1
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Sahu RK, Dhakshnamoorthy J, Jain S, Folco HD, Wheeler D, Grewal SIS. Nucleosome remodeler exclusion by histone deacetylation enforces heterochromatic silencing and epigenetic inheritance. Mol Cell 2024; 84:3175-3191.e8. [PMID: 39096900 DOI: 10.1016/j.molcel.2024.07.006] [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: 06/06/2024] [Revised: 07/03/2024] [Accepted: 07/09/2024] [Indexed: 08/05/2024]
Abstract
Heterochromatin enforces transcriptional gene silencing and can be epigenetically inherited, but the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Here, we show that histone deacetylation, a conserved feature of heterochromatin domains, blocks SWI/SNF subfamily remodelers involved in chromatin unraveling, thereby stabilizing modified nucleosomes that preserve gene silencing. Histone hyperacetylation, resulting from either the loss of histone deacetylase (HDAC) activity or the direct targeting of a histone acetyltransferase to heterochromatin, permits remodeler access, leading to silencing defects. The requirement for HDAC in heterochromatin silencing can be bypassed by impeding SWI/SNF activity. Highlighting the crucial role of remodelers, merely targeting SWI/SNF to heterochromatin, even in cells with functional HDAC, increases nucleosome turnover, causing defective gene silencing and compromised epigenetic inheritance. This study elucidates a fundamental mechanism whereby histone hypoacetylation, maintained by high HDAC levels in heterochromatic regions, ensures stable gene silencing and epigenetic inheritance, providing insights into genome regulatory mechanisms relevant to human diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rakesh Kumar Sahu
- Laboratory of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Jothy Dhakshnamoorthy
- Laboratory of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Shweta Jain
- Laboratory of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Hernan Diego Folco
- Laboratory of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - David Wheeler
- Laboratory of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Shiv I S Grewal
- Laboratory of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.
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2
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Alexanian AR. Epigenetic inheritance of acquired traits via stem cells dedifferentiation/differentiation or transdifferentiation cycles. Cells Dev 2024; 179:203928. [PMID: 38768658 DOI: 10.1016/j.cdev.2024.203928] [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: 03/06/2024] [Revised: 04/20/2024] [Accepted: 05/17/2024] [Indexed: 05/22/2024]
Abstract
Inheritance of acquired characteristics is the once widely accepted idea that multiple modifications acquired by an organism during its life, can be inherited by the offspring. This belief is at least as old as Hippocrates and became popular in early 19th century, leading Lamarck to suggest his theory of evolution. Charles Darwin, along with other thinkers of the time attempted to explain the mechanism of acquired traits' inheritance by proposing the theory of pangenesis. While later this and similar theories were rejected because of the lack of hard evidence, the studies aimed at revealing the mechanism by which somatic information can be passed to germ cells have continued up to the present. In this paper, we present a new theory and provide supporting literature to explain this phenomenon. We hypothesize existence of pluripotent adult stem cells that can serve as collectors and carriers of new epigenetic traits by entering different developmentally active organ/tissue compartments through blood circulation and acquiring new epigenetic marks though cycles of differentiation/dedifferentiation or transdifferentiation. During gametogenesis, these epigenetically modified cells are attracted by gonads, transdifferentiate into germ cells, and pass the acquired epigenetic modifications collected from the entire body's somatic cells to the offspring.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arshak R Alexanian
- Cell Reprogramming & Therapeutics LLC, Wauwatosa (Milwaukee County), WI 53226, USA.
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3
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Abreu CI, Mathur S, Petrov DA. Environmental memory alters the fitness effects of adaptive mutations in fluctuating environments. Nat Ecol Evol 2024; 8:1760-1775. [PMID: 39020024 DOI: 10.1038/s41559-024-02475-9] [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: 09/22/2023] [Accepted: 06/11/2024] [Indexed: 07/19/2024]
Abstract
Evolution in a static laboratory environment often proceeds via large-effect beneficial mutations that may become maladaptive in other environments. Conversely, natural settings require populations to endure environmental fluctuations. A sensible assumption is that the fitness of a lineage in a fluctuating environment is the time average of its fitness over the sequence of static conditions it encounters. However, transitions between conditions may pose entirely new challenges, which could cause deviations from this time average. To test this, we tracked hundreds of thousands of barcoded yeast lineages evolving in static and fluctuating conditions and subsequently isolated 900 mutants for pooled fitness assays in 15 environments. Here we find that fitness in fluctuating environments indeed often deviates from the time average, leading to fitness non-additivity. Moreover, closer examination reveals that fitness in one component of a fluctuating environment is often strongly influenced by the previous component. We show that this environmental memory is especially common for mutants with high variance in fitness across tested environments. We use a simple mathematical model and whole-genome sequencing to propose mechanisms underlying this effect, including lag time evolution and sensing mutations. Our results show that environmental fluctuations impact fitness and suggest that variance in static environments can explain these impacts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Clare I Abreu
- Department of Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.
| | - Shaili Mathur
- Department of Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Dmitri A Petrov
- Department of Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.
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4
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Larkin A, Kunze C, Seman M, Levashkevich A, Curran J, Morris-Evans D, Lemieux S, Khalil AS, Ragunathan K. Mapping the dynamics of epigenetic adaptation in S. pombe during heterochromatin misregulation. Dev Cell 2024; 59:2222-2238.e4. [PMID: 39094565 PMCID: PMC11338711 DOI: 10.1016/j.devcel.2024.07.006] [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: 07/21/2023] [Revised: 04/04/2024] [Accepted: 07/09/2024] [Indexed: 08/04/2024]
Abstract
Epigenetic mechanisms enable cells to develop novel adaptive phenotypes without altering their genetic blueprint. Recent studies show histone modifications, such as heterochromatin-defining H3K9 methylation (H3K9me), can be redistributed to establish adaptive phenotypes. We developed a precision-engineered genetic approach to trigger heterochromatin misregulation on-demand in fission yeast. This enabled us to trace genome-scale RNA and H3K9me changes over time in long-term, continuous cultures. Adaptive H3K9me establishes over remarkably slow timescales relative to the initiating stress. We captured dynamic H3K9me redistribution events which depend on an RNA binding complex MTREC, ultimately leading to cells converging on an optimal adaptive solution. Upon stress removal, cells relax to new transcriptional and chromatin states, establishing memory that is tunable and primed for future adaptive epigenetic responses. Collectively, we identify the slow kinetics of epigenetic adaptation that allow cells to discover and heritably encode novel adaptive solutions, with implications for drug resistance and response to infection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ajay Larkin
- Department of Biology, Brandeis University, Waltham, MA 02453, USA
| | - Colin Kunze
- Biological Design Center, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, USA; Department of Biomedical Engineering, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, USA
| | - Melissa Seman
- Department of Biology, Brandeis University, Waltham, MA 02453, USA
| | | | - Justin Curran
- Department of Biology, Brandeis University, Waltham, MA 02453, USA
| | | | - Sophia Lemieux
- Department of Biology, Brandeis University, Waltham, MA 02453, USA
| | - Ahmad S Khalil
- Biological Design Center, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, USA; Department of Biomedical Engineering, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, USA; Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, Harvard University, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
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5
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da Fonseca DM, Rodrigues L, Sousa-Baptista J, Marcos-Tejedor F, Mota M, Cunha RA, Fernandes C, Gonçalves T. Caffeine Protects Keratinocytes from Trichophyton mentagrophytes Infection and Behaves as an Antidermatophytic Agent. Int J Mol Sci 2024; 25:8303. [PMID: 39125871 PMCID: PMC11311904 DOI: 10.3390/ijms25158303] [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: 06/22/2024] [Revised: 07/21/2024] [Accepted: 07/25/2024] [Indexed: 08/12/2024] Open
Abstract
Caffeine affords several beneficial effects on human health, acting as an antioxidant, anti-inflammatory agent, and analgesic. Caffeine is widely used in cosmetics, but its antimicrobial activity has been scarcely explored, namely against skin infection agents. Dermatophytes are the most common fungal agents of human infection, mainly of skin infections. This work describes the in vitro effect of caffeine during keratinocyte infection by Trichophyton mentagrophytes, one of the most common dermatophytes. The results show that caffeine was endowed with antidermatophytic activity with a MIC, determined following the EUCAST standards, of 8 mM. Caffeine triggered a modification of the levels of two major components of the fungal cell wall, β-(1,3)-glucan and chitin. Caffeine also disturbed the ultrastructure of the fungal cells, particularly the cell wall surface and mitochondria, and autophagic-like structures were observed. During dermatophyte-human keratinocyte interactions, caffeine prevented the loss of viability of keratinocytes and delayed spore germination. Overall, this indicates that caffeine can act as a therapeutic and prophylactic agent for dermatophytosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Diogo M. da Fonseca
- FMUC—Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra, Rua Larga, 3004-504 Coimbra, Portugal; (D.M.d.F.); (J.S.-B.); (M.M.); (R.A.C.)
- CNC-UC—Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology of Coimbra, University of Coimbra, 3004-504 Coimbra, Portugal; (L.R.); (C.F.)
- CIBB—Centre for Innovative Biomedicine and Biotechnology, University of Coimbra, 3004-504 Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Lisa Rodrigues
- CNC-UC—Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology of Coimbra, University of Coimbra, 3004-504 Coimbra, Portugal; (L.R.); (C.F.)
- CIBB—Centre for Innovative Biomedicine and Biotechnology, University of Coimbra, 3004-504 Coimbra, Portugal
| | - José Sousa-Baptista
- FMUC—Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra, Rua Larga, 3004-504 Coimbra, Portugal; (D.M.d.F.); (J.S.-B.); (M.M.); (R.A.C.)
- CNC-UC—Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology of Coimbra, University of Coimbra, 3004-504 Coimbra, Portugal; (L.R.); (C.F.)
- CIBB—Centre for Innovative Biomedicine and Biotechnology, University of Coimbra, 3004-504 Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Félix Marcos-Tejedor
- Department of Medical Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Castilla-La Mancha, 45600 Talavera de la Reina, Toledo, Spain;
| | - Marta Mota
- FMUC—Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra, Rua Larga, 3004-504 Coimbra, Portugal; (D.M.d.F.); (J.S.-B.); (M.M.); (R.A.C.)
- CNC-UC—Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology of Coimbra, University of Coimbra, 3004-504 Coimbra, Portugal; (L.R.); (C.F.)
- CIBB—Centre for Innovative Biomedicine and Biotechnology, University of Coimbra, 3004-504 Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Rodrigo A. Cunha
- FMUC—Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra, Rua Larga, 3004-504 Coimbra, Portugal; (D.M.d.F.); (J.S.-B.); (M.M.); (R.A.C.)
- CNC-UC—Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology of Coimbra, University of Coimbra, 3004-504 Coimbra, Portugal; (L.R.); (C.F.)
- CIBB—Centre for Innovative Biomedicine and Biotechnology, University of Coimbra, 3004-504 Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Chantal Fernandes
- CNC-UC—Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology of Coimbra, University of Coimbra, 3004-504 Coimbra, Portugal; (L.R.); (C.F.)
- CIBB—Centre for Innovative Biomedicine and Biotechnology, University of Coimbra, 3004-504 Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Teresa Gonçalves
- FMUC—Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra, Rua Larga, 3004-504 Coimbra, Portugal; (D.M.d.F.); (J.S.-B.); (M.M.); (R.A.C.)
- CNC-UC—Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology of Coimbra, University of Coimbra, 3004-504 Coimbra, Portugal; (L.R.); (C.F.)
