Qi LS, Khalil AS, Bintu L, Bassik MC. Development of compact transcriptional effectors using high-throughput measurements in diverse contexts. Nat Biotechnol 2024:10.1038/s41587-024-02442-6. [PMID: 39487265 PMCID: PMC12043968 DOI: 10.1038/s41587-024-02442-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/08/2023] [Accepted: 09/20/2024] [Indexed: 11/04/2024]
Abstract
Transcriptional effectors are protein domains known to activate or repress gene expression; however, a systematic understanding of which effector domains regulate transcription across genomic, cell type and DNA-binding domain (DBD) contexts is lacking. Here we develop dCas9-mediated high-throughput recruitment (HT-recruit), a pooled screening method for quantifying effector function at endogenous target genes and test effector function for a library containing 5,092 nuclear protein Pfam domains across varied contexts. We also map context dependencies of effectors drawn from unannotated protein regions using a larger library tiling chromatin regulators and transcription factors. We find that many effectors depend on target and DBD contexts, such as HLH domains that can act as either activators or repressors. To enable efficient perturbations, we select context-robust domains, including ZNF705 KRAB, that improve CRISPRi tools to silence promoters and enhancers. We engineer a compact human activator called NFZ, by combining NCOA3, FOXO3 and ZNF473 domains, which enables efficient CRISPRa with better viral delivery and inducible control of chimeric antigen receptor T cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Josh Tycko
- Department of Genetics, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
- Department of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Mike V Van
- Department of Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Aradhana
- Department of Genetics, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | | | - Hanrong Ye
- Department of Biomedical Engineering and Biological Design Center, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA
| | - David Yao
- Department of Genetics, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | | | - Alun Vaughan-Jackson
- Department of Genetics, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
- Chan Zuckerberg Biohub-San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Xiaoshu Xu
- Department of Bioengineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Connor Ludwig
- Department of Bioengineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Kaitlyn Spees
- Department of Genetics, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Katherine Liu
- Department of Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Mingxin Gu
- Department of Genetics, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Venya Khare
- Department of Biomedical Engineering and Biological Design Center, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA
| | | | - Peter H Suzuki
- Department of Bioengineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Sophia Arana
- Department of Genetics, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Catherine Zhang
- Department of Cancer Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Peter P Du
- Department of Cancer Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Thea S Ornstein
- Department of Biomedical Engineering and Biological Design Center, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Gaelen T Hess
- Department of Biomolecular Chemistry and Center for Human Genomics and Precision Medicine, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
| | - Roarke A Kamber
- Department of Genetics, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Lei S Qi
- Chan Zuckerberg Biohub-San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Department of Bioengineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
- Sarafan ChEM-H, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Ahmad S Khalil
- Department of Biomedical Engineering and Biological Design Center, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA
- Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, Harvard University, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Lacramioara Bintu
- Department of Bioengineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.
| | - Michael C Bassik
- Department of Genetics, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.
- Sarafan ChEM-H, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.
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3
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King DG. Mutation protocols share with sexual reproduction the physiological role of producing genetic variation within 'constraints that deconstrain'. J Physiol 2024; 602:2615-2626. [PMID: 38178567 DOI: 10.1113/jp285478] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/18/2023] [Accepted: 12/14/2023] [Indexed: 01/06/2024] Open
Abstract
Because the universe of possible DNA sequences is inconceivably vast, organisms have evolved mechanisms for exploring DNA sequence space while substantially reducing the hazard that would otherwise accrue to any process of random, accidental mutation. One such mechanism is meiotic recombination. Although sexual reproduction imposes a seemingly paradoxical 50% cost to fitness, sex evidently prevails because this cost is outweighed by the advantage of equipping offspring with genetic variation to accommodate environmental vicissitudes. The potential adaptive utility of additional mechanisms for producing genetic variation has long been obscured by a presumption that the vast majority of mutations are deleterious. Perhaps surprisingly, the probability for adaptive variation can be increased by several mechanisms that generate mutations abundantly. Such mechanisms, here called 'mutation protocols', implement implicit 'constraints that deconstrain'. Like meiotic recombination, they produce genetic variation in forms that minimize potential for harm while providing a reasonably high probability for benefit. One example is replication slippage of simple sequence repeats (SSRs); this process yields abundant, reversible mutations, typically with small quantitative effect on phenotype. This enables SSRs to function as adjustable 'tuning knobs'. There exists a clear pathway for SSRs to be shaped through indirect selection favouring their implicit tuning-knob protocol. Several other molecular mechanisms comprise probable components of additional mutation protocols. Biologists might plausibly regard such mechanisms of mutation not primarily as sources of deleterious genetic mistakes but also as potentially adaptive processes for 'exploring' DNA sequence space.
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Affiliation(s)
- David G King
- Department of Anatomy, School of Medicine, Southern Illinois University Carbondale, Carbondale, Illinois, USA
- Department of Zoology, College of Agricultural, Life, and Physical Sciences, Southern Illinois University Carbondale, Carbondale, Illinois, USA
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4
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Bonsor M, Ammar O, Schnoegl S, Wanker EE, Silva Ramos E. Polyglutamine disease proteins: Commonalities and differences in interaction profiles and pathological effects. Proteomics 2024; 24:e2300114. [PMID: 38615323 DOI: 10.1002/pmic.202300114] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2023] [Revised: 03/25/2024] [Accepted: 03/27/2024] [Indexed: 04/16/2024]
Abstract
Currently, nine polyglutamine (polyQ) expansion diseases are known. They include spinocerebellar ataxias (SCA1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 17), spinal and bulbar muscular atrophy (SBMA), dentatorubral-pallidoluysian atrophy (DRPLA), and Huntington's disease (HD). At the root of these neurodegenerative diseases are trinucleotide repeat mutations in coding regions of different genes, which lead to the production of proteins with elongated polyQ tracts. While the causative proteins differ in structure and molecular mass, the expanded polyQ domains drive pathogenesis in all these diseases. PolyQ tracts mediate the association of proteins leading to the formation of protein complexes involved in gene expression regulation, RNA processing, membrane trafficking, and signal transduction. In this review, we discuss commonalities and differences among the nine polyQ proteins focusing on their structure and function as well as the pathological features of the respective diseases. We present insights from AlphaFold-predicted structural models and discuss the biological roles of polyQ-containing proteins. Lastly, we explore reported protein-protein interaction networks to highlight shared protein interactions and their potential relevance in disease development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Megan Bonsor
- Department of Neuroproteomics, Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine, Berlin, Germany
| | - Orchid Ammar
- Department of Neuroproteomics, Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine, Berlin, Germany
| | - Sigrid Schnoegl
- Department of Neuroproteomics, Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine, Berlin, Germany
| | - Erich E Wanker
- Department of Neuroproteomics, Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine, Berlin, Germany
| | - Eduardo Silva Ramos
- Department of Neuroproteomics, Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine, Berlin, Germany
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5
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Teekas L, Sharma S, Vijay N. Terminal regions of a protein are a hotspot for low complexity regions and selection. Open Biol 2024; 14:230439. [PMID: 38862022 DOI: 10.1098/rsob.230439] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2023] [Accepted: 05/13/2024] [Indexed: 06/13/2024] Open
Abstract
Volatile low complexity regions (LCRs) are a novel source of adaptive variation, functional diversification and evolutionary novelty. An interplay of selection and mutation governs the composition and length of low complexity regions. High %GC and mutations provide length variability because of mechanisms like replication slippage. Owing to the complex dynamics between selection and mutation, we need a better understanding of their coexistence. Our findings underscore that positively selected sites (PSS) and low complexity regions prefer the terminal regions of genes, co-occurring in most Tetrapoda clades. We observed that positively selected sites within a gene have position-specific roles. Central-positively selected site genes primarily participate in defence responses, whereas terminal-positively selected site genes exhibit non-specific functions. Low complexity region-containing genes in the Tetrapoda clade exhibit a significantly higher %GC and lower ω (dN/dS: non-synonymous substitution rate/synonymous substitution rate) compared with genes without low complexity regions. This lower ω implies that despite providing rapid functional diversity, low complexity region-containing genes are subjected to intense purifying selection. Furthermore, we observe that low complexity regions consistently display ubiquitous prevalence at lower purity levels, but exhibit a preference for specific positions within a gene as the purity of the low complexity region stretch increases, implying a composition-dependent evolutionary role. Our findings collectively contribute to the understanding of how genetic diversity and adaptation are shaped by the interplay of selection and low complexity regions in the Tetrapoda clade.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lokdeep Teekas
- Computational Evolutionary Genomics Lab, Department of Biological Sciences, IISER Bhopal , Bhauri, Madhya Pradesh, India
| | - Sandhya Sharma
- Computational Evolutionary Genomics Lab, Department of Biological Sciences, IISER Bhopal , Bhauri, Madhya Pradesh, India
| | - Nagarjun Vijay
- Computational Evolutionary Genomics Lab, Department of Biological Sciences, IISER Bhopal , Bhauri, Madhya Pradesh, India
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6
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Singleton MD, Eisen MB. Evolutionary analyses of intrinsically disordered regions reveal widespread signals of conservation. PLoS Comput Biol 2024; 20:e1012028. [PMID: 38662765 PMCID: PMC11075841 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1012028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/08/2024] [Revised: 05/07/2024] [Accepted: 03/28/2024] [Indexed: 05/08/2024] Open
Abstract
Intrinsically disordered regions (IDRs) are segments of proteins without stable three-dimensional structures. As this flexibility allows them to interact with diverse binding partners, IDRs play key roles in cell signaling and gene expression. Despite the prevalence and importance of IDRs in eukaryotic proteomes and various biological processes, associating them with specific molecular functions remains a significant challenge due to their high rates of sequence evolution. However, by comparing the observed values of various IDR-associated properties against those generated under a simulated model of evolution, a recent study found most IDRs across the entire yeast proteome contain conserved features. Furthermore, it showed clusters of IDRs with common "evolutionary signatures," i.e. patterns of conserved features, were associated with specific biological functions. To determine if similar patterns of conservation are found in the IDRs of other systems, in this work we applied a series of phylogenetic models to over 7,500 orthologous IDRs identified in the Drosophila genome to dissect the forces driving their evolution. By comparing models of constrained and unconstrained continuous trait evolution using the Brownian motion and Ornstein-Uhlenbeck models, respectively, we identified signals of widespread constraint, indicating conservation of distributed features is mechanism of IDR evolution common to multiple biological systems. In contrast to the previous study in yeast, however, we observed limited evidence of IDR clusters with specific biological functions, which suggests a more complex relationship between evolutionary constraints and function in the IDRs of multicellular organisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marc D. Singleton
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, UC Berkeley, Berkeley, California, United States of America
| | - Michael B. Eisen
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, UC Berkeley, Berkeley, California, United States of America
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, UC Berkeley, Berkeley, California, United States of America
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7
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Lynch VJ, Wagner GP. Cooption of polyalanine tract into a repressor domain in the mammalian transcription factor HoxA11. JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL ZOOLOGY. PART B, MOLECULAR AND DEVELOPMENTAL EVOLUTION 2023; 340:486-495. [PMID: 34125492 DOI: 10.1002/jez.b.23063] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/19/2020] [Revised: 04/21/2021] [Accepted: 04/26/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
An enduring problem in biology is explaining how novel functions of genes originated and how those functions diverge between species. Despite detailed studies on the functional evolution of a few proteins, the molecular mechanisms by which protein functions have evolved are almost entirely unknown. Here, we show that a polyalanine tract in the homeodomain transcription factor HoxA11 arose in the stem-lineage of mammals and functions as an autonomous repressor module by physically interacting with the PAH domains of SIN3 proteins. These results suggest that long polyalanine tracts, which are common in transcription factors and often associated with disease, may tend to function as repressor domains and can contribute to the diversification of transcription factor functions despite the deleterious consequences of polyalanine tract expansion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vincent J Lynch
- Department of Biological Sciences, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, New York, USA
| | - Gunter P Wagner
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and Yale Systems Biology Institute, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
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8
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Mier P, Andrade-Navarro MA. The nucleotide landscape of polyXY regions. Comput Struct Biotechnol J 2023; 21:5408-5412. [PMID: 38022702 PMCID: PMC10652141 DOI: 10.1016/j.csbj.2023.10.054] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/02/2023] [Revised: 10/30/2023] [Accepted: 10/30/2023] [Indexed: 12/01/2023] Open
Abstract
PolyXY regions are compositionally biased regions composed of two different amino acids. They are classified according to the arrangement of the two amino acid types 'X' and 'Y' into direpeats (composed of alternating amino acids, e.g. 'XYXYXY'), joined (composed of two consecutive stretches of each amino acid, e.g. 'XXXYYY') and shuffled (other arrangements, e.g., 'XYXXYY'). They have been characterized at the amino acid level in all domains of life, and are described as often found within intrinsically disordered regions. Since DNA replication slippage has been proposed as a driver of repeat variation, and given that some polyXY have a repetitive nature, we hypothesized that characterizing the nucleotide coding of various types of polyXY could give hints about their origin and evolution. To test this, we obtained all polyXY regions in the human transcriptome, categorized them, and studied their coding nucleotide sequences. We observed that polyXY exacerbates the codon biases, and that the similarity between the X and Y codons is higher than in the background proteome. Our results support a general mechanism of emergence and evolution of polyXY from single-codon polyX. PolyXY are revealed as hotspots for replication slippage, particularly those composed of repeats: joined and direpeat polyXY. Inter-conversion to shuffled polyXY disrupts nucleotide repeats and restricts further evolution by replication slippage, a mechanism that we previously observed in polyX. Our results shed light on polyXY composition and should simplify the determination of their functions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pablo Mier
- Institute of Organismic and Molecular Evolution, Faculty of Biology, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Hanns-Dieter-Hüsch-Weg 15, 55128 Mainz, Germany
| | - Miguel A. Andrade-Navarro
- Institute of Organismic and Molecular Evolution, Faculty of Biology, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Hanns-Dieter-Hüsch-Weg 15, 55128 Mainz, Germany
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9
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Vaglietti S, Villeri V, Dell’Oca M, Marchetti C, Cesano F, Rizzo F, Miller D, LaPierre L, Pelassa I, Monje FJ, Colnaghi L, Ghirardi M, Fiumara F. PolyQ length-based molecular encoding of vocalization frequency in FOXP2. iScience 2023; 26:108036. [PMID: 37860754 PMCID: PMC10582585 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.108036] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2023] [Revised: 07/18/2023] [Accepted: 09/21/2023] [Indexed: 10/21/2023] Open
Abstract
The transcription factor FOXP2, a regulator of vocalization- and speech/language-related phenotypes, contains two long polyQ repeats (Q1 and Q2) displaying marked, still enigmatic length variation across mammals. We found that the Q1/Q2 length ratio quantitatively encodes vocalization frequency ranges, from the infrasonic to the ultrasonic, displaying striking convergent evolution patterns. Thus, species emitting ultrasonic vocalizations converge with bats in having a low ratio, whereas species vocalizing in the low-frequency/infrasonic range converge with elephants and whales, which have higher ratios. Similar, taxon-specific patterns were observed for the FOXP2-related protein FOXP1. At the molecular level, we observed that the FOXP2 polyQ tracts form coiled coils, assembling into condensates and fibrils, and drive liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS). By integrating evolutionary and molecular analyses, we found that polyQ length variation related to vocalization frequency impacts FOXP2 structure, LLPS, and transcriptional activity, thus defining a novel form of polyQ length-based molecular encoding of vocalization frequency.
