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Syed S, Aloe S, Sutherland JH, Holloman WK, Lue NF. Ustilago maydis Trf2 ensures genome stability by antagonizing Blm-mediated telomere recombination: Fine-tuning DNA repair factor activity at telomeres through opposing regulations. PLoS Genet 2024; 20:e1011515. [PMID: 39652599 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1011515] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/30/2024] [Revised: 12/26/2024] [Accepted: 11/26/2024] [Indexed: 12/28/2024] Open
Abstract
TRF2 is an essential and conserved double-strand telomere binding protein that stabilizes chromosome ends by suppressing DNA damage response and aberrant DNA repair. Herein we investigated the mechanisms and functions of the Trf2 ortholog in the basidiomycete fungus Ustilago maydis, which manifests strong resemblances to metazoans with regards to the telomere and DNA repair machinery. We showed that UmTrf2 binds to Blm in vitro and inhibits Blm-mediated unwinding of telomeric DNA substrates. Consistent with a similar inhibitory activity in vivo, over-expression of Trf2 induces telomere shortening, just like deletion of blm, which is required for efficient telomere replication. While the loss of Trf2 engenders growth arrest and multiple telomere aberrations, these defects are fully suppressed by the concurrent deletion of blm or mre11 (but not other DNA repair factors). Over-expression of Blm alone triggers aberrant telomere recombination and the accumulation of aberrant telomere structures, which are blocked by concurrent Trf2 over-expression. Together, these findings highlight the suppression of Blm as a key protective mechanism of Trf2. Notably, U. maydis harbors another double-strand telomere-binding protein (Tay1), which promotes Blm activity to ensure efficient replication. We found that deletion of tay1 partially suppresses the telomere aberration of Trf2-depleted cells. Our results thus point to opposing regulation of Blm helicase by telomere proteins as a strategy for optimizing both telomere maintenance and protection. We also show that aberrant transcription of both telomere G- and C-strand is a recurrent phenotype of telomere mutants, underscoring another potential similarity between double strand breaks and de-protected telomeres.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shahrez Syed
- Department of Microbiology & Immunology, W. R. Hearst Microbiology Research Center, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, New York, United States of America
| | - Sarah Aloe
- Department of Microbiology & Immunology, W. R. Hearst Microbiology Research Center, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, New York, United States of America
| | - Jeanette H Sutherland
- Department of Microbiology & Immunology, W. R. Hearst Microbiology Research Center, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, New York, United States of America
| | - William K Holloman
- Department of Microbiology & Immunology, W. R. Hearst Microbiology Research Center, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, New York, United States of America
| | - Neal F Lue
- Department of Microbiology & Immunology, W. R. Hearst Microbiology Research Center, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, New York, United States of America
- Sandra and Edward Meyer Cancer Center, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, New York, United States of America
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Khayat F, Alshmery M, Pal M, Oliver A, Bianchi A. Binding of the TRF2 iDDR motif to RAD50 highlights a convergent evolutionary strategy to inactivate MRN at telomeres. Nucleic Acids Res 2024; 52:7704-7719. [PMID: 38884214 PMCID: PMC11260466 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkae509] [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: 04/04/2023] [Revised: 05/07/2024] [Accepted: 06/07/2024] [Indexed: 06/18/2024] Open
Abstract
Telomeres protect chromosome ends from unscheduled DNA repair, including from the MRN (MRE11, RAD50, NBS1) complex, which processes double-stranded DNA breaks (DSBs) via activation of the ATM kinase, promotes DNA end-tethering aiding the non-homologous end-joining (NHEJ) pathway, and initiates DSB resection through the MRE11 nuclease. A protein motif (MIN, for MRN inhibitor) inhibits MRN at budding yeast telomeres by binding to RAD50 and evolved at least twice, in unrelated telomeric proteins Rif2 and Taz1. We identify the iDDR motif of human shelterin protein TRF2 as a third example of convergent evolution for this telomeric mechanism for binding MRN, despite the iDDR lacking sequence homology to the MIN motif. CtIP is required for activation of MRE11 nuclease action, and we provide evidence for binding of a short C-terminal region of CtIP to a RAD50 interface that partly overlaps with the iDDR binding site, indicating that the interaction is mutually exclusive. In addition, we show that the iDDR impairs the DNA binding activity of RAD50. These results highlight direct inhibition of MRN action as a crucial role of telomeric proteins across organisms and point to multiple mechanisms enforced by the iDDR to disable the many activities of the MRN complex.