- CIBB—Centre for Innovative Biomedicine and Biotechnology, University of Coimbra, 3004-504 Coimbra, Portugal
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6
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Ames A, Seman M, Larkin A, Raiymbek G, Chen Z, Levashkevich A, Kim B, Biteen JS, Ragunathan K. Epigenetic memory is governed by an effector recruitment specificity toggle in Heterochromatin Protein 1. Nat Commun 2024; 15:6276. [PMID: 39054315 PMCID: PMC11272775 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-50538-z] [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: 11/28/2023] [Accepted: 07/10/2024] [Indexed: 07/27/2024] Open
Abstract
HP1 proteins are essential for establishing and maintaining transcriptionally silent heterochromatin. They dimerize, forming a binding interface to recruit diverse chromatin-associated factors. Although HP1 proteins are known to rapidly evolve, the extent of variation required to achieve functional specialization is unknown. To investigate how changes in amino acid sequence impacts heterochromatin formation, we performed a targeted mutagenesis screen of the S. pombe HP1 homolog, Swi6. Substitutions within an auxiliary surface adjacent to the HP1 dimerization interface produce Swi6 variants with divergent maintenance properties. Remarkably, substitutions at a single amino acid position lead to the persistent gain or loss of epigenetic inheritance. These substitutions increase Swi6 chromatin occupancy in vivo and altered Swi6-protein interactions that reprogram H3K9me maintenance. We show how relatively minor changes in Swi6 amino acid composition in an auxiliary surface can lead to profound changes in epigenetic inheritance providing a redundant mechanism to evolve HP1-effector specificity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amanda Ames
- Department of Biology, Brandeis University, Waltham, MA, 02453, USA
| | - Melissa Seman
- Department of Biology, Brandeis University, Waltham, MA, 02453, USA
| | - Ajay Larkin
- Department of Biology, Brandeis University, Waltham, MA, 02453, USA
| | - Gulzhan Raiymbek
- Department of Biological Chemistry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA
| | - Ziyuan Chen
- Department of Biophysics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 48104, USA
| | | | - Bokyung Kim
- Department of Biochemistry, Brandeis University, Waltham, MA, 02453, USA
| | - Julie Suzanne Biteen
- Department of Biophysics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 48104, USA
- Department of Chemistry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 48104, USA
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7
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Boulanger C, Haidara N, Yague-Sanz C, Larochelle M, Jacques PÉ, Hermand D, Bachand F. Repression of pervasive antisense transcription is the primary role of fission yeast RNA polymerase II CTD serine 2 phosphorylation. Nucleic Acids Res 2024; 52:7572-7589. [PMID: 38801067 PMCID: PMC11260464 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkae436] [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: 03/23/2024] [Revised: 05/03/2024] [Accepted: 05/09/2024] [Indexed: 05/29/2024] Open
Abstract
The RNA polymerase II carboxy-terminal domain (CTD) consists of conserved heptapeptide repeats that can be phosphorylated to influence distinct stages of the transcription cycle, including RNA processing. Although CTD-associated proteins have been identified, phospho-dependent CTD interactions have remained elusive. Proximity-dependent biotinylation (PDB) has recently emerged as an alternative approach to identify protein-protein associations in the native cellular environment. In this study, we present a PDB-based map of the fission yeast RNAPII CTD interactome in living cells and identify phospho-dependent CTD interactions by using a mutant in which Ser2 was replaced by alanine in every repeat of the fission yeast CTD. This approach revealed that CTD Ser2 phosphorylation is critical for the association between RNAPII and the histone methyltransferase Set2 during transcription elongation, but is not required for 3' end processing and transcription termination. Accordingly, loss of CTD Ser2 phosphorylation causes a global increase in antisense transcription, correlating with elevated histone acetylation in gene bodies. Our findings reveal that the fundamental role of CTD Ser2 phosphorylation is to establish a chromatin-based repressive state that prevents cryptic intragenic transcription initiation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cédric Boulanger
- RNA Group, Dept of Biochemistry & Functional Genomics, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Québec J1E 4K8, Canada
| | - Nouhou Haidara
- RNA Group, Dept of Biochemistry & Functional Genomics, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Québec J1E 4K8, Canada
| | - Carlo Yague-Sanz
- URPHYM-GEMO, The University of Namur, rue de Bruxelles, 61, Namur 5000, Belgium
| | - Marc Larochelle
- RNA Group, Dept of Biochemistry & Functional Genomics, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Québec J1E 4K8, Canada
| | | | - Damien Hermand
- URPHYM-GEMO, The University of Namur, rue de Bruxelles, 61, Namur 5000, Belgium
- The Francis Crick Institute, 1 Midland Road London NW1 1AT, UK
| | - Francois Bachand
- RNA Group, Dept of Biochemistry & Functional Genomics, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Québec J1E 4K8, Canada
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8
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Komera I, Chen X, Liu L, Gao C. Microbial Synthetic Epigenetic Tools Design and Applications. ACS Synth Biol 2024; 13:1621-1632. [PMID: 38758631 DOI: 10.1021/acssynbio.4c00125] [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] [Indexed: 05/19/2024]
Abstract
Microbial synthetic epigenetics offers significant opportunities for the design of synthetic biology tools by leveraging reversible gene control mechanisms without altering DNA sequences. However, limited understanding and a lack of technologies for thorough analysis of the mechanisms behind epigenetic modifications have hampered their utilization in biotechnological applications. In this review, we explore advancements in developing epigenetic-based synthetic gene regulatory tools at both transcriptional and post-transcriptional levels. Furthermore, we examine strategies developed to construct epigenetic-based circuits that provide controllable and stable gene regulation, aiming to boost the performance of microbial chassis cells. Finally, we discuss the current challenges and perspectives in the development of synthetic epigenetic tools.
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Affiliation(s)
- Irene Komera
- School of Biotechnology and Key Laboratory of Industrial Biotechnology of Ministry of Education, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China
| | - Xiulai Chen
- School of Biotechnology and Key Laboratory of Industrial Biotechnology of Ministry of Education, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China
| | - Liming Liu
- School of Biotechnology and Key Laboratory of Industrial Biotechnology of Ministry of Education, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China
| | - Cong Gao
- School of Biotechnology and Key Laboratory of Industrial Biotechnology of Ministry of Education, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China
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9
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Hoenigl M, Arastehfar A, Arendrup MC, Brüggemann R, Carvalho A, Chiller T, Chen S, Egger M, Feys S, Gangneux JP, Gold JAW, Groll AH, Heylen J, Jenks JD, Krause R, Lagrou K, Lamoth F, Prattes J, Sedik S, Wauters J, Wiederhold NP, Thompson GR. Novel antifungals and treatment approaches to tackle resistance and improve outcomes of invasive fungal disease. Clin Microbiol Rev 2024; 37:e0007423. [PMID: 38602408 PMCID: PMC11237431 DOI: 10.1128/cmr.00074-23] [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] [Indexed: 04/12/2024] Open
Abstract
SUMMARYFungal infections are on the rise, driven by a growing population at risk and climate change. Currently available antifungals include only five classes, and their utility and efficacy in antifungal treatment are limited by one or more of innate or acquired resistance in some fungi, poor penetration into "sequestered" sites, and agent-specific side effect which require frequent patient reassessment and monitoring. Agents with novel mechanisms, favorable pharmacokinetic (PK) profiles including good oral bioavailability, and fungicidal mechanism(s) are urgently needed. Here, we provide a comprehensive review of novel antifungal agents, with both improved known mechanisms of actions and new antifungal classes, currently in clinical development for treating invasive yeast, mold (filamentous fungi), Pneumocystis jirovecii infections, and dimorphic fungi (endemic mycoses). We further focus on inhaled antifungals and the role of immunotherapy in tackling fungal infections, and the specific PK/pharmacodynamic profiles, tissue distributions as well as drug-drug interactions of novel antifungals. Finally, we review antifungal resistance mechanisms, the role of use of antifungal pesticides in agriculture as drivers of drug resistance, and detail detection methods for antifungal resistance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martin Hoenigl
- Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, ECMM Excellence Center for Medical Mycology, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria
- BiotechMed-Graz, Graz, Austria
| | - Amir Arastehfar
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
- Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Maiken Cavling Arendrup
- Unit of Mycology, Statens Serum Institut, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Department of Clinical Microbiology, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Roger Brüggemann
- Department of Pharmacy and Radboudumc Institute for Medical Innovation, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
- Radboudumc-CWZ Center of Expertise in Mycology, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Agostinho Carvalho
- Life and Health Sciences Research Institute (ICVS), School of Medicine, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal
- ICVS/3B’s - PT Government Associate Laboratory, Braga/Guimarães, Portugal
| | - Tom Chiller
- Mycotic Diseases Branch, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
| | - Sharon Chen
- Centre for Infectious Diseases and Microbiology Laboratory Services, Institute of Clinical Pathology and Medical Research, NSW South Wales Health Pathology, Westmead Hospital, Westmead, Australia
- The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia
| | - Matthias Egger
- Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, ECMM Excellence Center for Medical Mycology, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria
| | - Simon Feys
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Transplantation, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
- Medical Intensive Care Unit, University Hospitals Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Jean-Pierre Gangneux
- Centre National de Référence des Mycoses et Antifongiques LA-AspC Aspergilloses chroniques, European Excellence Center for Medical Mycology (ECMM EC), Centre hospitalier Universitaire de Rennes, Rennes, France
- Univ Rennes, CHU Rennes, Inserm, EHESP, Irset (Institut de recherche en santé, environnement et travail) UMR_S 1085, Rennes, France
| | - Jeremy A. W. Gold
- Mycotic Diseases Branch, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
| | - Andreas H. Groll
- Department of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology and Infectious Disease Research Program, Center for Bone Marrow Transplantation, University Children’s Hospital, Muenster, Germany
| | - Jannes Heylen
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Transplantation, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
- Medical Intensive Care Unit, University Hospitals Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Jeffrey D. Jenks
- Department of Public Health, Durham County, Durham, North Carolina, USA
- Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, USA
| | - Robert Krause
- Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, ECMM Excellence Center for Medical Mycology, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria
- BiotechMed-Graz, Graz, Austria
| | - Katrien Lagrou
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Transplantation, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
- Department of Laboratory Medicine and National Reference Center for Mycosis, University Hospitals Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Frédéric Lamoth
- Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, Institute of Microbiology, Lausanne University Hospital and University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
- Department of Medicine, Infectious Diseases Service, Lausanne University Hospital and University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Juergen Prattes
- Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, ECMM Excellence Center for Medical Mycology, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria
- BiotechMed-Graz, Graz, Austria
| | - Sarah Sedik
- Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, ECMM Excellence Center for Medical Mycology, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria
| | - Joost Wauters
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Transplantation, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
- Medical Intensive Care Unit, University Hospitals Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Nathan P. Wiederhold
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas, USA
| | - George R. Thompson
- Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases University of California-Davis Medical Center, Sacramento, California, USA
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, University of California-Davis, Davis, California, USA
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10
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Chen JJ, Moy C, Pagé V, Monnin C, El-Hajj ZW, Avizonis DZ, Reyes-Lamothe R, Tanny JC. The Rtf1/Prf1-dependent histone modification axis counteracts multi-drug resistance in fission yeast. Life Sci Alliance 2024; 7:e202302494. [PMID: 38514187 PMCID: PMC10958104 DOI: 10.26508/lsa.202302494] [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: 11/26/2023] [Revised: 03/05/2024] [Accepted: 03/06/2024] [Indexed: 03/23/2024] Open