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Affiliation(s)
- Serena Vaglietti
- Rita Levi Montalcini Department of Neuroscience, University of Turin, 10125 Turin, Italy
| | - Veronica Villeri
- Rita Levi Montalcini Department of Neuroscience, University of Turin, 10125 Turin, Italy
| | - Marco Dell’Oca
- Rita Levi Montalcini Department of Neuroscience, University of Turin, 10125 Turin, Italy
| | - Chiara Marchetti
- Rita Levi Montalcini Department of Neuroscience, University of Turin, 10125 Turin, Italy
| | - Federico Cesano
- Department of Chemistry, University of Turin, 10125 Turin, Italy
| | - Francesca Rizzo
- Jockey Club College of Veterinary Medicine and Life Sciences, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong SAR 518057, China
| | - Dave Miller
- Cascades Pika Watch, Oregon Zoo, Portland, OR 97221, USA
| | - Louis LaPierre
- Deptartment of Natural Science, Lower Columbia College, Longview, WA 98632, USA
| | - Ilaria Pelassa
- Rita Levi Montalcini Department of Neuroscience, University of Turin, 10125 Turin, Italy
| | - Francisco J. Monje
- Department of Neurophysiology and Neuropharmacology, Medical University of Vienna, 1090 Vienna, Austria
| | - Luca Colnaghi
- Division of Neuroscience, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, 20132 Milan, Italy
- School of Medicine, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, 20132 Milan, Italy
| | - Mirella Ghirardi
- Rita Levi Montalcini Department of Neuroscience, University of Turin, 10125 Turin, Italy
| | - Ferdinando Fiumara
- Rita Levi Montalcini Department of Neuroscience, University of Turin, 10125 Turin, Italy
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10
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Ham H, Park DS. Novel approach toward the understanding of genetic diversity based on the two types of amino acid repeats in Erwinia amylovora. Sci Rep 2023; 13:17876. [PMID: 37857695 PMCID: PMC10587187 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-44558-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2023] [Accepted: 10/10/2023] [Indexed: 10/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Erwinia amylovora is a notorious plant pathogenic bacterium of global concern that has devastated the apple and pear production industry worldwide. Nevertheless, the approaches available currently to understand the genetic diversity of E. amylovora remain unsatisfactory because of the lack of a trustworthy index and data covering the globally occurring E. amylovora strains; thus, their origin and distribution pattern remains ambiguous. Therefore, there is a growing need for robust approaches for obtaining this information via the comparison of the genomic structure of Amygdaloideae-infecting strains to understand their genetic diversity and distribution. Here, the whole-genome sequences of 245 E. amylovora strains available from the NCBI database were compared to identify intraspecific genes for use as an improved index for the simple classification of E. amylovora strains regarding their distribution. Finally, we discovered two kinds of strain-typing protein-encoding genes, i.e., the SAM-dependent methyltransferase and electron transport complex subunit RsxC. Interestingly, both of these proteins carried an amino acid repeat in these strains: SAM-dependent methyltransferase comprised a single-amino-acid repeat (asparagine), whereas RsxC carried a 40-amino-acid repeat, which was differentially distributed among the strains. These noteworthy findings and approaches may enable the exploration of the genetic diversity of E. amylovora from a global perspective.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hyeonheui Ham
- Crop Protection Division, Department of Agro-Food Safety and Crop Protection, National Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Rural Development Administration, Wanju, 55365, Republic of Korea
| | - Dong Suk Park
- Crop Protection Division, Department of Agro-Food Safety and Crop Protection, National Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Rural Development Administration, Wanju, 55365, Republic of Korea.
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11
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Kotha SR, Staller MV. Clusters of acidic and hydrophobic residues can predict acidic transcriptional activation domains from protein sequence. Genetics 2023; 225:iyad131. [PMID: 37462277 PMCID: PMC10550315 DOI: 10.1093/genetics/iyad131] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2023] [Accepted: 07/03/2023] [Indexed: 10/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Transcription factors activate gene expression in development, homeostasis, and stress with DNA binding domains and activation domains. Although there exist excellent computational models for predicting DNA binding domains from protein sequence, models for predicting activation domains from protein sequence have lagged, particularly in metazoans. We recently developed a simple and accurate predictor of acidic activation domains on human transcription factors. Here, we show how the accuracy of this human predictor arises from the clustering of aromatic, leucine, and acidic residues, which together are necessary for acidic activation domain function. When we combine our predictor with the predictions of convolutional neural network (CNN) models trained in yeast, the intersection is more accurate than individual models, emphasizing that each approach carries orthogonal information. We synthesize these findings into a new set of activation domain predictions on human transcription factors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sanjana R Kotha
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
- Center for Computational Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Max Valentín Staller
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
- Center for Computational Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
- Chan Zuckerberg Biohub—San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
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12
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Kawasaki K, Fukaya T. Functional coordination between transcription factor clustering and gene activity. Mol Cell 2023; 83:1605-1622.e9. [PMID: 37207625 DOI: 10.1016/j.molcel.2023.04.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/29/2022] [Revised: 03/15/2023] [Accepted: 04/19/2023] [Indexed: 05/21/2023]
Abstract
The prevailing view of metazoan gene regulation is that transcription is facilitated through the formation of static activator complexes at distal regulatory regions. Here, we employed quantitative single-cell live-imaging and computational analysis to provide evidence that the dynamic assembly and disassembly process of transcription factor (TF) clusters at enhancers is a major source of transcriptional bursting in developing Drosophila embryos. We further show that the regulatory connectivity between TF clustering and burst induction is highly regulated through intrinsically disordered regions (IDRs). Addition of a poly-glutamine tract to the maternal morphogen Bicoid demonstrated that extended IDR length leads to ectopic TF clustering and burst induction from its endogenous target genes, resulting in defects in body segmentation during embryogenesis. Moreover, we successfully visualized the presence of "shared" TF clusters during the co-activation of two distant genes, which provides a concrete molecular explanation for the newly proposed "topological operon" hypothesis in metazoan gene regulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Koji Kawasaki
- Laboratory of Transcription Dynamics, Research Center for Biological Visualization, Institute for Quantitative Biosciences, The University of Tokyo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0032, Japan
| | - Takashi Fukaya
- Laboratory of Transcription Dynamics, Research Center for Biological Visualization, Institute for Quantitative Biosciences, The University of Tokyo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0032, Japan; Department of Life Sciences, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0032, Japan.
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13
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White LJ, Russell AJ, Pizzey AR, Dasmahapatra KK, Pownall ME. The Presence of Two MyoD Genes in a Subset of Acanthopterygii Fish Is Associated with a Polyserine Insert in MyoD1. J Dev Biol 2023; 11:jdb11020019. [PMID: 37218813 DOI: 10.3390/jdb11020019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2023] [Revised: 04/20/2023] [Accepted: 04/26/2023] [Indexed: 05/24/2023] Open
Abstract
The MyoD gene was duplicated during the teleost whole genome duplication and, while a second MyoD gene (MyoD2) was subsequently lost from the genomes of some lineages (including zebrafish), many fish lineages (including Alcolapia species) have retained both MyoD paralogues. Here we reveal the expression patterns of the two MyoD genes in Oreochromis (Alcolapia) alcalica using in situ hybridisation. We report our analysis of MyoD1 and MyoD2 protein sequences from 54 teleost species, and show that O. alcalica, along with some other teleosts, include a polyserine repeat between the amino terminal transactivation domains (TAD) and the cysteine-histidine rich region (H/C) in MyoD1. The evolutionary history of MyoD1 and MyoD2 is compared to the presence of this polyserine region using phylogenetics, and its functional relevance is tested using overexpression in a heterologous system to investigate subcellular localisation, stability, and activity of MyoD proteins that include and do not include the polyserine region.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lewis J White
- Biology Department, University of York, York YO10 5DD, UK
| | | | | | | | - Mary E Pownall
- Biology Department, University of York, York YO10 5DD, UK
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14
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DelRosso N, Tycko J, Suzuki P, Andrews C, Aradhana, Mukund A, Liongson I, Ludwig C, Spees K, Fordyce P, Bassik MC, Bintu L. Large-scale mapping and mutagenesis of human transcriptional effector domains. Nature 2023; 616:365-372. [PMID: 37020022 PMCID: PMC10484233 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-023-05906-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 76] [Impact Index Per Article: 38.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2022] [Accepted: 03/01/2023] [Indexed: 04/07/2023]
Abstract
Human gene expression is regulated by more than 2,000 transcription factors and chromatin regulators1,2. Effector domains within these proteins can activate or repress transcription. However, for many of these regulators we do not know what type of effector domains they contain, their location in the protein, their activation and repression strengths, and the sequences that are necessary for their functions. Here, we systematically measure the effector activity of more than 100,000 protein fragments tiling across most chromatin regulators and transcription factors in human cells (2,047 proteins). By testing the effect they have when recruited at reporter genes, we annotate 374 activation domains and 715 repression domains, roughly 80% of which are new and have not been previously annotated3-5. Rational mutagenesis and deletion scans across all the effector domains reveal aromatic and/or leucine residues interspersed with acidic, proline, serine and/or glutamine residues are necessary for activation domain activity. Furthermore, most repression domain sequences contain sites for small ubiquitin-like modifier (SUMO)ylation, short interaction motifs for recruiting corepressors or are structured binding domains for recruiting other repressive proteins. We discover bifunctional domains that can both activate and repress, some of which dynamically split a cell population into high- and low-expression subpopulations. Our systematic annotation and characterization of effector domains provide a rich resource for understanding the function of human transcription factors and chromatin regulators, engineering compact tools for controlling gene expression and refining predictive models of effector domain function.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Josh Tycko
- Department of Genetics, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Peter Suzuki
- Department of Bioengineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Cecelia Andrews
- Department of Developmental Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Aradhana
- Department of Genetics, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Adi Mukund
- Biophysics Program, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Ivan Liongson
- Department of Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Connor Ludwig
- Department of Bioengineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Kaitlyn Spees
- Department of Genetics, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Polly Fordyce
- Department of Genetics, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
- Department of Bioengineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
- ChEM-H Institute, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
- Chan Zuckerberg Biohub, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | | | - Lacramioara Bintu
- Department of Bioengineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.
