The association of the RSC remodeler complex with chromatin is influenced by the prefoldin-like Bud27 and determines nucleosome positioning and polyadenylation sites usage in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Maf1 phosphorylation is regulated through the action of prefoldin-like Bud27 on PP4 phosphatase in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Bud27 is a prefoldin-like protein that participates in transcriptional regulation mediated by the three RNA polymerases in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Lack of Bud27 significantly affects RNA pol III transcription, although the involved mechanisms have not been characterized. Here, we show that Bud27 regulates the phosphorylation state of the RNA pol III transcriptional repressor, Maf1, influences its nuclear localization, and likely its activity. We demonstrate that Bud27 is associated with the Maf1 main phosphatase PP4 in vivo, and that this interaction is required for proper Maf1 dephosphorylation. Lack of Bud27 decreases the interaction among PP4 and Maf1, Maf1 dephosphorylation, and its nuclear entry. Our data uncover a new nuclear function of Bud27, identify PP4 as a novel Bud27 interactor and demonstrate the effect of this prefoldin-like protein on the posttranslational regulation of Maf1. Finally, our data reveal a broader effect of Bud27 on PP4 activity by influencing, at least, the phosphorylation of Rad53.

The prefoldin-like protein AtURI exhibits characteristics of intrinsically disordered proteins

The prefoldin-like protein UNCONVENTIONAL PREFOLDIN RPB5 INTERACTOR (URI) participates in diverse cellular functions, including protein homeostasis, transcription, translation, and signal transduction. Thus, URI is a highly versatile protein, although the molecular basis of this versatility remains unknown. In this work, we show that Arabidopsis thaliana (Arabidopsis) URI (AtURI) possesses a large intrinsically disordered region (IDR) spanning most of the C-terminal part of the protein, a feature conserved in yeast and human orthologs. Our findings reveal two key characteristics of disordered proteins in AtURI: promiscuity in interacting with partners and protein instability. We propose that these two features contribute to providing AtURI with functional versatility.