Abstract
RNA polymerase II transcription elongation directs an intricate pattern of histone modifications. This pattern includes a regulatory cascade initiated by the elongation factor Rtf1, leading to monoubiquitylation of histone H2B, and subsequent methylation of histone H3 on lysine 4. Previous studies have defined the molecular basis for these regulatory relationships, but it remains unclear how they regulate gene expression. To address this question, we investigated a drug resistance phenotype that characterizes defects in this axis in the model eukaryote Schizosaccharomyces pombe (fission yeast). The mutations caused resistance to the ribonucleotide reductase inhibitor hydroxyurea (HU) that correlated with a reduced effect of HU on dNTP pools, reduced requirement for the S-phase checkpoint, and blunting of the transcriptional response to HU treatment. Mutations in the C-terminal repeat domain of the RNA polymerase II large subunit Rpb1 led to similar phenotypes. Moreover, all the HU-resistant mutants also exhibited resistance to several azole-class antifungal agents. Our results suggest a novel, shared gene regulatory function of the Rtf1-H2Bub1-H3K4me axis and the Rpb1 C-terminal repeat domain in controlling fungal drug tolerance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer J Chen
- https://ror.org/01pxwe438 Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
| | - Calvin Moy
- https://ror.org/01pxwe438 Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
| | - Viviane Pagé
- https://ror.org/01pxwe438 Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
| | - Cian Monnin
- https://ror.org/01pxwe438 Metabolomics Innovation Resource, Goodman Cancer Institute, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
| | - Ziad W El-Hajj
- https://ror.org/01pxwe438 Department of Biology, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
| | - Daina Z Avizonis
- https://ror.org/01pxwe438 Metabolomics Innovation Resource, Goodman Cancer Institute, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
| | - Rodrigo Reyes-Lamothe
- https://ror.org/01pxwe438 Department of Biology, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
| | - Jason C Tanny
- https://ror.org/01pxwe438 Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
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11
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Villalba de la Peña M, Kronholm I. Antimicrobial resistance in the wild: Insights from epigenetics. Evol Appl 2024; 17:e13707. [PMID: 38817397 PMCID: PMC11134192 DOI: 10.1111/eva.13707] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/01/2023] [Revised: 03/04/2024] [Accepted: 04/26/2024] [Indexed: 06/01/2024] Open
Abstract
Spreading of bacterial and fungal strains that are resistant to antimicrobials poses a serious threat to the well-being of humans, animals, and plants. Antimicrobial resistance has been mainly investigated in clinical settings. However, throughout their evolutionary history microorganisms in the wild have encountered antimicrobial substances, forcing them to evolve strategies to combat antimicrobial action. It is well known that many of these strategies are based on genetic mechanisms, but these do not fully explain important aspects of the antimicrobial response such as the rapid development of resistance, reversible phenotypes, and hetero-resistance. Consequently, attention has turned toward epigenetic pathways that may offer additional insights into antimicrobial mechanisms. The aim of this review is to explore the epigenetic mechanisms that confer antimicrobial resistance, focusing on those that might be relevant for resistance in the wild. First, we examine the presence of antimicrobials in natural settings. Then we describe the documented epigenetic mechanisms in bacteria and fungi associated with antimicrobial resistance and discuss innovative epigenetic editing techniques to establish causality in this context. Finally, we discuss the relevance of these epigenetic mechanisms on the evolutionary dynamics of antimicrobial resistance in the wild, emphasizing the critical role of priming in the adaptation process. We underscore the necessity of incorporating non-genetic mechanisms into our understanding of antimicrobial resistance evolution. These mechanisms offer invaluable insights into the dynamics of antimicrobial adaptation within natural ecosystems.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Ilkka Kronholm
- Department of Biological and Environmental ScienceUniversity of JyväskyläJyväskyläFinland
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12
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Ames A, Seman M, Larkin A, Raiymbek G, Chen Z, Levashkevich A, Kim B, Biteen JS, Ragunathan K. Epigenetic memory is governed by an effector recruitment specificity toggle in Heterochromatin Protein 1. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2023.11.28.569027. [PMID: 38077059 PMCID: PMC10705379 DOI: 10.1101/2023.11.28.569027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2023]
Abstract
HP1 proteins are essential for establishing and maintaining transcriptionally silent heterochromatin. They dimerize, forming a binding interface to recruit diverse chromatin-associated factors. HP1 proteins are specialized and rapidly evolve, but the extent of variation required to achieve functional specialization is unknown. To investigate how changes in amino acid sequence impacts epigenetic inheritance, we performed a targeted mutagenesis screen of the S. pombe HP1 homolog, Swi6. Substitutions within an auxiliary surface adjacent to the HP1 dimerization interface produced Swi6 variants with divergent maintenance properties. Remarkably, substitutions at a single amino acid position led to the persistent gain or loss of epigenetic inheritance. These substitutions increased Swi6 chromatin occupancy in vivo and altered Swi6-protein interactions that reprogram H3K9me maintenance. We show that relatively minor changes in Swi6 amino acid composition can lead to profound changes in epigenetic inheritance which provides a redundant mechanism to evolve novel effector specificity. .
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13
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Argaw-Denboba A, Schmidt TSB, Di Giacomo M, Ranjan B, Devendran S, Mastrorilli E, Lloyd CT, Pugliese D, Paribeni V, Dabin J, Pisaniello A, Espinola S, Crevenna A, Ghosh S, Humphreys N, Boruc O, Sarkies P, Zimmermann M, Bork P, Hackett JA. Paternal microbiome perturbations impact offspring fitness. Nature 2024; 629:652-659. [PMID: 38693261 PMCID: PMC11096121 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-024-07336-w] [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: 06/08/2021] [Accepted: 03/20/2024] [Indexed: 05/03/2024]
Abstract
The gut microbiota operates at the interface of host-environment interactions to influence human homoeostasis and metabolic networks1-4. Environmental factors that unbalance gut microbial ecosystems can therefore shape physiological and disease-associated responses across somatic tissues5-9. However, the systemic impact of the gut microbiome on the germline-and consequently on the F1 offspring it gives rise to-is unexplored10. Here we show that the gut microbiota act as a key interface between paternal preconception environment and intergenerational health in mice. Perturbations to the gut microbiota of prospective fathers increase the probability of their offspring presenting with low birth weight, severe growth restriction and premature mortality. Transmission of disease risk occurs via the germline and is provoked by pervasive gut microbiome perturbations, including non-absorbable antibiotics or osmotic laxatives, but is rescued by restoring the paternal microbiota before conception. This effect is linked with a dynamic response to induced dysbiosis in the male reproductive system, including impaired leptin signalling, altered testicular metabolite profiles and remapped small RNA payloads in sperm. As a result, dysbiotic fathers trigger an elevated risk of in utero placental insufficiency, revealing a placental origin of mammalian intergenerational effects. Our study defines a regulatory 'gut-germline axis' in males, which is sensitive to environmental exposures and programmes offspring fitness through impacting placenta function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ayele Argaw-Denboba
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), Epigenetics & Neurobiology Unit, Rome, Italy
| | - Thomas S B Schmidt
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), Structural & Computational Biology Unit, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Monica Di Giacomo
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), Epigenetics & Neurobiology Unit, Rome, Italy
| | - Bobby Ranjan
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), Epigenetics & Neurobiology Unit, Rome, Italy
| | - Saravanan Devendran
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), Structural & Computational Biology Unit, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Eleonora Mastrorilli
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), Structural & Computational Biology Unit, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Catrin T Lloyd
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), Epigenetics & Neurobiology Unit, Rome, Italy
| | - Danilo Pugliese
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), Epigenetics & Neurobiology Unit, Rome, Italy
| | - Violetta Paribeni
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), Epigenetics & Neurobiology Unit, Rome, Italy
| | - Juliette Dabin
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), Epigenetics & Neurobiology Unit, Rome, Italy
| | - Alessandra Pisaniello
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), Epigenetics & Neurobiology Unit, Rome, Italy
| | - Sergio Espinola
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), Epigenetics & Neurobiology Unit, Rome, Italy
| | - Alvaro Crevenna
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), Epigenetics & Neurobiology Unit, Rome, Italy
| | - Subhanita Ghosh
- MRC London Institute for Medical Science (LMS), London, UK
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Neil Humphreys
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), Epigenetics & Neurobiology Unit, Rome, Italy
| | - Olga Boruc
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), Epigenetics & Neurobiology Unit, Rome, Italy
| | - Peter Sarkies
- MRC London Institute for Medical Science (LMS), London, UK
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Michael Zimmermann
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), Structural & Computational Biology Unit, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Peer Bork
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), Structural & Computational Biology Unit, Heidelberg, Germany
- Department of Bioinformatics, Biozentrum, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
- Yonsei Frontier Lab (YFL), Yonsei University, Seoul, South Korea
| | - Jamie A Hackett
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), Epigenetics & Neurobiology Unit, Rome, Italy.
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14
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Larkin A, Kunze C, Seman M, Levashkevich A, Curran J, Morris-Evans D, Lemieux S, Khalil AS, Ragunathan K. Mapping the dynamics of epigenetic adaptation during heterochromatin misregulation. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2023.07.10.548368. [PMID: 37503217 PMCID: PMC10369875 DOI: 10.1101/2023.07.10.548368] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/29/2023]
Abstract
A classical and well-established mechanism that enables cells to adapt to new and adverse conditions is the acquisition of beneficial genetic mutations. Much less is known about epigenetic mechanisms that allow cells to develop novel and adaptive phenotypes without altering their genetic blueprint. It has been recently proposed that histone modifications, such as heterochromatin-defining H3K9 methylation (H3K9me), normally reserved to maintain genome integrity, can be redistributed across the genome to establish new and potentially adaptive phenotypes. To uncover the dynamics of this process, we developed a precision engineered genetic approach to trigger H3K9me redistribution on-demand in fission yeast. This enabled us to trace genome-scale RNA and chromatin changes over time prior to and during adaptation in long-term continuous cultures. Establishing adaptive H3K9me occurs over remarkably slow time-scales relative to the initiating stress. During this time, we captured dynamic H3K9me redistribution events ultimately leading to cells converging on an optimal adaptive solution. Upon removal of stress, cells relax to new transcriptional and chromatin states rather than revert to their initial (ground) state, establishing a tunable memory for a future adaptive epigenetic response. Collectively, our tools uncover the slow kinetics of epigenetic adaptation that allow cells to search for and heritably encode adaptive solutions, with implications for drug resistance and response to infection.
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15
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Yang F, Berman J. Beyond resistance: antifungal heteroresistance and antifungal tolerance in fungal pathogens. Curr Opin Microbiol 2024; 78:102439. [PMID: 38401284 PMCID: PMC7616270 DOI: 10.1016/j.mib.2024.102439] [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: 07/01/2023] [Revised: 09/18/2023] [Accepted: 02/05/2024] [Indexed: 02/26/2024]
Abstract
Fungal infections are increasing globally, causing alarmingly high mortality and economic burden. In addition to antifungal resistance, other more subtle drug responses appear to increase the likelihood of treatment failures. These responses include heteroresistance and tolerance, terms that are more well-defined for antibacterial drugs, but are also evident in pathogenic fungi. Here, we compare these antifungal responses with similarly named antibacterial responses, and we review recent advances in how we understand the routes by which antifungal heteroresistance and tolerance emerge.
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Affiliation(s)
- Feng Yang
- Department of Pharmacy, Shanghai Tenth People's Hospital, School of Medicine, Tongji University, Shanghai, China
| | - Judith Berman
- Shmunis School of Biomedical and Cancer Research, The George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel.