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15
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de Boer I, Harder AVE, Ferrari MD, van den Maagdenberg AMJM, Terwindt GM. Genetics of migraine: Delineation of contemporary understanding of the genetic underpinning of migraine. HANDBOOK OF CLINICAL NEUROLOGY 2023; 198:85-103. [PMID: 38043973 DOI: 10.1016/b978-0-12-823356-6.00012-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/05/2023]
Abstract
Migraine is a disabling episodic brain disorder with an increased familial relative risk, an increased concordance in monozygotic twins, and an estimated heritability of approximately 50%. Various genetic approaches have been applied to identify genetic factors conferring migraine risk. Initially, candidate gene associations studies (CGAS) have been performed that test DNA variants in genes prioritized based on presumed a priori knowledge of migraine pathophysiology. More recently, genome-wide association studies (GWAS) are applied that test genetic variants, single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), in a hypothesis-free manner. To date, GWAS have identified ~40 genetic loci associated with migraine. New GWAS data, which are expected to come out soon, will reveal over 100 loci. Also, large-scale GWAS, which have appeared for many traits over the last decade, have enabled studying the overlap in genetic architecture between migraine and its comorbid disorders. Importantly, other genetic factors that cannot be identified by a GWAS approach also confer risk for migraine. First steps have been taken to determine the contribution of these mechanisms by investigating mitochondrial DNA and epigenetic mechanisms. In addition to typical epigenetic mechanisms, that is, DNA methylation and histone modifications, also RNA-based mechanisms regulating gene silencing and activation have recently gotten attention. Regardless, until now, most relevant genetic discoveries related to migraine still come from investigating monogenetic syndromes with migraine as a prominent part of the phenotype. Experimental studies on these syndromes have expanded our knowledge on the mechanisms underlying migraine pathophysiology. It can be envisaged that when all (epi)genetic and phenotypic data on the common and rare forms of migraine will be integrated, this will help to unravel the biological mechanisms for migraine, which will likely guide decision-making in clinical practice in the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Irene de Boer
- Department of Neurology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Aster V E Harder
- Department of Neurology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands; Department of Human Genetics, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Michel D Ferrari
- Department of Neurology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Arn M J M van den Maagdenberg
- Department of Neurology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands; Department of Human Genetics, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Gisela M Terwindt
- Department of Neurology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands.
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16
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Burkart RC, Strotmann VI, Kirschner GK, Akinci A, Czempik L, Dolata A, Maizel A, Weidtkamp‐Peters S, Stahl Y. PLETHORA‐WOX5 interaction and subnuclear localization control
Arabidopsis
root stem cell maintenance. EMBO Rep 2022; 23:e54105. [PMID: 35373503 PMCID: PMC9171415 DOI: 10.15252/embr.202154105] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2021] [Revised: 03/17/2022] [Accepted: 03/18/2022] [Indexed: 12/05/2022] Open
Abstract
Maintenance and homeostasis of the stem cell niche (SCN) in the Arabidopsis root is essential for growth and development of all root cell types. The SCN is organized around a quiescent center (QC) maintaining the stemness of cells in direct contact. The key transcription factors (TFs) WUSCHEL‐RELATED HOMEOBOX 5 (WOX5) and PLETHORAs (PLTs) are expressed in the SCN where they maintain the QC and regulate distal columella stem cell (CSC) fate. Here, we describe the concerted mutual regulation of the key TFs WOX5 and PLTs on a transcriptional and protein interaction level. Additionally, by applying a novel SCN staining method, we demonstrate that both WOX5 and PLTs regulate root SCN homeostasis as they control QC quiescence and CSC fate interdependently. Moreover, we uncover that some PLTs, especially PLT3, contain intrinsically disordered prion‐like domains (PrDs) that are necessary for complex formation with WOX5 and its recruitment to subnuclear microdomains/nuclear bodies (NBs) in the CSCs. We propose that this partitioning of PLT‐WOX5 complexes to NBs, possibly by phase separation, is important for CSC fate determination.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rebecca C Burkart
- Institute for Developmental Genetics Heinrich‐Heine University Düsseldorf Germany
| | - Vivien I Strotmann
- Institute for Developmental Genetics Heinrich‐Heine University Düsseldorf Germany
| | | | - Abdullah Akinci
- Institute for Developmental Genetics Heinrich‐Heine University Düsseldorf Germany
| | - Laura Czempik
- Institute for Developmental Genetics Heinrich‐Heine University Düsseldorf Germany
| | - Anika Dolata
- Institute for Developmental Genetics Heinrich‐Heine University Düsseldorf Germany
| | - Alexis Maizel
- Center for Organismal Studies (COS) University of Heidelberg Heidelberg Germany
| | | | - Yvonne Stahl
- Institute for Developmental Genetics Heinrich‐Heine University Düsseldorf Germany
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17
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Gupta A, Upadhyay RK, Prabhakar R, Tiwari N, Garg R, Sane VA, Sane AP. SlDREB3, a negative regulator of ABA responses, controls seed germination, fruit size and the onset of ripening in tomato. PLANT SCIENCE : AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL PLANT BIOLOGY 2022; 319:111249. [PMID: 35487658 DOI: 10.1016/j.plantsci.2022.111249] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2021] [Revised: 01/30/2022] [Accepted: 03/05/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
SlDREB3 was identified as a ripening up-regulated gene of the AP2/ERF-domain family of transcription factors. Its manipulation affects processes primarily governed by ABA. It negatively regulates ABA responses in tomato by altering ABA levels/signaling and is, in turn, negatively regulated by ABA. SlDREB3 over-expression lines show higher transcript levels of the ABA metabolism genes CYP707A3 and UGT75C1 and an 85% reduction in ABA levels leading to early seed germination. In contrast, suppression lines show decreased CYP707A3/UGT75C1 expression, 3-fold higher ABA levels and delayed germination. The expression of other ABA signaling and response genes is also affected. Suppression of SlDREB3 accelerates the onset of ripening by 4-5 days while its over-expression delays it and also reduces final fruit size. SlDREB3 manipulation effects large scale changes in the fruit transcriptome with suppression lines showing early increase in ABA levels and activation of most ripening pathway genes that govern ethylene, carotenoids and softening. Strikingly, key transcription factors like CNR, NOR, RIN, FUL1, governing ethylene-dependent and ethylene-independent aspects of ripening, are activated early upon SlDREB3 suppression suggesting their control by ABA. The studies identify SlDREB3 as a negative regulator of ABA responses across tissues and a key ripening regulator controlling ethylene-dependent and ethylene-independent aspects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Asmita Gupta
- Plant Gene Expression Lab, CSIR-National Botanical Research Institute (Council of Scientific and Industrial Research), Lucknow 226001, India; Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), Ghaziabad 201002, India
| | - Rakesh K Upadhyay
- Plant Gene Expression Lab, CSIR-National Botanical Research Institute (Council of Scientific and Industrial Research), Lucknow 226001, India; Sustainable Agricultural Systems Laboratory, USDA-ARS, Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, Beltsville, MD 20705-2350, USA; Deparment of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture, Purdue University, W. Lafayette, IN, USA
| | - Rakhi Prabhakar
- Plant Gene Expression Lab, CSIR-National Botanical Research Institute (Council of Scientific and Industrial Research), Lucknow 226001, India; Department of Biotechnology, Bundelkhand University Jhansi, 284128, India
| | - Neerja Tiwari
- Phytochemistry Divisional Unit, CSIR-Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants, Lucknow 226015, India
| | - Rashmi Garg
- Plant Gene Expression Lab, CSIR-National Botanical Research Institute (Council of Scientific and Industrial Research), Lucknow 226001, India; Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), Ghaziabad 201002, India
| | - Vidhu A Sane
- Plant Gene Expression Lab, CSIR-National Botanical Research Institute (Council of Scientific and Industrial Research), Lucknow 226001, India; Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), Ghaziabad 201002, India
| | - Aniruddha P Sane
- Plant Gene Expression Lab, CSIR-National Botanical Research Institute (Council of Scientific and Industrial Research), Lucknow 226001, India; Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), Ghaziabad 201002, India.
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18
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Zhang N, Ashizawa T. Mechanistic and Therapeutic Insights into Ataxic Disorders with Pentanucleotide Expansions. Cells 2022; 11:1567. [PMID: 35563872 PMCID: PMC9099484 DOI: 10.3390/cells11091567] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2022] [Revised: 05/02/2022] [Accepted: 05/05/2022] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Pentanucleotide expansion diseases constitute a special class of neurodegeneration. The repeat expansions occur in non-coding regions, have likely arisen from Alu elements, and often result in autosomal dominant or recessive phenotypes with underlying cerebellar neuropathology. When transcribed (potentially bidirectionally), the expanded RNA forms complex secondary and tertiary structures that can give rise to RNA-mediated toxicity, including protein sequestration, pentapeptide synthesis, and mRNA dysregulation. Since several of these diseases have recently been discovered, our understanding of their pathological mechanisms is limited, and their therapeutic interventions underexplored. This review aims to highlight new in vitro and in vivo insights into these incurable diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nan Zhang
- Neuroscience Research Program, Department of Neurology, Houston Methodist Research Institute, Weil Cornell Medical College, Houston, TX 77030, USA;
| | - Tetsuo Ashizawa
- Neuroscience Research Program, Department of Neurology, Houston Methodist Research Institute, Weil Cornell Medical College, Houston, TX 77030, USA;
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19
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Boiko S. Design of microsatellite markers for Schizophyllum commune (Agaricales, Basidiomycota) based on analysis of its genome. UKRAINIAN BOTANICAL JOURNAL 2022. [DOI: 10.15407/ukrbotj79.01.027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Simple sequence repeats of DNA (SSRs) are the most popular source of genetic markers used in population genetics, phylogenetics, and genetic mapping. A large number of nucleotide repeats enriched in G and C were identified. 336 mononucleotide motifs with more than ten repeats were recorded. 2020 nucleotide repeats were identified, of which 97.4% are di- (68.2%) and trinucleotides (29.2%). The total number of unique SSR loci, to which primers pairs were developed, was 1920. PCR primer sequences for unique SSR loci of the S. commune genome are presented. Of the twenty-two SSR markers synthesized for the S. commune genome, amplicons formed 64% on freshly isolated DNA samples.