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Affiliation(s)
- Freddy Khayat
- Genome Damage and Stability Centre, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK
| | - Majedh Alshmery
- Genome Damage and Stability Centre, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK
- Department of Life Sciences, Hafr Al Batin University, Saudi Arabia
| | - Mohinder Pal
- Genome Damage and Stability Centre, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK
- School of Biosciences, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK
| | - Antony W Oliver
- Genome Damage and Stability Centre, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK
| | - Alessandro Bianchi
- Genome Damage and Stability Centre, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK
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Torres DE, Reckard AT, Klocko AD, Seidl MF. Nuclear genome organization in fungi: from gene folding to Rabl chromosomes. FEMS Microbiol Rev 2023; 47:fuad021. [PMID: 37197899 PMCID: PMC10246852 DOI: 10.1093/femsre/fuad021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/14/2023] [Revised: 04/28/2023] [Accepted: 05/08/2023] [Indexed: 05/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Comparative genomics has recently provided unprecedented insights into the biology and evolution of the fungal lineage. In the postgenomics era, a major research interest focuses now on detailing the functions of fungal genomes, i.e. how genomic information manifests into complex phenotypes. Emerging evidence across diverse eukaryotes has revealed that the organization of DNA within the nucleus is critically important. Here, we discuss the current knowledge on the fungal genome organization, from the association of chromosomes within the nucleus to topological structures at individual genes and the genetic factors required for this hierarchical organization. Chromosome conformation capture followed by high-throughput sequencing (Hi-C) has elucidated how fungal genomes are globally organized in Rabl configuration, in which centromere or telomere bundles are associated with opposite faces of the nuclear envelope. Further, fungal genomes are regionally organized into topologically associated domain-like (TAD-like) chromatin structures. We discuss how chromatin organization impacts the proper function of DNA-templated processes across the fungal genome. Nevertheless, this view is limited to a few fungal taxa given the paucity of fungal Hi-C experiments. We advocate for exploring genome organization across diverse fungal lineages to ensure the future understanding of the impact of nuclear organization on fungal genome function.
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Affiliation(s)
- David E Torres
- Theoretical Biology and Bioinformatics, Department of Biology, Utrecht University, Padualaan 8, 3584 CH Utrecht, The Netherlands
- Laboratory of Phytopathology, Wageningen University and Research,Droevendaalsesteeg 4, 6708 PB Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Andrew T Reckard
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, 234 Centennial Hall, 1420 Austin Bluffs Pkwy, Colorado Springs, CO 80918 USA
| | - Andrew D Klocko
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, 234 Centennial Hall, 1420 Austin Bluffs Pkwy, Colorado Springs, CO 80918 USA
| | - Michael F Seidl
- Theoretical Biology and Bioinformatics, Department of Biology, Utrecht University, Padualaan 8, 3584 CH Utrecht, The Netherlands
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Liang J, Li Y, Dodds PN, Figueroa M, Sperschneider J, Han S, Tsui CKM, Zhang K, Li L, Ma Z, Cai L. Haplotype-phased and chromosome-level genome assembly of Puccinia polysora, a giga-scale fungal pathogen causing southern corn rust. Mol Ecol Resour 2023; 23:601-620. [PMID: 36403246 DOI: 10.1111/1755-0998.13739] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2022] [Revised: 11/16/2022] [Accepted: 11/17/2022] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Rust fungi are characterized by large genomes with high repeat content and have two haploid nuclei in most life stages, which makes achieving high-quality genome assemblies challenging. Here, we described a pipeline using HiFi reads and Hi-C data to assemble a gigabase-sized fungal pathogen, Puccinia polysora f.sp. zeae, to haplotype-phased and chromosome-scale. The final assembled genome is 1.71 Gbp, with ~850 Mbp and 18 chromosomes in each haplotype, being currently one of the two giga-scale fungi assembled to chromosome level. Transcript-based annotation identified 47,512 genes for the dikaryotic genome with a similar number for each haplotype. A high level of interhaplotype variation was found with 10% haplotype-specific BUSCO genes, 5.8 SNPs/kbp, and structural variation accounting for 3% of the genome size. The P. polysora genome displayed over 85% repeat contents, with genome-size expansion and copy number increasing of species-specific orthogroups. Interestingly, these features did not affect overall synteny with other Puccinia species having smaller genomes. Fine-time-point transcriptomics revealed seven clusters of coexpressed secreted proteins that are conserved between two haplotypes. The fact that candidate effectors interspersed with all genes indicated the absence of a "two-speed genome" evolution in P. polysora. Genome resequencing of 79 additional isolates revealed a clonal population structure of P. polysora in China with low geographic differentiation. Nevertheless, a minor population differentiated from the major population by having mutations on secreted proteins including AvrRppC, indicating the ongoing virulence to evade recognition by RppC, a major resistance gene in Chinese corn cultivars. The high-quality assembly provides valuable genomic resources for future studies on disease management and the evolution of P. polysora.