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16
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Wei Z, Shu D, Hou X, Li T, Li Z, Luo D, Yang J, Tan H. Normal distribution of H3K9me3 occupancy co-mediated by histone methyltransferase BcDIM5 and histone deacetylase BcHda1 maintains stable ABA synthesis in Botrytis cinerea TB-31. Front Microbiol 2024; 15:1339576. [PMID: 38500582 PMCID: PMC10944950 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2024.1339576] [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: 11/21/2023] [Accepted: 02/02/2024] [Indexed: 03/20/2024] Open
Abstract
Abscisic acid (ABA) is a conserved and important "sesquiterpene signaling molecule" widely distributed in different organisms with unique biological functions. ABA coordinates reciprocity and competition between microorganisms and their hosts. In addition, ABA also regulates immune and stress responses in plants and animals. Therefore, ABA has a wide range of applications in agriculture, medicine and related fields. The plant pathogenic ascomycete B. cinerea has been extensively studied as a model strain for ABA production. Nevertheless, there is a relative dearth of research regarding the regulatory mechanism governing ABA biosynthesis in B. cinerea. Here, we discovered that H3K9 methyltransferase BcDIM5 is physically associated with the H3K14 deacetylase BcHda1. Deletion of Bcdim5 and Bchda1 in the high ABA-producing B. cinerea TB-31 led to severe impairment of ABA synthesis. The combined analysis of RNA-seq and ChIP-seq has revealed that the absence of BcDIM5 and BcHda1 has resulted in significant global deficiencies in the normal distribution and level of H3K9me3 modification. In addition, we found that the cause of the decreased ABA production in the ΔBcdim5 and ΔBchda1 mutants was due to cluster gene repression caused by the emergence of hyper-H3K9me3 in the ABA gene cluster. We concluded that the ABA gene cluster is co-regulated by BcDIM5 and BcHda1, which are essential for the normal distribution of the B. cinerea TB-31 ABA gene cluster H3K9me3. This work expands our understanding of the complex regulatory network of ABA biosynthesis and provides a theoretical basis for genetic improvement of high-yielding ABA strains.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhao Wei
- CAS Key Laboratory of Environmental and Applied Microbiology, Environmental Microbiology Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu, China
- University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Dan Shu
- CAS Key Laboratory of Environmental and Applied Microbiology, Environmental Microbiology Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu, China
| | - Xiaonan Hou
- CAS Key Laboratory of Environmental and Applied Microbiology, Environmental Microbiology Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu, China
- University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Tianfu Li
- CAS Key Laboratory of Environmental and Applied Microbiology, Environmental Microbiology Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu, China
- University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Zhemin Li
- CAS Key Laboratory of Environmental and Applied Microbiology, Environmental Microbiology Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu, China
| | - Di Luo
- CAS Key Laboratory of Environmental and Applied Microbiology, Environmental Microbiology Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu, China
| | - Jie Yang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Environmental and Applied Microbiology, Environmental Microbiology Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu, China
| | - Hong Tan
- CAS Key Laboratory of Environmental and Applied Microbiology, Environmental Microbiology Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu, China
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17
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Ayano T, Yokosawa T, Oki M. GTP-dependent regulation of heterochromatin fluctuations at subtelomeric regions in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Genes Cells 2024; 29:217-230. [PMID: 38229233 PMCID: PMC11447825 DOI: 10.1111/gtc.13094] [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: 10/13/2023] [Revised: 12/13/2023] [Accepted: 12/22/2023] [Indexed: 01/18/2024]
Abstract
In eukaryotes, single cells in a population display different transcriptional profiles. One of the factors regulating this heterogeneity is the chromatin state in each cell. However, the mechanisms of epigenetic chromatin regulation of specific chromosomal regions remain unclear. Therefore, we used single-cell tracking system to analyze IMD2. IMD2 is located at the subtelomeric region of budding yeast, and its expression is epigenetically regulated by heterochromatin fluctuations. Treatment with mycophenolic acid, an inhibitor of de novo GTP biosynthesis, triggered a decrease in GTP, which caused heterochromatin fluctuations at the IMD2 locus. Interestingly, within individually tracked cells, IMD2 expression state underwent repeated switches even though IMD2 is positioned within the heterochromatin region. We also found that 30% of the cells in a population always expressed IMD2. Furthermore, the addition of nicotinamide, a histone deacetylase inhibitor, or guanine, the GTP biosynthesis factor in salvage pathway of GTP biosynthesis, regulated heterogeneity, resulting in IMD2 expression being uniformly induced or suppressed in the population. These results suggest that gene expression heterogeneity in the IMD2 region is regulated by changes in chromatin structure triggered by slight decreases in GTP.
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Affiliation(s)
- Takahito Ayano
- Department of Applied Chemistry and Biotechnology, Graduate School of Engineering, University of Fukui, Fukui, Japan
- Research Fellowships of Japan Society for the Promotion of Science for Young Scientists (JSPS), Tokyo, Japan
| | - Takuma Yokosawa
- Department of Applied Chemistry and Biotechnology, Graduate School of Engineering, University of Fukui, Fukui, Japan
| | - Masaya Oki
- Department of Applied Chemistry and Biotechnology, Graduate School of Engineering, University of Fukui, Fukui, Japan
- Life Science Innovation Center, University of Fukui, Fukui, Japan
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18
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Yuan AH, Moazed D. Minimal requirements for the epigenetic inheritance of engineered silent chromatin domains. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2024; 121:e2318455121. [PMID: 38198529 PMCID: PMC10801849 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2318455121] [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: 10/22/2023] [Accepted: 12/06/2023] [Indexed: 01/12/2024] Open
Abstract
Mechanisms enabling genetically identical cells to differentially regulate gene expression are complex and central to organismal development and evolution. While gene silencing pathways involving DNA sequence-specific recruitment of histone-modifying enzymes are prevalent in nature, examples of sequence-independent heritable gene silencing are scarce. Studies of the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe indicate that sequence-independent propagation of heterochromatin can occur but requires numerous multisubunit protein complexes and their diverse activities. Such complexity has so far precluded a coherent articulation of the minimal requirements for heritable gene silencing by conventional in vitro reconstitution approaches. Here, we take an unconventional approach to defining these requirements by engineering sequence-independent silent chromatin inheritance in budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells. The mechanism conferring memory upon these cells is remarkably simple and requires only two proteins, one that recognizes histone H3 lysine 9 methylation (H3K9me) and catalyzes the deacetylation of histone H4 lysine 16 (H4K16), and another that recognizes deacetylated H4K16 and catalyzes H3K9me. Together, these bilingual "read-write" proteins form an interdependent positive feedback loop that is sufficient for the transmission of DNA sequence-independent silent information over multiple generations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andy H. Yuan
- HHMI, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA02115
- Department of Cell Biology, Blavatnik Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA02115
| | - Danesh Moazed
- HHMI, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA02115
- Department of Cell Biology, Blavatnik Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA02115
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19
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Sun B, Zhou R, Zhu G, Xie X, Chai A, Li L, Fan T, Zhang S, Li B, Shi Y. The mechanisms of target and non-target resistance to QoIs in Corynespora Cassiicola. PESTICIDE BIOCHEMISTRY AND PHYSIOLOGY 2024; 198:105760. [PMID: 38225067 DOI: 10.1016/j.pestbp.2023.105760] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2023] [Revised: 12/21/2023] [Accepted: 12/22/2023] [Indexed: 01/17/2024]
Abstract
Corynespora leaf spot, caused by Corynespora cassiicola, is a foliar disease in cucumber. While the application of quinone outside inhibitors (QoIs) is an effective measure for disease control, it carries the risk of resistance development. In our monitoring of trifloxystrobin resistance from 2008 to 2020, C. cassiicola isolates were categorized into three populations: sensitive isolates (S, 0.01 < EC50 < 0.83 μg/mL), moderately resistant isolates (MR, 1.18 < EC50 < 55.67 μg/mL), and highly resistant isolates (HR, EC50 > 56.98 μg/mL). The resistance frequency reached up to 90% during this period, with an increasing trend observed in the annual average EC50 values of all the isolates. Analysis of the CcCytb gene revealed that both MR and HR populations carried the G143A mutation. Additionally, we identified mitochondrial heterogeneity, with three isolates carrying both G143 and A143 in MR and HR populations. Interestingly, isolates with the G143A mutation (G143A-MR and G143A-HR) displayed differential sensitivity to QoIs. Further experiments involving gene knockout and complementation demonstrated that the major facilitator superfamily (MFS) transporter (CcMfs1) may contribute to the disparity in sensitivity to QoIs between the G143A-MR and G143A-HR populations. However, the difference in sensitivity caused by the CcMfs1 transporter is significantly lower than the differences observed between the two populations. This suggests additional mechanisms contributing to the variation in resistance levels among C. cassiicola isolates. Our study highlights the alarming level of trifloxystrobin resistance in C. cassiicola in China, emphasizing the need for strict prohibition of QoIs use. Furthermore, our findings shed light on the occurrence of both target and non-target resistance mechanisms associated with QoIs in C. cassiicola.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bingxue Sun
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetable Biobreeding, Institute of Vegetables and Flowers, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100086, China
| | - Rongjia Zhou
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetable Biobreeding, Institute of Vegetables and Flowers, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100086, China
| | - Guangxue Zhu
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetable Biobreeding, Institute of Vegetables and Flowers, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100086, China
| | - Xuewen Xie
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetable Biobreeding, Institute of Vegetables and Flowers, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100086, China
| | - Ali Chai
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetable Biobreeding, Institute of Vegetables and Flowers, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100086, China
| | - Lei Li
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetable Biobreeding, Institute of Vegetables and Flowers, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100086, China
| | - Tengfei Fan
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetable Biobreeding, Institute of Vegetables and Flowers, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100086, China
| | - Shengping Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetable Biobreeding, Institute of Vegetables and Flowers, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100086, China
| | - Baoju Li
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetable Biobreeding, Institute of Vegetables and Flowers, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100086, China.
| | - Yanxia Shi
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetable Biobreeding, Institute of Vegetables and Flowers, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100086, China.
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20
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Zhang J, Chen Y, Wang S, Liu Y, Li L, Gao M. Role of histone H3K4 methyltransferase in regulating Monascus pigments production by red light-coupled magnetic field. Photochem Photobiol 2024; 100:75-86. [PMID: 37032633 DOI: 10.1111/php.13809] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2023] [Revised: 04/05/2023] [Accepted: 04/05/2023] [Indexed: 04/11/2023]
Abstract
Light, magnetic field, and methylation affected the growth and secondary metabolism of fungi. The regulation effect of the three factors on the growth and Monascus pigments (MPs) synthesis of Monascus purpureus was investigated in this study. 5-azacytidine (5-AzaC), DNA methylation inhibitor, was used to treat M. purpureus (wild-type, WT). Twenty micromolar 5-AzaC significantly promoted the growth, development, and MPs yield. Moreover, 250 lux red light and red light coupled magnetic field (RLCMF) significantly promoted the biomass. For WT, red light, and RLCMF significantly promoted MPs yield. But compared with red light treatment, only 0.2 mT RLCMF promoted the alcohol-soluble MPs yield. For histone H3K4 methyltransferase complex subunit Ash2 gene knockout strain (ΔAsh2), only 0.2 mT RLCMF significantly promoted water-soluble MPs yield. Yet red light, 1.0 and 0.2 mT RLCMF significantly promoted alcohol-soluble MPs yield. This indicated that methylation affected the MPs biosynthesis. Red light and weaker MF had a synergistic effect on the growth and MPs synthesis of ΔAsh2. This result was further confirmed by the expression of related genes. Therefore, histone H3K4 methyltransferase was involved in the regulation of the growth, development, and MPs synthesis of M. purpureus by the RLCMF.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jialan Zhang
- College of Animal Science, Yangtze University, Jingzhou, China
| | - Yufeng Chen
- College of Life Science, Yangtze University, Jingzhou, China
| | - Shaojin Wang
- College of Life Science, Yangtze University, Jingzhou, China
- College of Mechanical and Electronic Engineering, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, China
| | - Yingbao Liu
- College of Life Science, Yangtze University, Jingzhou, China
| | - Li Li
- College of Life Science, Yangtze University, Jingzhou, China
- Institute of Food Science and Technology, Yangtze University, Jingzhou, China
| | - Mengxiang Gao
- College of Life Science, Yangtze University, Jingzhou, China
- Institute of Food Science and Technology, Yangtze University, Jingzhou, China
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21
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Sarkies P. Evolution beyond DNA: epigenetic drivers for evolutionary change? BMC Biol 2023; 21:272. [PMID: 38155359 PMCID: PMC10755928 DOI: 10.1186/s12915-023-01770-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/17/2023] [Accepted: 11/17/2023] [Indexed: 12/30/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Peter Sarkies
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford, OX13QU, UK.