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20
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Soto L, Li Z, Santoso CS, Berenson A, Ho I, Shen VX, Yuan S, Bass JIF. Compendium of human transcription factor effector domains. Mol Cell 2022; 82:514-526. [PMID: 34863368 PMCID: PMC8818021 DOI: 10.1016/j.molcel.2021.11.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 62] [Impact Index Per Article: 20.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2021] [Revised: 10/16/2021] [Accepted: 11/03/2021] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
Transcription factors (TFs) regulate gene expression by binding to DNA sequences and modulating transcriptional activity through their effector domains. Despite the central role of effector domains in TF function, there is a current lack of a comprehensive resource and characterization of effector domains. Here, we provide a catalog of 924 effector domains across 594 human TFs. Using this catalog, we characterized the amino acid composition of effector domains, their conservation across species and across the human population, and their roles in human diseases. Furthermore, we provide a classification system for effector domains that constitutes a valuable resource and a blueprint for future experimental studies of TF effector domain function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luis Soto
- Escuela Profesional de Genética y Biotecnología, Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Lima 15081, Perú
| | - Zhaorong Li
- Bioinformatics Program, Boston University, Boston MA 02215
| | - Clarissa S Santoso
- Biology Department, Boston University, Boston MA 02215,Molecular Biology, Cellular Biology and Biochemistry Program, Boston University, Boston MA 02215
| | - Anna Berenson
- Biology Department, Boston University, Boston MA 02215,Molecular Biology, Cellular Biology and Biochemistry Program, Boston University, Boston MA 02215
| | - Isabella Ho
- Biology Department, Boston University, Boston MA 02215
| | - Vivian X Shen
- Biology Department, Boston University, Boston MA 02215
| | - Samson Yuan
- Biology Department, Boston University, Boston MA 02215
| | - Juan I Fuxman Bass
- Bioinformatics Program, Boston University, Boston MA 02215,Biology Department, Boston University, Boston MA 02215,Molecular Biology, Cellular Biology and Biochemistry Program, Boston University, Boston MA 02215,correspondence:
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21
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Cooper DG, Jiang Y, Skuodas S, Wang L, Fassler JS. Possible Role for Allelic Variation in Yeast MED15 in Ecological Adaptation. Front Microbiol 2021; 12:741572. [PMID: 34733258 PMCID: PMC8558680 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2021.741572] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2021] [Accepted: 09/27/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The propensity for Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast to ferment sugars into ethanol and CO2 has long been useful in the production of a wide range of food and drink. In the production of alcoholic beverages, the yeast strain selected for fermentation is crucial because not all strains are equally proficient in tolerating fermentation stresses. One potential mechanism by which domesticated yeast may have adapted to fermentation stresses is through changes in the expression of stress response genes. MED15 is a general transcriptional regulator and RNA Pol II Mediator complex subunit which modulates the expression of many metabolic and stress response genes. In this study, we explore the role of MED15 in alcoholic fermentation. In addition, we ask whether MED15 alleles from wine, sake or palm wine yeast improve fermentation activity and grape juice fermentation stress responses. And last, we investigate to what extent any differences in activity are due to allelic differences in the lengths of three polyglutamine tracts in MED15. We find that strains lacking MED15 are deficient in fermentation and fermentation stress responses and that MED15 alleles from alcoholic beverage yeast strains can improve both the fermentation capacity and the response to ethanol stresses when transplanted into a standard laboratory strain. Finally, we find that polyglutamine tract length in the Med15 protein is one determinant in the efficiency of the alcoholic fermentation process. These data lead to a working model in which polyglutamine tract length and other types of variability within transcriptional hubs like the Mediator subunit, Med15, may contribute to a reservoir of transcriptional profiles that may provide a fitness benefit in the face of environmental fluctuations.
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Affiliation(s)
- David G Cooper
- Biology Department, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, United States
| | - Yishuo Jiang
- Biology Department, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, United States
| | - Sydney Skuodas
- Biology Department, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, United States
| | - Luying Wang
- Biology Department, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, United States
| | - Jan S Fassler
- Biology Department, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, United States
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22
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Zhao Y, Lindberg BG, Esfahani SS, Tang X, Piazza S, Engström Y. Stop codon readthrough alters the activity of a POU/Oct transcription factor during Drosophila development. BMC Biol 2021; 19:185. [PMID: 34479564 PMCID: PMC8417969 DOI: 10.1186/s12915-021-01106-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2021] [Accepted: 07/19/2021] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Background A number of cellular processes have evolved in metazoans that increase the proteome repertoire in relation to the genome, such as alternative splicing and translation recoding. Another such process, translational stop codon readthrough (SCR), generates C-terminally extended protein isoforms in many eukaryotes, including yeast, plants, insects, and humans. While comparative genome analyses have predicted the existence of programmed SCR in many species including humans, experimental proof of its functional consequences are scarce. Results We show that SCR of the Drosophila POU/Oct transcription factor Ventral veins lacking/Drifter (Vvl/Dfr) mRNA is prevalent in certain tissues in vivo, reaching a rate of 50% in the larval prothoracic gland. Phylogenetically, the C-terminal extension is conserved and harbors intrinsically disordered regions and amino acid stretches implied in transcriptional activation. Elimination of Vvl/Dfr translational readthrough by CRISPR/Cas9 mutagenesis changed the expression of a large number of downstream genes involved in processes such as chromatin regulation, neurogenesis, development, and immune response. As a proof-of-principle, we demonstrate that the C-terminal extension of Vvl/Dfr is necessary for correct timing of pupariation, by increasing the capacity to regulate its target genes. The extended Vvl/Dfr isoform acts in synergy with the transcription factor Molting defective (Mld) to increase the expression and biosynthesis of the steroid hormone ecdysone, thereby advancing pupariation. Consequently, late-stage larval development was prolonged and metamorphosis delayed in vvl/dfr readthrough mutants. Conclusions We demonstrate that translational recoding of a POU/Oct transcription factor takes place in a highly tissue-specific and temporally controlled manner. This dynamic and regulated recoding is necessary for normal expression of a large number of genes involved in many cellular and developmental processes. Loss of Vvl/Dfr translational readthrough negatively affects steroid hormone biosynthesis and delays larval development and progression into metamorphosis. Thus, this study demonstrates how SCR of a transcription factor can act as a developmental switch in a spatiotemporal manner, feeding into the timing of developmental transitions between different life-cycle stages. Graphical abstract ![]()
Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12915-021-01106-0.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yunpo Zhao
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, The Wenner-Gren Institute, Stockholm University, SE-106 91, Stockholm, Sweden.,Present address: Department of Molecular Biology, Umeå University, SE-901 87, Umeå, SE, Sweden
| | - Bo Gustav Lindberg
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, The Wenner-Gren Institute, Stockholm University, SE-106 91, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Shiva Seyedoleslami Esfahani
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, The Wenner-Gren Institute, Stockholm University, SE-106 91, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Xiongzhuo Tang
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, The Wenner-Gren Institute, Stockholm University, SE-106 91, Stockholm, Sweden.,Present address: Yale Stem Cell Center, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, 06520, USA
| | - Stefano Piazza
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, The Wenner-Gren Institute, Stockholm University, SE-106 91, Stockholm, Sweden.,Present address: Research and Innovation Centre, Fondazione Edmund Mach, via E Mach 1, 38010, San Michele a/Adige, Italy
| | - Ylva Engström
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, The Wenner-Gren Institute, Stockholm University, SE-106 91, Stockholm, Sweden.
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23
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Visser S, Voleníková A, Nguyen P, Verhulst EC, Marec F. A conserved role of the duplicated Masculinizer gene in sex determination of the Mediterranean flour moth, Ephestia kuehniella. PLoS Genet 2021; 17:e1009420. [PMID: 34339412 PMCID: PMC8360546 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1009420] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/08/2021] [Revised: 08/12/2021] [Accepted: 06/22/2021] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Sex determination in the silkworm, Bombyx mori, is based on Feminizer (Fem), a W-linked Fem piRNA that triggers female development in WZ individuals, and the Z-linked Masculinizer (Masc), which initiates male development and dosage compensation in ZZ individuals. While Fem piRNA is missing in a close relative of B. mori, Masc determines sex in several representatives of distant lepidopteran lineages. We studied the molecular mechanisms of sex determination in the Mediterranean flour moth, Ephestia kuehniella (Pyralidae). We identified an E. kuehniella Masc ortholog, EkMasc, and its paralog resulting from a recent duplication, EkMascB. Both genes are located on the Z chromosome and encode a similar Masc protein that contains two conserved domains but has lost the conserved double zinc finger domain. We developed PCR-based genetic sexing and demonstrated a peak in the expression of EkMasc and EkMascB genes only in early male embryos. Simultaneous knock-down experiments of both EkMasc and EkMascB using RNAi during early embryogenesis led to a shift from male- to female-specific splicing of the E. kuehniella doublesex gene (Ekdsx), their downstream effector, in ZZ embryos and resulted in a strong female-biased sex-ratio. Our results thus confirmed the conserved role of EkMasc and/or EkMascB in masculinization. We suggest that the C-terminal proline-rich domain, we have identified in all functionally confirmed Masc proteins, in conjunction with the masculinizing domain, is important for transcriptional regulation of sex determination in Lepidoptera. The function of the Masc double zinc finger domain is still unknown, but appears to have been lost in E. kuehniella. The sex-determining cascade in the silkworm, Bombyx mori, differs greatly from those of other insects. In B. mori, female development is initiated by Fem piRNA expressed from the W chromosome during early embryogenesis. Fem piRNA silences Masculinizer (Masc) thereby blocking the male pathway resulting in female development. It is currently unknown whether this cascade is conserved across Lepidoptera. In the Mediterranean flour moth, Ephestia kuehniella, we identified an ortholog of Masc and discovered its functional duplication on the Z chromosome, which has not yet been found in any other lepidopteran species. We provide two lines of evidence that the EkMasc and/or EkMascB genes play an essential role in masculinization: (i) they show a peak of expression during early embryogenesis in ZZ but not in WZ embryos and (ii) their simultaneous silencing by RNAi results in female-specific splicing of the E. kuehniella doublesex gene (Ekdsx) in ZZ embryos and in a female-biased sex ratio. Our results suggest a conserved role of the duplicated Masc gene in sex determination of E. kuehniella.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sander Visser
- Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Institute of Entomology, České Budějovice, Czech Republic
- Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, České Budějovice, Czech Republic
| | - Anna Voleníková
- Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Institute of Entomology, České Budějovice, Czech Republic
- Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, České Budějovice, Czech Republic
| | - Petr Nguyen
- Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Institute of Entomology, České Budějovice, Czech Republic
- Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, České Budějovice, Czech Republic
| | - Eveline C. Verhulst
- Laboratory of Entomology, Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - František Marec
- Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Institute of Entomology, České Budějovice, Czech Republic
- * E-mail:
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24