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Affiliation(s)
- Junmin Liang
- State Key Laboratory of Mycology, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Yuanjie Li
- State Key Laboratory of Mycology, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.,College of Life Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Peter N Dodds
- Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization, Agriculture and Food, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
| | - Melania Figueroa
- Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization, Agriculture and Food, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
| | - Jana Sperschneider
- Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization, Agriculture and Food, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
| | - Shiling Han
- State Key Laboratory of Mycology, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.,College of Life Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Clement K M Tsui
- Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.,National Centre for Infectious Diseases, Tan Tock Seng Hospital, Singapore City, Singapore.,LKC School of Medicine, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore City, Singapore
| | - Keyu Zhang
- Department of Plant Pathology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China
| | - Leifu Li
- Department of Plant Pathology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China
| | - Zhanhong Ma
- Department of Plant Pathology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China
| | - Lei Cai
- State Key Laboratory of Mycology, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.,College of Life Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
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Li B, Zhao Y. Regulation of Antigenic Variation by Trypanosoma brucei Telomere Proteins Depends on Their Unique DNA Binding Activities. Pathogens 2021; 10:pathogens10080967. [PMID: 34451431 PMCID: PMC8402208 DOI: 10.3390/pathogens10080967] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2021] [Revised: 07/22/2021] [Accepted: 07/27/2021] [Indexed: 01/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Trypanosoma brucei causes human African trypanosomiasis and regularly switches its major surface antigen, Variant Surface Glycoprotein (VSG), to evade the host immune response. Such antigenic variation is a key pathogenesis mechanism that enables T. brucei to establish long-term infections. VSG is expressed exclusively from subtelomere loci in a strictly monoallelic manner, and DNA recombination is an important VSG switching pathway. The integrity of telomere and subtelomere structure, maintained by multiple telomere proteins, is essential for T. brucei viability and for regulating the monoallelic VSG expression and VSG switching. Here we will focus on T. brucei TRF and RAP1, two telomere proteins with unique nucleic acid binding activities, and summarize their functions in telomere integrity and stability, VSG switching, and monoallelic VSG expression. Targeting the unique features of TbTRF and TbRAP1′s nucleic acid binding activities to perturb the integrity of telomere structure and disrupt VSG monoallelic expression may serve as potential therapeutic strategy against T. brucei.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bibo Li
- Center for Gene Regulation in Health and Disease, Department of Biological, Geological, and Environmental Sciences, College of Sciences and Health Professions, Cleveland State University, 2121 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44115, USA
- Case Comprehensive Cancer Center, Case Western Reserve University, 10900 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA
- Department of Inflammation and Immunity, Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland Clinic, 9500 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44195, USA
- Center for RNA Science and Therapeutics, Case Western Reserve University, 10900 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA
- Correspondence: (B.L.); (Y.Z.)
| | - Yanxiang Zhao
- Shenzhen Research Institute, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Shenzhen, China
- State Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology and Drug Discovery, Department of Applied Biology and Chemical Technology, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Hong Kong, China
- Correspondence: (B.L.); (Y.Z.)
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