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22
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Lee H, Kim S, Lee D. The versatility of the proteasome in gene expression and silencing: Unraveling proteolytic and non-proteolytic functions. BIOCHIMICA ET BIOPHYSICA ACTA. GENE REGULATORY MECHANISMS 2023; 1866:194978. [PMID: 37633648 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbagrm.2023.194978] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/19/2023] [Revised: 08/02/2023] [Accepted: 08/21/2023] [Indexed: 08/28/2023]
Abstract
The 26S proteasome consists of a 20S core particle and a 19S regulatory particle and critically regulates gene expression and silencing through both proteolytic and non-proteolytic functions. The 20S core particle mediates proteolysis, while the 19S regulatory particle performs non-proteolytic functions. The proteasome plays a role in regulating gene expression in euchromatin by modifying histones, activating transcription, initiating and terminating transcription, mRNA export, and maintaining transcriptome integrity. In gene silencing, the proteasome modulates the heterochromatin formation, spreading, and subtelomere silencing by degrading specific proteins and interacting with anti-silencing factors such as Epe1, Mst2, and Leo1. This review discusses the proteolytic and non-proteolytic functions of the proteasome in regulating gene expression and gene silencing-related heterochromatin formation. This article is part of a special issue on the regulation of gene expression and genome integrity by the ubiquitin-proteasome system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hyesu Lee
- Department of Biological Sciences, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon 34141, South Korea
| | - Sungwook Kim
- Department of Biological Sciences, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon 34141, South Korea
| | - Daeyoup Lee
- Department of Biological Sciences, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon 34141, South Korea.
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23
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Webster AK, Willis JH, Johnson E, Sarkies P, Phillips PC. Epigenetic context predicts gene expression variation and reproductive traits across genetically identical individuals. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.10.13.562270. [PMID: 37873136 PMCID: PMC10592811 DOI: 10.1101/2023.10.13.562270] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2023]
Abstract
In recent decades, genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have been the major approach to understand the biological basis of individual differences in traits and diseases. However, GWAS approaches have proven to have limited predictive power to explain individual differences, particularly for complex traits and diseases in which environmental factors play a substantial role in their etiology. Indeed, individual differences persist even in genetically identical individuals, although fully separating genetic and environmental causation is difficult or impossible in most organisms. To understand the basis of individual differences in the absence of genetic differences, we measured two quantitative reproductive traits in 180 genetically identical young adult Caenorhabditis elegans roundworms in a shared environment and performed single-individual transcriptomics on each worm. We identified hundreds of genes for which expression variation was strongly associated with reproductive traits, some of which depended on prior environmental experience and some of which was random. Multiple small sets of genes together were highly predictive of reproductive traits across individuals, explaining on average over half and over a quarter of variation in the two traits. We manipulated mRNA levels of predictive genes using RNA interference to identify a set of causal genes, demonstrating the utility of this approach for both prediction and understanding underlying biology. Finally, we found that the chromatin environment of predictive genes was enriched for H3K27 trimethylation, suggesting that individual gene expression differences underlying critical traits may be driven in part by chromatin structure. Together, this work shows that individual differences in gene expression that arise independently of underlying genetic differences are both predictive and causal in shaping reproductive traits at levels that equal or exceed genetic variation.
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Maimaiti A, Turhon M, Abulaiti A, Dilixiati Y, Zhang F, Axieer A, Kadeer K, Zhang Y, Maimaitili A, Yang X. DNA methylation regulator-mediated modification patterns and risk of intracranial aneurysm: a multi-omics and epigenome-wide association study integrating machine learning, Mendelian randomization, eQTL and mQTL data. J Transl Med 2023; 21:660. [PMID: 37742034 PMCID: PMC10518114 DOI: 10.1186/s12967-023-04512-w] [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: 05/08/2023] [Accepted: 09/08/2023] [Indexed: 09/25/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Intracranial aneurysms (IAs) pose a significant and intricate challenge. Elucidating the interplay between DNA methylation and IA pathogenesis is paramount to identify potential biomarkers and therapeutic interventions. METHODS We employed a comprehensive bioinformatics investigation of DNA methylation in IA, utilizing a transcriptomics-based methodology that encompassed 100 machine learning algorithms, genome-wide association studies (GWAS), Mendelian randomization (MR), and summary-data-based Mendelian randomization (SMR). Our sophisticated analytical strategy allowed for a systematic assessment of differentially methylated genes and their implications on the onset, progression, and rupture of IA. RESULTS We identified DNA methylation-related genes (MRGs) and associated molecular pathways, and the MR and SMR analyses provided evidence for potential causal links between the observed DNA methylation events and IA predisposition. CONCLUSION These insights not only augment our understanding of the molecular underpinnings of IA but also underscore potential novel biomarkers and therapeutic avenues. Although our study faces inherent limitations and hurdles, it represents a groundbreaking initiative in deciphering the intricate relationship between genetic, epigenetic, and environmental factors implicated in IA pathogenesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aierpati Maimaiti
- Department of Neurosurgery, Xinjiang Medical University Affiliated First Hospital, Urumqi, Xinjiang, 830017, People's Republic of China
| | - Mirzat Turhon
- Department of Interventional Neuroradiology, Beijing Neurosurgical Institute, Capital Medical University, 100070, Beijing, People's Republic of China
- Department of Interventional Neuroradiology, Beijing TianTan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, People's Republic of China
| | - Aimitaji Abulaiti
- Xinjiang Medical University, Urumqi, Xinjiang, People's Republic of China
| | | | - Fujunhui Zhang
- Department of Interventional Neuroradiology, Beijing Neurosurgical Institute, Capital Medical University, 100070, Beijing, People's Republic of China
- Department of Interventional Neuroradiology, Beijing TianTan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, People's Republic of China
| | - Aximujiang Axieer
- Department of Neurosurgery, Xinjiang Medical University Affiliated First Hospital, Urumqi, Xinjiang, 830017, People's Republic of China
| | - Kaheerman Kadeer
- Department of Neurosurgery, Xinjiang Medical University Affiliated First Hospital, Urumqi, Xinjiang, 830017, People's Republic of China
| | - Yisen Zhang
- Department of Interventional Neuroradiology, Beijing Neurosurgical Institute, Capital Medical University, 100070, Beijing, People's Republic of China.
- Department of Interventional Neuroradiology, Beijing TianTan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, People's Republic of China.
| | - Aisha Maimaitili
- Department of Neurosurgery, Xinjiang Medical University Affiliated First Hospital, Urumqi, Xinjiang, 830017, People's Republic of China.
| | - Xinjian Yang
- Department of Interventional Neuroradiology, Beijing Neurosurgical Institute, Capital Medical University, 100070, Beijing, People's Republic of China.
- Department of Interventional Neuroradiology, Beijing TianTan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, People's Republic of China.
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Sharma C, Kadosh D. Post-transcriptional control of antifungal resistance in human fungal pathogens. Crit Rev Microbiol 2023; 49:469-484. [PMID: 35634915 PMCID: PMC9766424 DOI: 10.1080/1040841x.2022.2080527] [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: 01/12/2022] [Revised: 05/10/2022] [Accepted: 05/17/2022] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
Global estimates suggest that over 300 million individuals of all ages are affected by serious fungal infections every year, culminating in about 1.7 million deaths. The societal and economic burden on the public health sector due to opportunistic fungal pathogens is quite significant, especially among immunocompromised patients. Despite the high clinical significance of these infectious agents, treatment options are limited with only three major classes of antifungal drugs approved for use. Clinical management of fungal diseases is further compromised by the emergence of antifungal resistant strains. Transcriptional and genetic mechanisms that control drug resistance in human fungal pathogens are well-studied and include drug target alteration, upregulation of drug efflux pumps as well as changes in drug affinity and abundance of target proteins. In this review, we highlight several recently discovered novel post-transcriptional mechanisms that control antifungal resistance, which involve regulation at the translational, post-translational, epigenetic, and mRNA stability levels. The discovery of many of these novel mechanisms has opened new avenues for the development of more effective antifungal treatment strategies and new insights, perspectives, and future directions that will facilitate this process are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cheshta Sharma
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Molecular Genetics University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX
| | - David Kadosh
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Molecular Genetics University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX
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26
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Liu ZW, Liu J, Liu F, Zhong X. Depositing centromere repeats induces heritable intragenic heterochromatin establishment and spreading in Arabidopsis. Nucleic Acids Res 2023; 51:6039-6054. [PMID: 37094065 PMCID: PMC10325890 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkad306] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2022] [Revised: 04/10/2023] [Accepted: 04/19/2023] [Indexed: 04/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Stable transmission of non-DNA-sequence-based epigenetic information contributes to heritable phenotypic variants and thus to biological diversity. While studies on spontaneous natural epigenome variants have revealed an association of epialleles with a wide range of biological traits in both plants and animals, the function, transmission mechanism, and stability of an epiallele over generations in a locus-specific manner remain poorly investigated. Here, we invented a DNA sequence deposition strategy to generate a locus-specific epiallele by depositing CEN180 satellite repeats into a euchromatic target locus in Arabidopsis. Using CRISPR/Cas9-mediated knock-in system, we demonstrated that depositing CEN180 repeats can induce heterochromatin nucleation accompanied by DNA methylation, H3K9me2, and changes in the nucleosome occupancy at the insertion sites. Interestingly, both DNA methylation and H3K9me2 are restricted within the depositing sites and depletion of an H3K9me2 demethylase IBM1 enables the outward heterochromatin propagation into the neighboring regions, leading to inheritable target gene silencing to persist for at least five generations. Together, these results demonstrate the promise of employing a cis-engineering system for the creation of stable and site-specific epialleles and provide important insights into functional epigenome studies and locus-specific transgenerational epigenetic inheritance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhang-Wei Liu
- Department of Biology, Washington University in St Louis, St Louis, MO 63130, USA
- Wisconsin Institute for Discovery & Laboratory of Genetics, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA
| | - Jie Liu
- Department of Biology, Washington University in St Louis, St Louis, MO 63130, USA
- Wisconsin Institute for Discovery & Laboratory of Genetics, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA
| | - Fengquan Liu
- Institute of Plant Protection, Jiangsu Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210014, China
| | - Xuehua Zhong
- Department of Biology, Washington University in St Louis, St Louis, MO 63130, USA
- Wisconsin Institute for Discovery & Laboratory of Genetics, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA
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Danner C, Mach RL, Mach-Aigner AR. The phenomenon of strain degeneration in biotechnologically relevant fungi. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 2023:10.1007/s00253-023-12615-z. [PMID: 37341752 DOI: 10.1007/s00253-023-12615-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/19/2023] [Revised: 05/26/2023] [Accepted: 05/31/2023] [Indexed: 06/22/2023]
Abstract
Fungi are widely exploited for large-scale production in the biotechnological industry to produce a diverse range of substances due to their versatility and relative ease of growing on various substrates. The occurrence of a phenomenon-the so-called fungal strain degeneration-leads to the spontaneous loss or decline of production capacity and results in an economic loss on a tremendous scale. Some of the most commonly applied genera of fungi in the biotechnical industry, such as Aspergillus, Trichoderma, and Penicillium, are threatened by this phenomenon. Although fungal degeneration has been known for almost a century, the phenomenon and its underlying mechanisms still need to be understood. The proposed mechanisms causing fungi to degenerate can be of genetic or epigenetic origin. Other factors, such as culture conditions, stress, or aging, were also reported to have an influence. This mini-review addresses the topic of fungal degeneration by describing examples of productivity losses in biotechnical processes using Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus oryzae, Trichoderma reesei, and Penicillium chrysogenum. Further, potential reasons, circumvention, and prevention methods are discussed. This is the first mini-review which provides a comprehensive overview on this phenomenon in biotechnologically used fungi, and it also includes a collection of strategies that can be useful to minimize economic losses which can arise from strain degeneration. KEY POINTS: • Spontaneous loss of productivity is evident in many fungi used in biotechnology. • The properties and mechanisms underlying this phenomenon are very versatile. • Only studying these underlying mechanisms enables the design of a tailored solution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Caroline Danner
- Christian Doppler Laboratory for Optimized Expression of Carbohydrate-Active Enzymes, Institute of Chemical, Environmental and Bioscience Engineering, TU Wien, Gumpendorfer Str. 1a, 1060, Vienna, Austria
| | - Robert L Mach
- Institute of Chemical, Environmental and Bioscience Engineering, TU Wien, Gumpendorfer Str. 1a, 1060, Vienna, Austria
| | - Astrid R Mach-Aigner
- Christian Doppler Laboratory for Optimized Expression of Carbohydrate-Active Enzymes, Institute of Chemical, Environmental and Bioscience Engineering, TU Wien, Gumpendorfer Str. 1a, 1060, Vienna, Austria.