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Vaglietti S, Fiumara F. PolyQ length co-evolution in neural proteins. NAR Genom Bioinform 2021; 3:lqab032. [PMID: 34017944 PMCID: PMC8121095 DOI: 10.1093/nargab/lqab032] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/30/2020] [Revised: 02/10/2021] [Accepted: 03/31/2021] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Intermolecular co-evolution optimizes physiological performance in functionally related proteins, ultimately increasing molecular co-adaptation and evolutionary fitness. Polyglutamine (polyQ) repeats, which are over-represented in nervous system-related proteins, are increasingly recognized as length-dependent regulators of protein function and interactions, and their length variation contributes to intraspecific phenotypic variability and interspecific divergence. However, it is unclear whether polyQ repeat lengths evolve independently in each protein or rather co-evolve across functionally related protein pairs and networks, as in an integrated regulatory system. To address this issue, we investigated here the length evolution and co-evolution of polyQ repeats in clusters of functionally related and physically interacting neural proteins in Primates. We observed function-/disease-related polyQ repeat enrichment and evolutionary hypervariability in specific neural protein clusters, particularly in the neurocognitive and neuropsychiatric domains. Notably, these analyses detected extensive patterns of intermolecular polyQ length co-evolution in pairs and clusters of functionally related, physically interacting proteins. Moreover, they revealed both direct and inverse polyQ length co-variation in protein pairs, together with complex patterns of coordinated repeat variation in entire polyQ protein sets. These findings uncover a whole system of co-evolving polyQ repeats in neural proteins with direct implications for understanding polyQ-dependent phenotypic variability, neurocognitive evolution and neuropsychiatric disease pathogenesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Serena Vaglietti
- Rita Levi Montalcini Department of Neuroscience, University of Torino, Torino 10125, Italy
| | - Ferdinando Fiumara
- Rita Levi Montalcini Department of Neuroscience, University of Torino, Torino 10125, Italy
- National Institute of Neuroscience (INN), University of Torino, Torino 10125, Italy
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25
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Mohamud Y, Tang H, Xue YC, Liu H, Ng CS, Bahreyni A, Luo H. Coxsackievirus B3 targets TFEB to disrupt lysosomal function. Autophagy 2021; 17:3924-3938. [PMID: 33691586 PMCID: PMC8726691 DOI: 10.1080/15548627.2021.1896925] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Coxsackievirus B3 (CVB3) is a prevalent etiological agent for viral myocarditis and neurological disorders, particularly in infants and young children. Virus-encoded proteinases have emerged as cytopathic factors that contribute to disease pathogenesis in part through targeting the cellular recycling machinery of autophagy. Although it is appreciated that CVB3 can usurp cellular macroautophagy/autophagy for pro-viral functions, the precise mechanisms by which viral proteinases disrupt autophagy remain incompletely understood. Here we identified TFEB (transcription factor EB), a master regulator of autophagy and lysosome biogenesis, as a novel target of CVB3 proteinase 3 C. Time-course infections uncovered a significant loss of full-length TFEB and the emergence of a lower-molecular mass (~63 kDa) fragment. Cellular and in vitro cleavage assays revealed the involvement of viral proteinase 3 C in the proteolytic processing of TFEB, while site-directed mutagenesis identified the site of cleavage after glutamine 60. Assessment of TFEB transcriptional activity using a reporter construct discovered a loss of function of the cleavage fragment despite nuclear localization and retaining of the ability of DNA and protein binding. Furthermore, we showed that CVB3 infection was also able to trigger cleavage-independent nuclear translocation of TFEB that relied on the serine-threonine phosphatase PPP3/calcineurin. Finally, we demonstrated that both TFEB and TFEB [Δ60] serve roles in viral egress albeit through differing mechanisms. Collectively, this study reveals that CVB3 targets TFEB for proteolytic processing to disrupt host lysosomal function and enhance viral infection. Abbreviations:ACTB: actin beta; CLEAR: coordinated lysosomal enhancement and regulation; CVB3: coxsackievirus B3; DAPI: 4′,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole; GFP: green fluorescent protein; LAMP1: lysosomal associated membrane protein 1; LTR: LysoTracker Red; PPP3/calcineurin: protein phosphatase 3; PPP3CA: protein phosphatase 3 catalytic subunit A; p-TFEB: phospho-Ser211 TFEB; si-CON: scramble control siRNA; TFEB: transcription factor EB; TFEB [Δ60]: TFEB cleavage fragment that lacks the first 60 amino acids; VP1: viral capsid protein 1
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Affiliation(s)
- Yasir Mohamud
- Centre for Heart Lung Innovation, St. Paul's Hospital, Vancouver, Canada.,Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
| | - Hui Tang
- Centre for Heart Lung Innovation, St. Paul's Hospital, Vancouver, Canada.,Department of Pharmacy, Shandong Provincial Hospital Affiliated to Shandong First Medical University, Jinan, China
| | - Yuan Chao Xue
- Centre for Heart Lung Innovation, St. Paul's Hospital, Vancouver, Canada.,Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
| | - Huitao Liu
- Centre for Heart Lung Innovation, St. Paul's Hospital, Vancouver, Canada.,Department of Experimental Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
| | - Chen Seng Ng
- Centre for Heart Lung Innovation, St. Paul's Hospital, Vancouver, Canada.,Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
| | - Amirhossein Bahreyni
- Centre for Heart Lung Innovation, St. Paul's Hospital, Vancouver, Canada.,Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
| | - Honglin Luo
- Centre for Heart Lung Innovation, St. Paul's Hospital, Vancouver, Canada.,Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
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26
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Chavali S, Singh AK, Santhanam B, Babu MM. Amino acid homorepeats in proteins. Nat Rev Chem 2020; 4:420-434. [PMID: 37127972 DOI: 10.1038/s41570-020-0204-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 06/04/2020] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Amino acid homorepeats, or homorepeats, are polypeptide segments found in proteins that contain stretches of identical amino acid residues. Although abnormal homorepeat expansions are linked to pathologies such as neurodegenerative diseases, homorepeats are prevalent in eukaryotic proteomes, suggesting that they are important for normal physiology. In this Review, we discuss recent advances in our understanding of the biological functions of homorepeats, which range from facilitating subcellular protein localization to mediating interactions between proteins across diverse cellular pathways. We explore how the functional diversity of homorepeat-containing proteins could be linked to the ability of homorepeats to adopt different structural conformations, an ability influenced by repeat composition, repeat length and the nature of flanking sequences. We conclude by highlighting how an understanding of homorepeats will help us better characterize and develop therapeutics against the human diseases to which they contribute.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sreenivas Chavali
- MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Francis Crick Avenue, Cambridge, UK.
- Department of Biology, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Tirupati, Tirupati, India.
| | - Anjali K Singh
- Department of Biology, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Tirupati, Tirupati, India
| | - Balaji Santhanam
- MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Francis Crick Avenue, Cambridge, UK
- Department of Structural Biology and Center for Data Driven Discovery, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN, USA
| | - M Madan Babu
- MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Francis Crick Avenue, Cambridge, UK.
- Department of Structural Biology and Center for Data Driven Discovery, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN, USA.
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27
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Robinson KJ, Watchon M, Laird AS. Aberrant Cerebellar Circuitry in the Spinocerebellar Ataxias. Front Neurosci 2020; 14:707. [PMID: 32765211 PMCID: PMC7378801 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2020.00707] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/07/2020] [Accepted: 06/11/2020] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
The spinocerebellar ataxias (SCAs) are a heterogeneous group of neurodegenerative diseases that share convergent disease features. A common symptom of these diseases is development of ataxia, involving impaired balance and motor coordination, usually stemming from cerebellar dysfunction and neurodegeneration. For most spinocerebellar ataxias, pathology can be attributed to an underlying gene mutation and the impaired function of the encoded protein through loss or gain-of-function effects. Strikingly, despite vast heterogeneity in the structure and function of disease-causing genes across the SCAs and the cellular processes affected, the downstream effects have considerable overlap, including alterations in cerebellar circuitry. Interestingly, aberrant function and degeneration of Purkinje cells, the major output neuronal population present within the cerebellum, precedes abnormalities in other neuronal populations within many SCAs, suggesting that Purkinje cells have increased vulnerability to cellular perturbations. Factors that are known to contribute to perturbed Purkinje cell function in spinocerebellar ataxias include altered gene expression resulting in altered expression or functionality of proteins and channels that modulate membrane potential, downstream impairments in intracellular calcium homeostasis and changes in glutamatergic input received from synapsing climbing or parallel fibers. This review will explore this enhanced vulnerability and the aberrant cerebellar circuitry linked with it in many forms of SCA. It is critical to understand why Purkinje cells are vulnerable to such insults and what overlapping pathogenic mechanisms are occurring across multiple SCAs, despite different underlying genetic mutations. Enhanced understanding of disease mechanisms will facilitate the development of treatments to prevent or slow progression of the underlying neurodegenerative processes, cerebellar atrophy and ataxic symptoms.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Angela S. Laird
- Centre for Motor Neuron Disease Research, Department of Biomedical Science, Faculty of Medicine, Health and Human Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, Australia
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28
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The Distinct Roles of Transcriptional Factor KLF11 in Normal Cell Growth Regulation and Cancer as a Mediator of TGF-β Signaling Pathway. Int J Mol Sci 2020; 21:ijms21082928. [PMID: 32331236 PMCID: PMC7215894 DOI: 10.3390/ijms21082928] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2020] [Revised: 04/20/2020] [Accepted: 04/21/2020] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
KLF11 (Krüppel-like factor 11) belongs to the family of Sp1/Krüppel-like zinc finger transcription factors that play important roles in a variety of cell types and tissues. KLF11 was initially described as a transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β) inducible immediate early gene (TIEG). KLF11 promotes the effects of TGF-β on cell growth control by influencing the TGFβ–Smads signaling pathway and regulating the transcription of genes that induce either apoptosis or cell cycle arrest. In carcinogenesis, KLF11 can show diverse effects. Its function as a tumor suppressor gene can be suppressed by phosphorylation of its binding domains via oncogenic pathways. However, KLF 11 can itself also show tumor-promoting effects and seems to have a crucial role in the epithelial–mesenchymal transition process. Here, we review the current knowledge about the function of KLF11 in cell growth regulation. We focus on its transcriptional regulatory function and its influence on the TGF-β signaling pathway. We further discuss its possible role in mediating crosstalk between various signaling pathways in normal cell growth and in carcinogenesis.
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29
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Zhu Y, Sun D, Jakovcevski M, Jiang Y. Epigenetic mechanism of SETDB1 in brain: implications for neuropsychiatric disorders. Transl Psychiatry 2020; 10:115. [PMID: 32321908 PMCID: PMC7176658 DOI: 10.1038/s41398-020-0797-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/03/2019] [Revised: 03/13/2020] [Accepted: 03/26/2020] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Neuropsychiatric disorders are a collective of cerebral conditions with a multifactorial and polygenetic etiology. Dysregulation of epigenetic profiles in the brain is considered to play a critical role in the development of neuropsychiatric disorders. SET domain, bifurcate 1 (SETDB1), functioning as a histone H3K9 specific methyltransferase, is not only critically involved in transcriptional silencing and local heterochromatin formation, but also affects genome-wide neuronal epigenetic profiles and is essential for 3D genome integrity. Here, we provide a review of recent advances towards understanding the role of SETDB1 in the central nervous system during early neurodevelopment as well as in the adult brain, with a particular focus on studies that link its functions to neuropsychiatric disorders and related behavioral changes, and the exploration of novel therapeutic strategies targeting SETDB1.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yueyan Zhu
- Institutes of Brain Science, State Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology and MOE Frontier Center for Brain Science, Fudan University, 200032, Shanghai, China
| | - Daijing Sun
- Institutes of Brain Science, State Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology and MOE Frontier Center for Brain Science, Fudan University, 200032, Shanghai, China
| | - Mira Jakovcevski
- Department of Stress Neurobiology and Neurogenetics, Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, Munich, Germany
| | - Yan Jiang
- Institutes of Brain Science, State Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology and MOE Frontier Center for Brain Science, Fudan University, 200032, Shanghai, China.