- Institute of Chemical, Environmental and Bioscience Engineering, TU Wien, Gumpendorfer Str. 1a, 1060, Vienna, Austria.
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28
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Grewal SIS. The molecular basis of heterochromatin assembly and epigenetic inheritance. Mol Cell 2023; 83:1767-1785. [PMID: 37207657 PMCID: PMC10309086 DOI: 10.1016/j.molcel.2023.04.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 49.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/26/2022] [Revised: 04/10/2023] [Accepted: 04/20/2023] [Indexed: 05/21/2023]
Abstract
Heterochromatin plays a fundamental role in gene regulation, genome integrity, and silencing of repetitive DNA elements. Histone modifications are essential for the establishment of heterochromatin domains, which is initiated by the recruitment of histone-modifying enzymes to nucleation sites. This leads to the deposition of histone H3 lysine-9 methylation (H3K9me), which provides the foundation for building high-concentration territories of heterochromatin proteins and the spread of heterochromatin across extended domains. Moreover, heterochromatin can be epigenetically inherited during cell division in a self-templating manner. This involves a "read-write" mechanism where pre-existing modified histones, such as tri-methylated H3K9 (H3K9me3), support chromatin association of the histone methyltransferase to promote further deposition of H3K9me. Recent studies suggest that a critical density of H3K9me3 and its associated factors is necessary for the propagation of heterochromatin domains across multiple generations. In this review, I discuss the key experiments that have highlighted the importance of modified histones for epigenetic inheritance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shiv I S Grewal
- Laboratory of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.
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29
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Sato G, Kuroda K. Overcoming the Limitations of CRISPR-Cas9 Systems in Saccharomyces cerevisiae: Off-Target Effects, Epigenome, and Mitochondrial Editing. Microorganisms 2023; 11:microorganisms11041040. [PMID: 37110464 PMCID: PMC10145089 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms11041040] [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: 02/02/2023] [Revised: 04/12/2023] [Accepted: 04/13/2023] [Indexed: 04/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Modification of the genome of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae has great potential for application in biological research and biotechnological advancements, and the CRISPR-Cas9 system has been increasingly employed for these purposes. The CRISPR-Cas9 system enables the precise and simultaneous modification of any genomic region of the yeast to a desired sequence by altering only a 20-nucleotide sequence within the guide RNA expression constructs. However, the conventional CRISPR-Cas9 system has several limitations. In this review, we describe the methods that were developed to overcome these limitations using yeast cells. We focus on three types of developments: reducing the frequency of unintended editing to both non-target and target sequences in the genome, inducing desired changes in the epigenetic state of the target region, and challenging the expansion of the CRISPR-Cas9 system to edit genomes within intracellular organelles such as mitochondria. These developments using yeast cells to overcome the limitations of the CRISPR-Cas9 system are a key factor driving the advancement of the field of genome editing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Genki Sato
- Division of Applied Life Sciences, Graduate School of Agriculture, Kyoto University, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8502, Japan
| | - Kouichi Kuroda
- Division of Applied Life Sciences, Graduate School of Agriculture, Kyoto University, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8502, Japan
- Department of Molecular Chemistry and Engineering, Kyoto Institute of Technology, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8585, Japan
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30
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Sabarís G, Fitz‐James MH, Cavalli G. Epigenetic inheritance in adaptive evolution. Ann N Y Acad Sci 2023. [DOI: 10.1111/nyas.14992] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/03/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Gonzalo Sabarís
- Institute of Human Genetics, CNRS Montpellier France
- University of Montpellier Montpellier France
| | - Maximilian H. Fitz‐James
- Institute of Human Genetics, CNRS Montpellier France
- University of Montpellier Montpellier France
| | - Giacomo Cavalli
- Institute of Human Genetics, CNRS Montpellier France
- University of Montpellier Montpellier France
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31
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Arcangioli B, Gangloff S. The Fission Yeast Mating-Type Switching Motto: "One-for-Two" and "Two-for-One". Microbiol Mol Biol Rev 2023; 87:e0000821. [PMID: 36629411 PMCID: PMC10029342 DOI: 10.1128/mmbr.00008-21] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Schizosaccharomyces pombe is an ascomycete fungus that divides by medial fission; it is thus commonly referred to as fission yeast, as opposed to the distantly related budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The reproductive lifestyle of S. pombe relies on an efficient genetic sex determination system generating a 1:1 sex ratio and using alternating haploid/diploid phases in response to environmental conditions. In this review, we address how one haploid cell manages to generate two sister cells with opposite mating types, a prerequisite to conjugation and meiosis. This mating-type switching process depends on two highly efficient consecutive asymmetric cell divisions that rely on DNA replication, repair, and recombination as well as the structure and components of heterochromatin. We pay special attention to the intimate interplay between the genetic and epigenetic partners involved in this process to underscore the importance of basic research and its profound implication for a better understanding of chromatin biology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benoît Arcangioli
- Genome Dynamics Unit, Genomes and Genetics Department, Pasteur Institute, Paris, France
| | - Serge Gangloff
- Genome Dynamics Unit, Genomes and Genetics Department, Pasteur Institute, Paris, France
- UMR3525, Genetics of Genomes, CNRS-Pasteur Institute, Paris, France
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32
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Wilson R, Le Bourgeois M, Perez M, Sarkies P. Fluctuations in chromatin state at regulatory loci occur spontaneously under relaxed selection and are associated with epigenetically inherited variation in C. elegans gene expression. PLoS Genet 2023; 19:e1010647. [PMID: 36862744 PMCID: PMC10013927 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1010647] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2022] [Revised: 03/14/2023] [Accepted: 02/01/2023] [Indexed: 03/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Some epigenetic information can be transmitted between generations without changes in the underlying DNA sequence. Changes in epigenetic regulators, termed epimutations, can occur spontaneously and be propagated in populations in a manner reminiscent of DNA mutations. Small RNA-based epimutations occur in C. elegans and persist for around 3-5 generations on average. Here, we explored whether chromatin states also undergo spontaneous change and whether this could be a potential alternative mechanism for transgenerational inheritance of gene expression changes. We compared the chromatin and gene expression profiles at matched time points from three independent lineages of C. elegans propagated at minimal population size. Spontaneous changes in chromatin occurred in around 1% of regulatory regions each generation. Some were heritable epimutations and were significantly enriched for heritable changes in expression of nearby protein-coding genes. Most chromatin-based epimutations were short-lived but a subset had longer duration. Genes subject to long-lived epimutations were enriched for multiple components of xenobiotic response pathways. This points to a possible role for epimutations in adaptation to environmental stressors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rachel Wilson
- MRC London Institute of Medical Sciences, London, United Kingdom.,Institute of Clinical Sciences, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom.,Department of Biochemistry, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | | | - Marcos Perez
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Peter Sarkies
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
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33
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Heterochromatin and RNAi act independently to ensure genome stability in Mucorales human fungal pathogens. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2023; 120:e2220475120. [PMID: 36745785 PMCID: PMC9963178 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2220475120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Chromatin modifications play a fundamental role in controlling transcription and genome stability and yet despite their importance, are poorly understood in early-diverging fungi. We present a comprehensive study of histone lysine and DNA methyltransferases across the Mucoromycota, emphasizing heterochromatin formation pathways that rely on the Clr4 complex involved in H3K9-methylation, the Polycomb-repressive complex 2 driving H3K27-methylation, or DNMT1-like methyltransferases that catalyze 5mC DNA methylation. Our analysis uncovered H3K9-methylated heterochromatin as the major chromatin modification repressing transcription in these fungi, which lack both Polycomb silencing and cytosine methylation. Although small RNAs generated by RNA interference (RNAi) pathways facilitate the formation of heterochromatin in many eukaryotic organisms, we show that RNAi is not required to maintain either genomic or centromeric heterochromatin in Mucor. H3K9-methylation and RNAi act independently to control centromeric regions, suggesting a functional subspecialization. Whereas the H3K9 methyltransferase Clr4 and heterochromatin formation are essential for cell viability, RNAi is dispensable for viability yet acts as the main epigenetic, regulatory force repressing transposition of centromeric GremLINE1 elements. Mutations inactivating canonical RNAi lead to rampant transposition and insertional inactivation of targets resulting in antimicrobial drug resistance. This fine-tuned, Rdrp2-dependent RNAi activity is critical for genome stability, restricting GremLINE1 retroelements to the centromeres where they occupy long heterochromatic islands. Taken together, our results suggest that RNAi and heterochromatin formation are independent genome defense and regulatory mechanisms in the Mucorales, contributing to a paradigm shift from the cotranscriptional gene silencing observed in fission yeasts to models in which heterochromatin and RNAi operate independently in early-diverging fungi.
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Comparative Research: Regulatory Mechanisms of Ribosomal Gene Transcription in Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Schizosaccharomyces pombe. Biomolecules 2023; 13:biom13020288. [PMID: 36830657 PMCID: PMC9952952 DOI: 10.3390/biom13020288] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/06/2023] [Revised: 01/31/2023] [Accepted: 02/01/2023] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Restricting ribosome biosynthesis and assembly in response to nutrient starvation is a universal phenomenon that enables cells to survive with limited intracellular resources. When cells experience starvation, nutrient signaling pathways, such as the target of rapamycin (TOR) and protein kinase A (PKA), become quiescent, leading to several transcription factors and histone modification enzymes cooperatively and rapidly repressing ribosomal genes. Fission yeast has factors for heterochromatin formation similar to mammalian cells, such as H3K9 methyltransferase and HP1 protein, which are absent in budding yeast. However, limited studies on heterochromatinization in ribosomal genes have been conducted on fission yeast. Herein, we shed light on and compare the regulatory mechanisms of ribosomal gene transcription in two species with the latest insights.
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Fukagawa T, Kakutani T. Transgenerational epigenetic control of constitutive heterochromatin, transposons, and centromeres. Curr Opin Genet Dev 2023; 78:102021. [PMID: 36716679 DOI: 10.1016/j.gde.2023.102021] [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: 10/12/2022] [Revised: 12/20/2022] [Accepted: 01/04/2023] [Indexed: 01/30/2023]
Abstract
Epigenetic mechanisms are important not only for development but also for genome stability and chromosome dynamics. The latter types of epigenetic controls can often be transgenerational. Here, we review recent progress in two examples of transgenerational epigenetic control: i) the control of constitutive heterochromatin and transposable elements and ii) epigenetic mechanisms that regulate centromere specification and functions. We also discuss the biological significance of enigmatic associations among centromeres, transposons, and constitutive heterochromatin.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tatsuo Fukagawa
- Graduate School of Frontier Biosciences, Osaka University, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan. https://twitter.com/tatsuofukagawa1
| | - Tetsuji Kakutani
- Department of Biological Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Hongo 7-3-1, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan.
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36
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Shan CM, Fang Y, Jia S. Leaving histone unturned for epigenetic inheritance. FEBS J 2023; 290:310-320. [PMID: 34726351 PMCID: PMC9058036 DOI: 10.1111/febs.16260] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/16/2021] [Revised: 10/09/2021] [Accepted: 11/01/2021] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Abstract
Post-translational modifications in histones play important roles in regulating chromatin structure and gene expression programs, and the modified histones can be passed on to subsequent generations as an epigenetic memory. The fission yeast has been a great model organism for studying histone modifications in heterochromatin assembly and epigenetic inheritance. Here, we review findings in this organism that cemented the idea of chromatin-based inheritance and highlight recent studies that reveal the role of histone turnover in regulating this process.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chun-Min Shan
- Department of Biological Sciences, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA
- Present address: State Key Laboratory of Plant Genomics, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China
| | - Yimeng Fang
- Department of Biological Sciences, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA
| | - Songtao Jia
- Department of Biological Sciences, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA
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37
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Epigenetic Changes in Saccharomyces cerevisiae Alters the Aromatic Profile in Alcoholic Fermentation. Appl Environ Microbiol 2022; 88:e0152822. [PMID: 36374027 PMCID: PMC9746323 DOI: 10.1128/aem.01528-22] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Epigenetic changes in genomics provide phenotypic modification without DNA sequence alteration. This study shows that benzoic acid, a common food additive and known histone deacetylase inhibitor (HDACi), has an epigenetic effect on Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Benzoic acid stimulated formation of epigenetic histone marks H3K4Me2, H3K27Me2, H3K18ac, and H3Ser10p in S. cerevisiae and altered their phenotypic behavior, resulting in increased production of phenylethyl alcohol and ester compounds during alcoholic fermentation using wine as a representative model system. Our study demonstrates the HDACi activity of certain dietary compounds such as sodium butyrate, curcumin and anacardic acid, suggests the potential use of these dietary compounds in altering S. cerevisiae phenotypes without altering host-cell DNA. This study highlights the potential to use common dietary compounds to exploit epigenetic modifications for various fermentation and biotechnology applications as an alternative to genetic modification. These findings indicate that benzoic acid and other food additives may have potential epigenetic effects on human gut microbiota, in which several yeast species are involved. IMPORTANCE The manuscript investigates and reports for the first time utilizing a non-GMO approach to alter the fermentation process of Pinot Noir wines. We have experimentally demonstrated that certain dietary compounds possess histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibiting activity and can alter the wine characteristics by potentially altering yeast gene transcription, which was resulted from epigenetic effects. We have previously proposed the term "nutrifermentics" to represent this newly proposed field of research that provides insights on the effect of certain dietary compounds on microbial strains and their potential application in fermentation. This technological approach is a novel way to manipulate microorganisms for innovative food and beverage production with quality attributes catering for consumer's needs. Using a multidisciplinary approach with an emphasis on food fermentation and biotechnology, this study will be substantially useful and of broad interest to food microbiologists and biotechnologists who seek for innovative concepts with real-world application potential.
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Levinsky AJ, McEdwards G, Sethna N, Currie MA. Targets of histone H3 lysine 9 methyltransferases. Front Cell Dev Biol 2022; 10:1026406. [PMID: 36568972 PMCID: PMC9768651 DOI: 10.3389/fcell.2022.1026406] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/23/2022] [Accepted: 10/05/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Histone H3 lysine 9 di- and trimethylation are well-established marks of constitutively silenced heterochromatin domains found at repetitive DNA elements including pericentromeres, telomeres, and transposons. Loss of heterochromatin at these sites causes genomic instability in the form of aberrant DNA repair, chromosome segregation defects, replication stress, and transposition. H3K9 di- and trimethylation also regulate cell type-specific gene expression during development and form a barrier to cellular reprogramming. However, the role of H3K9 methyltransferases extends beyond histone methylation. There is a growing list of non-histone targets of H3K9 methyltransferases including transcription factors, steroid hormone receptors, histone modifying enzymes, and other chromatin regulatory proteins. Additionally, two classes of H3K9 methyltransferases modulate their own function through automethylation. Here we summarize the structure and function of mammalian H3K9 methyltransferases, their roles in genome regulation and constitutive heterochromatin, as well as the current repertoire of non-histone methylation targets including cases of automethylation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aidan J. Levinsky
- Department of Biology, University of Toronto Mississauga, Mississauga, ON, Canada,Department of Cell and Systems Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Gregor McEdwards
- Department of Biology, University of Toronto Mississauga, Mississauga, ON, Canada,Department of Cell and Systems Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Nasha Sethna
- Department of Biology, University of Toronto Mississauga, Mississauga, ON, Canada,Department of Cell and Systems Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Mark A. Currie
- Department of Biology, University of Toronto Mississauga, Mississauga, ON, Canada,Department of Cell and Systems Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada,*Correspondence: Mark A. Currie,
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Zhu Q, Lin Y, Lyu X, Qu Z, Lu Z, Fu Y, Cheng J, Xie J, Chen T, Li B, Cheng H, Chen W, Jiang D. Fungal Strains with Identical Genomes Were Found at a Distance of 2000 Kilometers after 40 Years. J Fungi (Basel) 2022; 8:1212. [PMID: 36422033 PMCID: PMC9697809 DOI: 10.3390/jof8111212] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/08/2022] [Revised: 10/26/2022] [Accepted: 11/11/2022] [Indexed: 11/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Heredity and variation are inherent characteristics of species and are mainly reflected in the stability and variation of the genome; the former is relative, while the latter is continuous. However, whether life has both stable genomes and extremely diverse genomes at the same time is unknown. In this study, we isolated Sclerotinia sclerotiorum strains from sclerotium samples in Quincy, Washington State, USA, and found that four single-sclerotium-isolation strains (PB4, PB273, PB615, and PB623) had almost identical genomes to the reference strain 1980 isolated in the west of Nebraska 40 years ago. The genome of strain PB4 sequenced by the next-generation sequencing (NGS) and Pacific Biosciences (PacBio) sequencing carried only 135 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and 18 structural variations (SVs) compared with the genome of strain 1980 and 48 SNPs were distributed on Contig_20. Based on data generated by NGS, three other strains, PB273, PB615, and PB623, had 256, 275, and 262 SNPs, respectively, against strain 1980, which were much less than in strain PB4 (532 SNPs) and none of them occurred on Contig_20, suggesting much closer genomes to strain 1980 than to strain PB4. All other strains from America and China are rich in SNPs with a range of 34,391-77,618 when compared with strain 1980. We also found that there were 39-79 SNPs between strain PB4 and its sexual offspring, 53.1% of which also occurred on Contig_20. Our discoveries show that there are two types of genomes in S. sclerotiorum, one is very stable and the other tends to change constantly. Investigating the mechanism of such genome stability will enhance our understanding of heredity and variation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qili Zhu
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China
- Provincial Key Laboratory of Plant Pathology of Hubei Province, College of Plant Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China
| | - Yang Lin
- Provincial Key Laboratory of Plant Pathology of Hubei Province, College of Plant Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China
| | - Xueliang Lyu
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China
- Provincial Key Laboratory of Plant Pathology of Hubei Province, College of Plant Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China
| | - Zheng Qu
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China
- Provincial Key Laboratory of Plant Pathology of Hubei Province, College of Plant Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China
| | - Ziyang Lu
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China
- Provincial Key Laboratory of Plant Pathology of Hubei Province, College of Plant Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China
| | - Yanping Fu
- Provincial Key Laboratory of Plant Pathology of Hubei Province, College of Plant Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China
| | - Jiasen Cheng
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China
- Provincial Key Laboratory of Plant Pathology of Hubei Province, College of Plant Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China
| | - Jiatao Xie
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China
- Provincial Key Laboratory of Plant Pathology of Hubei Province, College of Plant Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China
| | - Tao Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China
- Provincial Key Laboratory of Plant Pathology of Hubei Province, College of Plant Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China
| | - Bo Li
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China
- Provincial Key Laboratory of Plant Pathology of Hubei Province, College of Plant Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China
| | - Hui Cheng
- Xinyang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Xinyang 464000, China
| | - Weidong Chen
- United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164, USA
| | - Daohong Jiang
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China
- Provincial Key Laboratory of Plant Pathology of Hubei Province, College of Plant Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China
- Shenzhen Institute of Nutrition and Health, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China
- Shenzhen Branch, Guangdong Laboratory for Lingnan Modern Agriculture, Genome Analysis Laboratory of the Ministry of Agriculture, Agricultural Genomics Institute at Shenzhen, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shenzhen 518000, China
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40
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Epigenetic Regulation of Antifungal Drug Resistance. J Fungi (Basel) 2022; 8:jof8080875. [PMID: 36012862 PMCID: PMC9409733 DOI: 10.3390/jof8080875] [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: 07/07/2022] [Revised: 08/02/2022] [Accepted: 08/04/2022] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
In medical mycology, epigenetic mechanisms are emerging as key regulators of multiple aspects of fungal biology ranging from development, phenotypic and morphological plasticity to antifungal drug resistance. Emerging resistance to the limited therapeutic options for the treatment of invasive fungal infections is a growing concern. Human fungal pathogens develop drug resistance via multiple mechanisms, with recent studies highlighting the role of epigenetic changes involving the acetylation and methylation of histones, remodeling of chromatin and heterochromatin-based gene silencing, in the acquisition of antifungal resistance. A comprehensive understanding of how pathogens acquire drug resistance will aid the development of new antifungal therapies as well as increase the efficacy of current antifungals by blocking common drug-resistance mechanisms. In this article, we describe the epigenetic mechanisms that affect resistance towards widely used systemic antifungal drugs: azoles, echinocandins and polyenes. Additionally, we review the literature on the possible links between DNA mismatch repair, gene silencing and drug-resistance mechanisms.
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Yaseen I, White SA, Torres-Garcia S, Spanos C, Lafos M, Gaberdiel E, Yeboah R, El Karoui M, Rappsilber J, Pidoux AL, Allshire RC. Proteasome-dependent truncation of the negative heterochromatin regulator Epe1 mediates antifungal resistance. Nat Struct Mol Biol 2022; 29:745-758. [PMID: 35879419 PMCID: PMC7613290 DOI: 10.1038/s41594-022-00801-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/26/2021] [Accepted: 06/06/2022] [Indexed: 12/03/2022]
Abstract
Epe1 histone demethylase restricts H3K9-methylation-dependent heterochromatin, preventing it from spreading over, and silencing, gene-containing regions in fission yeast. External stress induces an adaptive response allowing heterochromatin island formation that confers resistance on surviving wild-type lineages. Here we investigate the mechanism by which Epe1 is regulated in response to stress. Exposure to caffeine or antifungals results in Epe1 ubiquitylation and proteasome-dependent removal of the N-terminal 150 residues from Epe1, generating truncated Epe1 (tEpe1) which accumulates in the cytoplasm. Constitutive tEpe1 expression increases H3K9 methylation over several chromosomal regions, reducing expression of underlying genes and enhancing resistance. Reciprocally, constitutive non-cleavable Epe1 expression decreases resistance. tEpe1-mediated resistance requires a functional JmjC demethylase domain. Moreover, caffeine-induced Epe1-to-tEpe1 cleavage is dependent on an intact cell integrity MAP kinase stress signaling pathway, mutations in which alter resistance. Thus, environmental changes elicit a mechanism that curtails the function of this key epigenetic modifier, allowing heterochromatin to reprogram gene expression, thereby bestowing resistance to some cells within a population. H3K9me-heterochromatin components are conserved in human and crop-plant fungal pathogens for which a limited number of antifungals exist. Our findings reveal how transient heterochromatin-dependent antifungal resistant epimutations develop and thus inform on how they might be countered.
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Affiliation(s)
- Imtiyaz Yaseen
- Wellcome Centre for Cell Biology, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
- Institute of Cell Biology, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
- CSIR Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine, Jammu, India
| | - Sharon A White
- Wellcome Centre for Cell Biology, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
- Institute of Cell Biology, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Sito Torres-Garcia
- Wellcome Centre for Cell Biology, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
- Institute of Cell Biology, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Christos Spanos
- Wellcome Centre for Cell Biology, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
- Institute of Cell Biology, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Marcel Lafos
- Wellcome Centre for Cell Biology, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
- Institute of Cell Biology, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
- School of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, Dundee, UK
| | - Elisabeth Gaberdiel
- Wellcome Centre for Cell Biology, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
- Institute of Cell Biology, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Rebecca Yeboah
- Wellcome Centre for Cell Biology, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
- Institute of Cell Biology, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Meriem El Karoui
- Institute of Cell Biology, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
- SynthSys, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Juri Rappsilber
- Wellcome Centre for Cell Biology, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
- Institute of Biotechnology, Technische Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Alison L Pidoux
- Wellcome Centre for Cell Biology, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
- Institute of Cell Biology, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Robin C Allshire
- Wellcome Centre for Cell Biology, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.