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30
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Pelassa I, Cibelli M, Villeri V, Lilliu E, Vaglietti S, Olocco F, Ghirardi M, Montarolo PG, Corà D, Fiumara F. Compound Dynamics and Combinatorial Patterns of Amino Acid Repeats Encode a System of Evolutionary and Developmental Markers. Genome Biol Evol 2020; 11:3159-3178. [PMID: 31589292 PMCID: PMC6839033 DOI: 10.1093/gbe/evz216] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 09/27/2019] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Homopolymeric amino acid repeats (AARs) like polyalanine (polyA) and polyglutamine (polyQ) in some developmental proteins (DPs) regulate certain aspects of organismal morphology and behavior, suggesting an evolutionary role for AARs as developmental "tuning knobs." It is still unclear, however, whether these are occasional protein-specific phenomena or hints at the existence of a whole AAR-based regulatory system in DPs. Using novel approaches to trace their functional and evolutionary history, we find quantitative evidence supporting a generalized, combinatorial role of AARs in developmental processes with evolutionary implications. We observe nonrandom AAR distributions and combinations in HOX and other DPs, as well as in their interactomes, defining elements of a proteome-wide combinatorial functional code whereby different AARs and their combinations appear preferentially in proteins involved in the development of specific organs/systems. Such functional associations can be either static or display detectable evolutionary dynamics. These findings suggest that progressive changes in AAR occurrence/combination, by altering embryonic development, may have contributed to taxonomic divergence, leaving detectable traces in the evolutionary history of proteomes. Consistent with this hypothesis, we find that the evolutionary trajectories of the 20 AARs in eukaryotic proteomes are highly interrelated and their individual or compound dynamics can sharply mark taxonomic boundaries, or display clock-like trends, carrying overall a strong phylogenetic signal. These findings provide quantitative evidence and an interpretive framework outlining a combinatorial system of AARs whose compound dynamics mark at the same time DP functions and evolutionary transitions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ilaria Pelassa
- Department of Neuroscience Rita Levi Montalcini, University of Torino, Italy
| | - Marica Cibelli
- Department of Neuroscience Rita Levi Montalcini, University of Torino, Italy
| | - Veronica Villeri
- Department of Neuroscience Rita Levi Montalcini, University of Torino, Italy
| | - Elena Lilliu
- Department of Neuroscience Rita Levi Montalcini, University of Torino, Italy
| | - Serena Vaglietti
- Department of Neuroscience Rita Levi Montalcini, University of Torino, Italy
| | - Federica Olocco
- Department of Neuroscience Rita Levi Montalcini, University of Torino, Italy
| | - Mirella Ghirardi
- Department of Neuroscience Rita Levi Montalcini, University of Torino, Italy.,National Institute of Neuroscience (INN), Torino, Italy
| | - Pier Giorgio Montarolo
- Department of Neuroscience Rita Levi Montalcini, University of Torino, Italy.,National Institute of Neuroscience (INN), Torino, Italy
| | - Davide Corà
- Department of Translational Medicine, Piemonte Orientale University, Novara, Italy.,Center for Translational Research on Autoimmune and Allergic Disease (CAAD), Novara, Italy
| | - Ferdinando Fiumara
- Department of Neuroscience Rita Levi Montalcini, University of Torino, Italy.,National Institute of Neuroscience (INN), Torino, Italy
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31
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Rivero-Hinojosa S, Kinney N, Garner HR, Rood BR. Germline microsatellite genotypes differentiate children with medulloblastoma. Neuro Oncol 2020; 22:152-162. [PMID: 31562520 PMCID: PMC6954392 DOI: 10.1093/neuonc/noz179] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The germline genetic events underpinning medulloblastoma (MB) initiation, and therefore the ability to determine who is at risk, are still unknown for the majority of cases. Microsatellites are short repeated sequences that make up ~3% of the genome. Repeat lengths vary among individuals and are often nonrandomly associated with disease, including several cancers such as breast, glioma, lung, and ovarian. Due to their effects on gene function, they have been called the "tuning knobs of the genome." METHODS We have developed a novel approach for identifying a microsatellite-based signature to differentiate MB patients from controls using germline DNA. RESULTS Analyzing germline whole exome sequencing data from a training set of 120 MB subjects and 425 controls, we identified 139 individual microsatellite loci whose genotypes differ significantly between the groups. Using a genetic algorithm, we identified a subset of 43 microsatellites that distinguish MB subjects from controls with a sensitivity and specificity of 92% and 88%, respectively. This microsatellite signature was validated in an independent dataset consisting of 102 subjects and 428 controls, with comparable sensitivity and specificity of 95% and 90%, respectively. Analysis of the allele genotypes of those 139 informative loci demonstrates that their association with MB is a consequence of individual microsatellites' genotypes rather than their hypermutability. Finally, an analysis of the genes harboring these microsatellite loci reveals cellular functions important for tumorigenesis. CONCLUSION This study demonstrates that MB-specific germline microsatellite variations mark those at risk for MB development and suggests mechanisms of predisposition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samuel Rivero-Hinojosa
- Center for Cancer and Immunology Research, Children's Research Institute, Children's National Medical Center (CNMC), Washington, DC
| | - Nicholas Kinney
- Center for Bioinformatics and Genetics, Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine, Blacksburg, Virginia
- Gibbs Cancer Center and Research Institute, Spartanburg, South Carolina
| | - Harold R Garner
- Center for Bioinformatics and Genetics, Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine, Blacksburg, Virginia
- Gibbs Cancer Center and Research Institute, Spartanburg, South Carolina
| | - Brian R Rood
- Center for Cancer and Immunology Research, Children's Research Institute, Children's National Medical Center (CNMC), Washington, DC
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32
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Mohanty PS, Saikia D, Kalra S, Naaz F, Bansal AK, Pawar HS, Mohanty KK, Sharma S, Singh M, Patil SA. LEPStr: A database for Mycobacterium leprae short tandem repeats. INFORMATICS IN MEDICINE UNLOCKED 2020. [DOI: 10.1016/j.imu.2020.100322] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
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33
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Wu Z, Jung HS. How the diversity of the faces arises. J Oral Biosci 2019; 61:195-200. [PMID: 31751682 DOI: 10.1016/j.job.2019.08.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/18/2019] [Revised: 08/05/2019] [Accepted: 08/10/2019] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The evolution of the face is crucial for each species to adapt to different diets, environments, and in some species, to promote social interaction. The diversity in the shapes of the face results from divergence in the process of facial development that begins during early embryonic development. HIGHLIGHTS Here we review the recent advancements in the understanding of the genetic, epigenetic, molecular, and cellular basis of facial diversity. We also review the robustness of facial development and how it relates to the evolution of the face. Finally, we discuss the current challenges in achieving a deeper understanding of facial diversity. CONCLUSION We have gained much knowledge with respect to cis-regulatory elements, gene expression, cellular behavior, and the physical forces in facial development in the past two decades. Significant interdisciplinary work is needed to integrate these varied pieces of information into a complete picture of how the diversity of faces arises.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhaoming Wu
- Division of Developmental Biology, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, USA.
| | - Han-Sung Jung
- Division in Anatomy and Developmental Biology, Department of Oral Biology, Oral Science Research Center, BK21 PLUS Project, Yonsei University College of Dentistry, Seoul, Korea.
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34
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RepEx: A web server to extract sequence repeats from protein and DNA sequences. Comput Biol Chem 2018; 78:424-430. [PMID: 30598392 DOI: 10.1016/j.compbiolchem.2018.12.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2018] [Accepted: 12/25/2018] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Evolution builds up new genetic material from existing ones, not in random, but in highly ordered and eloquent patterns. Most of these sequence repeats are revelatory of valuable information contributing to areas of disease research and function of macromolecules, to name a few. In the age of next generation genome sequencing, rapid and efficient extraction of all unbiased sequence repeats from macromolecules is the need of the hour. In view of this reckoning, an online web-based computing server, RepEx, has been developed to extract and display all possible repeats for DNA and protein sequences. Apart from exact or identical repeats, the server has been designed adeptly to identify and extract degenerate, inverted, everted and mirror repeats from both DNA and protein sequences. The server has striking output displays, featuring interactive graphs and comprehensive output files. In addition, RepEx has been accoutered with an easy-to-use interface and search filters to facilitate a user-defined query or search and is freely available and accessible via the World Wide Web at http://bioserver2.physics.iisc.ac.in/RepEx/.
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35
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Guo XW, Zhang Y, Li LL, Guan XY, Guo J, Wu DG, Chen YF, Xiao DG. Improved xylose tolerance and 2,3-butanediol production of Klebsiella pneumoniae by directed evolution of rpoD and the mechanisms revealed by transcriptomics. BIOTECHNOLOGY FOR BIOFUELS 2018; 11:307. [PMID: 30455736 PMCID: PMC6225576 DOI: 10.1186/s13068-018-1312-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2018] [Accepted: 11/01/2018] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The biological production of 2,3-butanediol from xylose-rich raw materials from Klebsiella pneumoniae is a low-cost process. RpoD, an encoding gene of the sigma factor, is the key element in global transcription machinery engineering and has been successfully used to improve the fermentation with Escherichia coli. However, whether it can regulate the tolerance in K. pneumoniae remains unclear. RESULTS In this study, the kpC mutant strain was constructed by altering the expression quantity and genotype of the rpoD gene, and this exhibited high xylose tolerance and 2,3-butanediol production. The xylose tolerance of kpC strain was increased from 75 to 125 g/L, and the yield of 2,3-butanediol increased by 228.5% compared with the parent strain kpG, reaching 38.6 g/L at 62 h. The RNA sequencing results showed an upregulated expression level of 500 genes and downregulated expression level of 174 genes in the kpC mutant strain. The pathway analysis further showed that the differentially expressed genes were mainly related to signal transduction, membrane transport, carbohydrate metabolism, and energy metabolism. The nine most-promising genes were selected based on transcriptome sequencing, and were evaluated for their effects on xylose tolerance. The overexpression of the tktA encoding transketolase, pntA encoding NAD(P) transhydrogenase subunit alpha, and nuoF encoding NADH dehydrogenase subunit F conferred increased xylose consumption and increased 2,3-butanediol production to K. pneumoniae. CONCLUSIONS These results suggest that the xylose tolerance and 2,3-butanediol production of K. pneumoniae can be greatly improved by the directed evolution of rpoD. By applying transcriptomic analysis, the upregulation of tktA, pntA, and nuoF that were coded are essential for the xylose consumption and 2,3-butanediol production. This study will provide reference for further research on improving the fermentation abilities by means of other organisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xue-Wu Guo
- Key Laboratory of Industrial Fermentation Microbiology of Ministry of Education, Tianjin Industrial Microbiology Key Lab, College of Biotechnology of Tianjin University of Science and Technology, Tianjin, 300547 China
- Tianjin Food Safety & Low Carbon Manufacturing Collaborative Innovation Center, Tianjin, 300547 China
| | - Yu Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Industrial Fermentation Microbiology of Ministry of Education, Tianjin Industrial Microbiology Key Lab, College of Biotechnology of Tianjin University of Science and Technology, Tianjin, 300547 China
- Tianjin Food Safety & Low Carbon Manufacturing Collaborative Innovation Center, Tianjin, 300547 China
| | - Lu-Lu Li
- Key Laboratory of Industrial Fermentation Microbiology of Ministry of Education, Tianjin Industrial Microbiology Key Lab, College of Biotechnology of Tianjin University of Science and Technology, Tianjin, 300547 China
- Tianjin Food Safety & Low Carbon Manufacturing Collaborative Innovation Center, Tianjin, 300547 China
| | - Xiang-Yu Guan
- Key Laboratory of Industrial Fermentation Microbiology of Ministry of Education, Tianjin Industrial Microbiology Key Lab, College of Biotechnology of Tianjin University of Science and Technology, Tianjin, 300547 China
- Tianjin Food Safety & Low Carbon Manufacturing Collaborative Innovation Center, Tianjin, 300547 China
| | - Jian Guo
- Key Laboratory of Industrial Fermentation Microbiology of Ministry of Education, Tianjin Industrial Microbiology Key Lab, College of Biotechnology of Tianjin University of Science and Technology, Tianjin, 300547 China
- Tianjin Food Safety & Low Carbon Manufacturing Collaborative Innovation Center, Tianjin, 300547 China
| | - De-Guang Wu
- Key Laboratory of Industrial Fermentation Microbiology of Ministry of Education, Tianjin Industrial Microbiology Key Lab, College of Biotechnology of Tianjin University of Science and Technology, Tianjin, 300547 China
- Tianjin Engineering Research Center of Microbial Metabolism and Fermentation Process Control, Tianjin, 300457 China
| | - Ye-Fu Chen
- Key Laboratory of Industrial Fermentation Microbiology of Ministry of Education, Tianjin Industrial Microbiology Key Lab, College of Biotechnology of Tianjin University of Science and Technology, Tianjin, 300547 China
- Tianjin Food Safety & Low Carbon Manufacturing Collaborative Innovation Center, Tianjin, 300547 China
| | - Dong-Guang Xiao
- Key Laboratory of Industrial Fermentation Microbiology of Ministry of Education, Tianjin Industrial Microbiology Key Lab, College of Biotechnology of Tianjin University of Science and Technology, Tianjin, 300547 China
- Tianjin Food Safety & Low Carbon Manufacturing Collaborative Innovation Center, Tianjin, 300547 China
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Characterization of a recurrent missense mutation in the forkhead DNA-binding domain of FOXP1. Sci Rep 2018; 8:16161. [PMID: 30385778 PMCID: PMC6212433 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-34437-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/19/2018] [Accepted: 10/12/2018] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Haploinsufficiency of Forkhead box protein P1 (FOXP1), a highly conserved transcription factor, leads to developmental delay, intellectual disability, autism spectrum disorder, speech delay, and dysmorphic features. Most of the reported FOXP1 mutations occur on the C-terminus of the protein and cluster around to the forkhead domain. All reported FOXP1 pathogenic variants result in abnormal cellular localization and loss of transcriptional repression activity of the protein product. Here we present three patients with the same FOXP1 mutation, c.1574G>A (p.R525Q), that results in the characteristic loss of transcription repression activity. This mutation, however, represents the first reported FOXP1 mutation that does not result in cytoplasmic or nuclear aggregation of the protein but maintains normal nuclear localization.
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37
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Ohkuni K, Pasupala N, Peek J, Holloway GL, Sclar GD, Levy-Myers R, Baker RE, Basrai MA, Kerscher O. SUMO-Targeted Ubiquitin Ligases (STUbLs) Reduce the Toxicity and Abnormal Transcriptional Activity Associated With a Mutant, Aggregation-Prone Fragment of Huntingtin. Front Genet 2018; 9:379. [PMID: 30279700 PMCID: PMC6154015 DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2018.00379] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/21/2018] [Accepted: 08/27/2018] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Cell viability and gene expression profiles are altered in cellular models of neurodegenerative disorders such as Huntington’s Disease (HD). Using the yeast model system, we show that the SUMO-targeted ubiquitin ligase (STUbL) Slx5 reduces the toxicity and abnormal transcriptional activity associated with a mutant, aggregation-prone fragment of huntingtin (Htt), the causative agent of HD. We demonstrate that expression of an aggregation-prone Htt construct with 103 glutamine residues (103Q), but not the non-expanded form (25Q), results in severe growth defects in slx5Δ and slx8Δ cells. Since Slx5 is a nuclear protein and because Htt expression affects gene transcription, we assessed the effect of STUbLs on the transcriptional properties of aggregation-prone Htt. Expression of Htt 25Q and 55Q fused to the Gal4 activation domain (AD) resulted in reporter gene auto-activation. Remarkably, the auto-activation of Htt constructs was abolished by expression of Slx5 fused to the Gal4 DNA-binding domain (BD-Slx5). In support of these observations, RNF4, the human ortholog of Slx5, curbs the aberrant transcriptional activity of aggregation-prone Htt in yeast and a variety of cultured human cell lines. Functionally, we find that an extra copy of SLX5 specifically reduces Htt aggregates in the cytosol as well as chromatin-associated Htt aggregates in the nucleus. Finally, using RNA sequencing, we identified and confirmed specific targets of Htt’s transcriptional activity that are modulated by Slx5. In summary, this study of STUbLs uncovers a conserved pathway that counteracts the accumulation of aggregating, transcriptionally active Htt (and possibly other poly-glutamine expanded proteins) on chromatin in both yeast and in mammalian cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kentaro Ohkuni
- Genetics Branch, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, United States
| | - Nagesh Pasupala
- Biology Department, College of William & Mary, Williamsburg, VA, United States
| | - Jennifer Peek
- Biology Department, College of William & Mary, Williamsburg, VA, United States
| | | | - Gloria D Sclar
- Biology Department, College of William & Mary, Williamsburg, VA, United States
| | - Reuben Levy-Myers
- Biology Department, College of William & Mary, Williamsburg, VA, United States
| | - Richard E Baker
- Department of Microbiology and Physiological Systems, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, United States
| | - Munira A Basrai
- Genetics Branch, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, United States
| | - Oliver Kerscher
- Biology Department, College of William & Mary, Williamsburg, VA, United States
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Ding F, Zhang S, Chen H, Peng H, Lu J, He X, Pan J. Functional analysis of a homologue of the FLORICAULA/LEAFY gene in litchi (Litchi chinensis Sonn.) revealing its significance in early flowering process. Genes Genomics 2018; 40:10.1007/s13258-018-0739-4. [PMID: 30218346 DOI: 10.1007/s13258-018-0739-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/09/2017] [Accepted: 05/30/2017] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
Abstract
Litchi (Litchi chinensis Sonn.) is an important subtropical fruit crop with high commercial value due to its high nutritional values and favorable tastes. However, irregular bearing attributed to unstable flowering is a major ongoing problem for litchi producers. Previous studies indicate that low-temperature is a key factor in litchi floral induction. In order to reveal the genetic and molecular mechanisms underlying the reproductive process in litchi, we had analyzed the transcriptome of buds before and after low-temperature induction using RNA-seq technology. A key flower bud differentiation associated gene, a homologue of FLORICAULA/LEAFY, was identified and named LcLFY (GenBank Accession No. KF008435). The cDNA sequence of LcLFY encodes a putative protein of 388 amino acids. To gain insight into the role of LcLFY, the temporal expression level of this gene was measured by real-time RT-PCR. LcLFY was highly expressed in flower buds and its expression correlated with the floral developmental stage. Heterologous expression of LcLFY in transgenic tobacco plants induced precocious flowering. Meantime, we investigated the sub-cellular localization of LcLFY. The LcLFY-Green fluorescent protein (GFP) fusion protein was found in the nucleus. The results suggest that LcLFY plays a pivotal role as a transcription factor in controlling the transition to flowering and in the development of floral organs in litchi.
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Affiliation(s)
- Feng Ding
- Horticultural Research Institute, Guangxi Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Nanning, 530007, Guangxi, People's Republic of China
- Agricultural College, Guangxi University, Nanning, 530004, Guangxi, People's Republic of China
| | - Shuwei Zhang
- Horticultural Research Institute, Guangxi Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Nanning, 530007, Guangxi, People's Republic of China
| | - Houbin Chen
- Horticulture College, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, 510642, Guangdong, People's Republic of China.
| | - Hongxiang Peng
- Horticultural Research Institute, Guangxi Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Nanning, 530007, Guangxi, People's Republic of China
| | - Jiang Lu
- Guangxi Crop Genetic Improvement and Biotechnology Laboratory, Guangxi Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Nanning, 530007, Guangxi, People's Republic of China.
| | - Xinhua He
- Agricultural College, Guangxi University, Nanning, 530004, Guangxi, People's Republic of China
| | - Jiechun Pan
- Agricultural College, Guangxi University, Nanning, 530004, Guangxi, People's Republic of China
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Abstract
This review explores the presence and functions of polyglutamine (polyQ) in viral proteins. In mammals, mutations in polyQ segments (and CAG repeats at the nucleotide level) have been linked to neural disorders and ataxias. PolyQ regions in normal human proteins have documented functional roles, in transcription factors and, more recently, in regulating autophagy. Despite the high frequency of polyQ repeats in eukaryotic genomes, little attention has been given to the presence or possible role of polyQ sequences in virus genomes. A survey described here revealed that polyQ repeats occur rarely in RNA viruses, suggesting that they have detrimental effects on virus replication at the nucleotide or protein level. However, there have been sporadic reports of polyQ segments in potyviruses and in reptilian nidoviruses (among the largest RNA viruses known). Conserved polyQ segments are found in the regulatory control proteins of many DNA viruses. Variable length polyQ tracts are found in proteins that contribute to transmissibility (cowpox A-type inclusion protein (ATI)) and control of latency (herpes viruses). New longer-read sequencing methods, using original biological samples, should reveal more details on the presence and functional role of polyQ in viruses, as well as the nucleotide regions that encode them. Given the known toxic effects of polyQ repeats, the role of these segments in neurovirulent and tumorigenic viruses should be further explored.
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40
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A Variable Polyglutamine Repeat Affects Subcellular Localization and Regulatory Activity of a Populus ANGUSTIFOLIA Protein. G3-GENES GENOMES GENETICS 2018; 8:2631-2641. [PMID: 29884614 PMCID: PMC6071607 DOI: 10.1534/g3.118.200188] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
Polyglutamine (polyQ) stretches have been reported to occur in proteins across many organisms including animals, fungi and plants. Expansion of these repeats has attracted much attention due their associations with numerous human diseases including Huntington’s and other neurological maladies. This suggests that the relative length of polyQ stretches is an important modulator of their function. Here, we report the identification of a Populus C-terminus binding protein (CtBP) ANGUSTIFOLIA (PtAN1) which contains a polyQ stretch whose functional relevance had not been established. Analysis of 917 resequenced Populus trichocarpa genotypes revealed three allelic variants at this locus encoding 11-, 13- and 15-glutamine residues. Transient expression assays using Populus leaf mesophyll protoplasts revealed that the 11Q variant exhibited strong nuclear localization whereas the 15Q variant was only found in the cytosol, with the 13Q variant exhibiting localization in both subcellular compartments. We assessed functional implications by evaluating expression changes of putative PtAN1 targets in response to overexpression of the three allelic variants and observed allele-specific differences in expression levels of putative targets. Our results provide evidence that variation in polyQ length modulates PtAN1 function by altering subcellular localization.
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41
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Arnold CD, Nemčko F, Woodfin AR, Wienerroither S, Vlasova A, Schleiffer A, Pagani M, Rath M, Stark A. A high-throughput method to identify trans-activation domains within transcription factor sequences. EMBO J 2018; 37:embj.201798896. [PMID: 30006452 PMCID: PMC6092621 DOI: 10.15252/embj.201798896] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2017] [Revised: 06/15/2018] [Accepted: 06/15/2018] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Even though transcription factors (TFs) are central players of gene regulation and have been extensively studied, their regulatory trans-activation domains (tADs) often remain unknown and a systematic functional characterization of tADs is lacking. Here, we present a novel high-throughput approach tAD-seq to functionally test thousands of candidate tADs from different TFs in parallel. The tADs we identify by pooled screening validate in individual luciferase assays, whereas neutral regions do not. Interestingly, the tADs are found at arbitrary positions within the TF sequences and can contain amino acid (e.g., glutamine) repeat regions or overlap structured domains, including helix-loop-helix domains that are typically annotated as DNA-binding. We also identified tADs in the non-native reading frames, confirming that random sequences can function as tADs, albeit weakly. The identification of tADs as short protein sequences sufficient for transcription activation will enable the systematic study of TF function, which-particularly for TFs of different transcription activating functionalities-is still poorly understood.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cosmas D Arnold
- Research Institute of Molecular Pathology (IMP), Vienna BioCenter (VBC), Vienna, Austria
| | - Filip Nemčko
- Research Institute of Molecular Pathology (IMP), Vienna BioCenter (VBC), Vienna, Austria
| | - Ashley R Woodfin
- Research Institute of Molecular Pathology (IMP), Vienna BioCenter (VBC), Vienna, Austria
| | | | - Anna Vlasova
- Research Institute of Molecular Pathology (IMP), Vienna BioCenter (VBC), Vienna, Austria
| | - Alexander Schleiffer
- Research Institute of Molecular Pathology (IMP), Vienna BioCenter (VBC), Vienna, Austria.,Institute of Molecular Biotechnology (IMBA), Vienna BioCenter (VBC), Vienna, Austria
| | - Michaela Pagani
- Research Institute of Molecular Pathology (IMP), Vienna BioCenter (VBC), Vienna, Austria
| | - Martina Rath
- Research Institute of Molecular Pathology (IMP), Vienna BioCenter (VBC), Vienna, Austria
| | - Alexander Stark
- Research Institute of Molecular Pathology (IMP), Vienna BioCenter (VBC), Vienna, Austria .,Medical University of Vienna, Vienna BioCenter (VBC), Vienna, Austria
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42
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Qiu J, Wang W, Hu S, Wang Y, Sun W, Hu J, Gan X, Wang J. Molecular cloning, characterization and expression analysis of C/EBP α, β and δ in adipose-related tissues and adipocyte of duck ( Anas platyrhynchos ). Comp Biochem Physiol B Biochem Mol Biol 2018; 221-222:29-43. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cbpb.2018.04.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/12/2017] [Revised: 04/14/2018] [Accepted: 04/16/2018] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
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43
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Cox D, Raeburn C, Sui X, Hatters DM. Protein aggregation in cell biology: An aggregomics perspective of health and disease. Semin Cell Dev Biol 2018; 99:40-54. [PMID: 29753879 DOI: 10.1016/j.semcdb.2018.05.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/10/2017] [Revised: 03/21/2018] [Accepted: 05/04/2018] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
Maintaining protein homeostasis (proteostasis) is essential for cellular health and is governed by a network of quality control machinery comprising over 800 genes. When proteostasis becomes imbalanced, proteins can abnormally aggregate or become mislocalized. Inappropriate protein aggregation and proteostasis imbalance are two of the central pathological features of common neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer, Parkinson, Huntington, and motor neuron diseases. How aggregation contributes to the pathogenic mechanisms of disease remains incompletely understood. Here, we integrate some of the key and emerging ideas as to how protein aggregation relates to imbalanced proteostasis with an emphasis on Huntington disease as our area of main expertise. We propose the term "aggregomics" be coined in reference to how aggregation of particular proteins concomitantly influences the spatial organization and protein-protein interactions of the surrounding proteome. Meta-analysis of aggregated interactomes from various published datasets reveals chaperones and RNA-binding proteins are common components across various disease contexts. We conclude with an examination of therapeutic avenues targeting proteostasis mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dezerae Cox
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, The University of Melbourne, Australia; Bio21 Molecular Science and Biotechnology Institute, Australia
| | - Candice Raeburn
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, The University of Melbourne, Australia; Bio21 Molecular Science and Biotechnology Institute, Australia
| | - Xiaojing Sui
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, The University of Melbourne, Australia; Bio21 Molecular Science and Biotechnology Institute, Australia
| | - Danny M Hatters
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, The University of Melbourne, Australia; Bio21 Molecular Science and Biotechnology Institute, Australia.
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44
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Hypoxia-Inducible Factor-1α in Antarctic notothenioids contains a polyglutamine and glutamic acid insert that varies in length with phylogeny. Polar Biol 2018; 40:2537-2545. [PMID: 29430077 DOI: 10.1007/s00300-017-2164-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/25/2023]
Abstract
The long evolution of the Antarctic perciform suborder of Notothenioidei in the icy, oxygen-rich waters of the Southern Ocean may have reduced selective pressure to maintain a hypoxic response. To test this hypothesis, cDNA of the key transcriptional regulator of hypoxic genes, hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α), was sequenced in heart ventricles of the red-blooded notothenioid, Notothenia coriiceps, and the hemoglobinless icefish, Chaenocephalus aceratus. HIF-1α cDNA is 4500 base pairs (bp) long and encodes 755 amino acids in N. coriiceps, and in C. aceratus, HIF-1α is 3576 bp long and encodes 779 amino acids. All functional domains of HIF-1α are highly conserved compared to other teleosts, but HIF-1α contains a polyglutamine/glutamic acid (polyQ/E) insert 9 amino acids long in N. coriiceps and 34 amino acids long in C. aceratus. Sequencing of this region in four additional species, representing three families of notothenioids, revealed that the length of the polyQ/E insert varies with phylogeny. Icefishes, the crown family of notothenioids, contain the longest polyQ/E inserts, ranging between16 and 34 amino acids long, whereas the basal, cold-temperate notothenioid, Eleginops maclovinus, contains a polyQ/E insert only 4 amino acids long. PolyQ/E inserts may affect dimerization of HIF-1α and HIF-1β, HIF-1 translocation into the nucleus and/or DNA binding.
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45
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Roe AJ, Qi X. Drp1 phosphorylation by MAPK1 causes mitochondrial dysfunction in cell culture model of Huntington's disease. Biochem Biophys Res Commun 2018; 496:706-711. [PMID: 29397067 PMCID: PMC6057844 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbrc.2018.01.114] [Citation(s) in RCA: 53] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/09/2018] [Accepted: 01/17/2018] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Mitochondrial dysfunction is a major cytopathology in Huntington’s disease (HD), a fatal and inherited neurodegenerative disease. However, the molecular mechanisms by which the disease-causing gene, mutant Huntingtin (mtHtt), affects mitochondrial function remains elusive. This study aims to determine the role that Mitogen-activated protein kinase 1 (MAPK1) plays in the over-activation of Dynamin-related protein 1 (Drp1), the mitochondrial fission protein, which leads to mitochondrial dysfunction and neurodegeneration seen in HD. We show that MAPK1 binds to and phosphorylates Drp1 in vitro. Drp1 phosphorylation at serine 616 is increased in HD knock-in mouse derived striatal cells, which is abolished by treatment with U0126, a potent inhibitor of MEK1/2. A phosphorylation-deficient mutant of Drp1, Drp1S616A, corrects mitochondrial fragmentation associated with HD. Treatment with U0126 also reduces mitochondrial fragmentation, but has no additional effect in correcting aberrant mitochondrial morphology in cells expressing Drp1S616A. Finally, treatment with U0126 reduces mitochondrial depolarization and mitochondrial superoxide production in HD mutant striatal cells when compared to wildtype cells. This study suggests that in HD, MAPK1 activation leads to the aberrant mitochondrial fission and mitochondrial function by phosphorylating Drp1. Therefore, inhibition of Drp1-mediated excessive mitochondrial fission might be a strategy for development of therapy for treating HD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anne Jessica Roe
- Department of Physiology & Biophysics, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH, 44106, USA
| | - Xin Qi
- Department of Physiology & Biophysics, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH, 44106, USA; Center for Mitochondrial Disease, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH, 44106, USA.
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46
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Abstract
Diseases such as Huntington's disease and certain spinocerebellar ataxias are caused by the expansion of genomic cytosine-adenine-guanine (CAG) trinucleotide repeats beyond a specific threshold. These diseases are all characterised by neurological symptoms and central neurodegeneration, but our understanding of how expanded repeats drive neuronal loss is incomplete. Recent human genetic evidence implicates DNA repair pathways, especially mismatch repair, in modifying the onset and progression of CAG repeat diseases. Repair pathways might operate directly on repeat sequences by licensing or inhibiting repeat expansion in neurons. Alternatively, or in addition, because many of the genes containing pathogenic CAG repeats encode proteins that themselves have roles in the DNA damage response, it is possible that repeat expansions impair specific DNA repair pathways. DNA damage could then accrue in neurons, leading to further expansion at repeat loci, thus setting up a vicious cycle of pathology. In this review, we consider DNA damage and repair pathways in postmitotic neurons in the context of disease-causing CAG repeats. Investigating and understanding these pathways, which are clearly relevant in promoting and ameliorating disease in humans, is a research priority, as they are known to modify disease and therefore constitute prevalidated drug targets.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas H Massey
- Institute of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences, MRC Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics, Hadyn Ellis Building, Cardiff University, Cardiff, CF24 4HQ, UK
| | - Lesley Jones
- Institute of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences, MRC Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics, Hadyn Ellis Building, Cardiff University, Cardiff, CF24 4HQ, UK
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47
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A theoretical study of monomeric polyglutamine chains from molecular dynamics simulations with explicit water. Theor Chem Acc 2017. [DOI: 10.1007/s00214-017-2172-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
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48
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Maney DL. Polymorphisms in sex steroid receptors: From gene sequence to behavior. Front Neuroendocrinol 2017; 47:47-65. [PMID: 28705582 PMCID: PMC6312198 DOI: 10.1016/j.yfrne.2017.07.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/24/2017] [Revised: 07/05/2017] [Accepted: 07/08/2017] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
Sex steroid receptors have received much interest as potential mediators of human behaviors and mental disorders. Candidate gene association studies have identified about 50 genetic variants of androgen and estrogen receptors that correlate with human behavioral phenotypes. Because most of these polymorphisms lie outside coding regions, discerning their effect on receptor function is not straightforward. Thus, although discoveries of associations improve our ability to predict risk, they have not greatly advanced our understanding of underlying mechanisms. This article is intended to serve as a starting point for psychologists and other behavioral biologists to consider potential mechanisms. Here, I review associations between polymorphisms in sex steroid receptors and human behavioral phenotypes. I then consider ways in which genetic variation can affect processes such as mRNA transcription, splicing, and stability. Finally, I suggest ways that hypotheses about mechanism can be tested, for example using in vitro assays and/or animal models.
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Affiliation(s)
- Donna L Maney
- Department of Psychology, 36 Eagle Row, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA.
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49
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Sun Y, Li Y, Huang G, Wu Q, Wang L. Application of the yeast one-hybrid technique to plant functional genomics studies. BIOTECHNOL BIOTEC EQ 2017. [DOI: 10.1080/13102818.2017.1378595] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Yao Sun
- Biotechnology Laboratory, Institute of Advanced Technology, Heilongjiang Academy of Sciences, Harbin, PR China
| | - Yao Li
- Biotechnology Laboratory, Institute of Advanced Technology, Heilongjiang Academy of Sciences, Harbin, PR China
| | - Guoqing Huang
- Biotechnology Laboratory, Institute of Advanced Technology, Heilongjiang Academy of Sciences, Harbin, PR China
| | - Qiong Wu
- Biotechnology Laboratory, Institute of Advanced Technology, Heilongjiang Academy of Sciences, Harbin, PR China
| | - Lei Wang
- Biotechnology Laboratory, Institute of Advanced Technology, Heilongjiang Academy of Sciences, Harbin, PR China
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50
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Clayton W, Eaton CJ, Dupont PY, Gillanders T, Cameron N, Saikia S, Scott B. Analysis of simple sequence repeat (SSR) structure and sequence within Epichloë endophyte genomes reveals impacts on gene structure and insights into ancestral hybridization events. PLoS One 2017; 12:e0183748. [PMID: 28886068 PMCID: PMC5590859 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0183748] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2017] [Accepted: 08/10/2017] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Epichloë grass endophytes comprise a group of filamentous fungi of both sexual and asexual species. Known for the beneficial characteristics they endow upon their grass hosts, the identification of these endophyte species has been of great interest agronomically and scientifically. The use of simple sequence repeat loci and the variation in repeat elements has been used to rapidly identify endophyte species and strains, however, little is known of how the structure of repeat elements changes between species and strains, and where these repeat elements are located in the fungal genome. We report on an in-depth analysis of the structure and genomic location of the simple sequence repeat locus B10, commonly used for Epichloë endophyte species identification. The B10 repeat was found to be located within an exon of a putative bZIP transcription factor, suggesting possible impacts on polypeptide sequence and thus protein function. Analysis of this repeat in the asexual endophyte hybrid Epichloë uncinata revealed that the structure of B10 alleles reflects the ancestral species that hybridized to give rise to this species. Understanding the structure and sequence of these simple sequence repeats provides a useful set of tools for readily distinguishing strains and for gaining insights into the ancestral species that have undergone hybridization events.
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Affiliation(s)
- William Clayton
- Institute of Fundamental Sciences, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
| | - Carla Jane Eaton
- Institute of Fundamental Sciences, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
- The Bio-Protection Research Centre, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
| | - Pierre-Yves Dupont
- Institute of Fundamental Sciences, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
- The Bio-Protection Research Centre, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
| | | | | | - Sanjay Saikia
- Institute of Fundamental Sciences, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
| | - Barry Scott
- Institute of Fundamental Sciences, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
- The Bio-Protection Research Centre, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
- * E-mail:
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