- Institute of Cell Biology, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.
- SynthSys, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.
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42
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Etier A, Dumetz F, Chéreau S, Ponts N. Post-Translational Modifications of Histones Are Versatile Regulators of Fungal Development and Secondary Metabolism. Toxins (Basel) 2022; 14:toxins14050317. [PMID: 35622565 PMCID: PMC9145779 DOI: 10.3390/toxins14050317] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2022] [Revised: 04/16/2022] [Accepted: 04/25/2022] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Chromatin structure is a major regulator of DNA-associated processes, such as transcription, DNA repair, and replication. Histone post-translational modifications, or PTMs, play a key role on chromatin dynamics. PTMs are involved in a wide range of biological processes in eukaryotes, including fungal species. Their deposition/removal and their underlying functions have been extensively investigated in yeasts but much less in other fungi. Nonetheless, the major role of histone PTMs in regulating primary and secondary metabolisms of filamentous fungi, including human and plant pathogens, has been pinpointed. In this review, an overview of major identified PTMs and their respective functions in fungi is provided, with a focus on filamentous fungi when knowledge is available. To date, most of these studies investigated histone acetylations and methylations, but the development of new methodologies and technologies increasingly allows the wider exploration of other PTMs, such as phosphorylation, ubiquitylation, sumoylation, and acylation. Considering the increasing number of known PTMs and the full range of their possible interactions, investigations of the subsequent Histone Code, i.e., the biological consequence of the combinatorial language of all histone PTMs, from a functional point of view, are exponentially complex. Better knowledge about histone PTMs would make it possible to efficiently fight plant or human contamination, avoid the production of toxic secondary metabolites, or optimize the industrial biosynthesis of certain beneficial compounds.
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43
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Liu Y, Ahmed S, Fang Y, Chen M, An J, Yang G, Hou X, Lu J, Ye Q, Zhu R, Liu Q, Liu S. Discovery of Chitin Deacetylase Inhibitors through Structure-Based Virtual Screening and Biological Assays. J Microbiol Biotechnol 2022; 32:504-513. [PMID: 35131956 PMCID: PMC9628821 DOI: 10.4014/jmb.2201.01009] [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: 01/11/2022] [Revised: 01/30/2022] [Accepted: 02/03/2022] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Chitin deacetylase (CDA) inhibitors were developed as novel antifungal agents because CDA participates in critical fungal physiological and metabolic processes and increases virulence in soilborne fungal pathogens. However, few CDA inhibitors have been reported. In this study, 150 candidate CDA inhibitors were selected from the commercial Chemdiv compound library through structure-based virtual screening. The top-ranked 25 compounds were further evaluated for biological activity. The compound J075-4187 had an IC50 of 4.24 ± 0.16 μM for AnCDA. Molecular docking calculations predicted that compound J075-4187 binds to the amino acid residues, including active sites (H101, D48). Furthermore, compound J075-4187 inhibited food spoilage fungi and plant pathogenic fungi, with minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) at 260 μg/ml and minimum fungicidal concentration (MFC) at 520 μg/ml. Therefore, compound J075-4187 is a good candidate for use in developing antifungal agents for fungi control.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yaodong Liu
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Marine Bioresources and Environment, Jiangsu Ocean University, Lianyungang, 222005, P.R. China,Co-Innovation Center of Jiangsu Marine Bio-industry Technology, Jiangsu Ocean University, Lianyungang 222005, P.R. China
| | - Sibtain Ahmed
- University of California San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
| | - Yaowei Fang
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Marine Bioresources and Environment, Jiangsu Ocean University, Lianyungang, 222005, P.R. China,Co-Innovation Center of Jiangsu Marine Bio-industry Technology, Jiangsu Ocean University, Lianyungang 222005, P.R. China,Jiangsu Marine Resources Development Research Institute, Jiangsu Ocean University, Lianyungang 222000, P.R. China
| | - Meng Chen
- Lianyungang Inspection and Testing Center for Food and Drug Control, P.R. China
| | - Jia An
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Marine Bioresources and Environment, Jiangsu Ocean University, Lianyungang, 222005, P.R. China,Co-Innovation Center of Jiangsu Marine Bio-industry Technology, Jiangsu Ocean University, Lianyungang 222005, P.R. China
| | - Guang Yang
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Marine Bioresources and Environment, Jiangsu Ocean University, Lianyungang, 222005, P.R. China,Co-Innovation Center of Jiangsu Marine Bio-industry Technology, Jiangsu Ocean University, Lianyungang 222005, P.R. China
| | - Xiaoyue Hou
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Marine Bioresources and Environment, Jiangsu Ocean University, Lianyungang, 222005, P.R. China,Co-Innovation Center of Jiangsu Marine Bio-industry Technology, Jiangsu Ocean University, Lianyungang 222005, P.R. China
| | - Jing Lu
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Marine Bioresources and Environment, Jiangsu Ocean University, Lianyungang, 222005, P.R. China,Co-Innovation Center of Jiangsu Marine Bio-industry Technology, Jiangsu Ocean University, Lianyungang 222005, P.R. China
| | - Qinwen Ye
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Marine Bioresources and Environment, Jiangsu Ocean University, Lianyungang, 222005, P.R. China,Co-Innovation Center of Jiangsu Marine Bio-industry Technology, Jiangsu Ocean University, Lianyungang 222005, P.R. China
| | - Rongjun Zhu
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Marine Bioresources and Environment, Jiangsu Ocean University, Lianyungang, 222005, P.R. China,Co-Innovation Center of Jiangsu Marine Bio-industry Technology, Jiangsu Ocean University, Lianyungang 222005, P.R. China
| | - Qitong Liu
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Marine Bioresources and Environment, Jiangsu Ocean University, Lianyungang, 222005, P.R. China,Co-Innovation Center of Jiangsu Marine Bio-industry Technology, Jiangsu Ocean University, Lianyungang 222005, P.R. China
| | - Shu Liu
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Marine Bioresources and Environment, Jiangsu Ocean University, Lianyungang, 222005, P.R. China,Co-Innovation Center of Jiangsu Marine Bio-industry Technology, Jiangsu Ocean University, Lianyungang 222005, P.R. China,Corresponding author E-mail:
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44
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Liu C, Xiong Q, Li Q, Lin W, Jiang S, Zhang D, Wang Y, Duan X, Gong P, Kang N. CHD7 regulates bone-fat balance by suppressing PPAR-γ signaling. Nat Commun 2022; 13:1989. [PMID: 35418650 PMCID: PMC9007978 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-29633-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/21/2021] [Accepted: 03/23/2022] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Chromodomain helicase DNA-binding protein 7 (CHD7), an ATP-dependent eukaryotic chromatin remodeling enzyme, is essential for the development of organs. The mutation of CHD7 is the main cause of CHARGE syndrome, but its function and mechanism in skeletal system remain unclear. Here, we show conditional knockout of Chd7 in bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) and preosteoblasts leads to a pathological phenotype manifested as low bone mass and severely high marrow adiposity. Mechanistically, we identify enhancement of the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) signaling in Chd7-deficient MSCs. Loss of Chd7 reduces the restriction of PPAR-γ and then PPAR-γ associates with trimethylated histone H3 at lysine 4 (H3K4me3), which subsequently activates the transcription of downstream adipogenic genes and disrupts the balance between osteogenic and adipogenic differentiation. Our data illustrate the pathological manifestations of Chd7 mutation in MSCs and reveal an epigenetic mechanism in skeletal health and diseases. CHD7 is chromatin remodeler and mutations of CHD7 are the main cause of CHARGE syndrome. Here the authors show that conditional knockout of Chd7 in bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) and pre-osteoblasts leads to a skeletal system development disorder in mice and upregulated PPAR signaling, disrupting the balance between osteogenic and adipogenic differentiation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Caojie Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases, National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, West China Hospital of Stomatology, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610041, PR China
| | - Qiuchan Xiong
- State Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases, National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, West China Hospital of Stomatology, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610041, PR China
| | - Qiwen Li
- State Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases, National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, West China Hospital of Stomatology, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610041, PR China
| | - Weimin Lin
- State Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases, National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, West China Hospital of Stomatology, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610041, PR China
| | - Shuang Jiang
- State Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases, National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, West China Hospital of Stomatology, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610041, PR China
| | - Danting Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases, National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, West China Hospital of Stomatology, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610041, PR China
| | - Yuan Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases, National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, West China Hospital of Stomatology, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610041, PR China
| | - Xiaobo Duan
- State Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases, National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, West China Hospital of Stomatology, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610041, PR China
| | - Ping Gong
- State Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases, National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, West China Hospital of Stomatology, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610041, PR China.
| | - Ning Kang
- State Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases, National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, West China Hospital of Stomatology, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610041, PR China.
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Maimaiti A, Aili Y, Turhon M, Kadeer K, Aikelamu P, Wang Z, Niu W, Aisha M, Kasimu M, Wang Y, Wang Z. Modification Patterns of DNA Methylation-Related lncRNAs Regulating Genomic Instability for Improving the Clinical Outcomes and Tumour Microenvironment Characterisation of Lower-Grade Gliomas. Front Mol Biosci 2022; 9:844973. [PMID: 35359593 PMCID: PMC8960387 DOI: 10.3389/fmolb.2022.844973] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/29/2021] [Accepted: 02/24/2022] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Background: DNA methylation is an important epigenetic modification that affects genomic instability and regulates gene expression. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) modulate gene expression by interacting with chromosomal modifications or remodelling factors. It is urgently needed to evaluate the effects of DNA methylation-related lncRNAs (DMlncRNAs) on genome instability and further investigate the mechanism of action of DMlncRNAs in mediating the progression of lower-grade gliomas (LGGs) and their impact on the immune microenvironment.Methods: LGG transcriptome data, somatic mutation profiles and clinical features analysed in the present study were obtained from the CGGA, GEO and TCGA databases. Univariate, multivariate Cox and Lasso regression analyses were performed to establish a DMlncRNA signature. The KEGG and GO analyses were performed to screen for pathways and biological functions associated with key genes. The ESTIMATE and CIBERSORT algorithms were used to determine the level of immune cells in LGGs and the immune microenvironment fraction. In addition, DMlncRNAs were assessed using survival analysis, ROC curves, correlation analysis, external validation, independent prognostic analysis, clinical stratification analysis and qRT-PCR.Results: We identified five DMlncRNAs with prognostic value for LGGs and established a prognostic signature using them. The Kaplan–Meier analysis revealed 10-years survival rate of 10.10% [95% confidence interval (CI): 3.27–31.40%] in high-risk patients and 57.28% (95% CI: 43.17–76.00%) in low-risk patients. The hazard ratio (HR) and 95% CI of risk scores were 1.013 and 1.009–1.017 (p < 0.001), respectively, based on the univariate Cox regression analysis and 1.009 and 1.004–1.013 (p < 0.001), respectively, based on the multivariate Cox regression analysis. Therefore, the five-lncRNAs were identified as independent prognostic markers for patients with LGGs. Furthermore, GO and KEGG analyses revealed that these lncRNAs are involved in the prognosis and tumorigenesis of LGGs by regulating cancer pathways and DNA methylation.Conclusion: The findings of the study provide key information regarding the functions of lncRNAs in DNA methylation and reveal that DNA methylation can regulate tumour progression through modulation of the immune microenvironment and genomic instability. The identified prognostic lncRNAs have high potential for clinical grouping of patients with LGGs to ensure effective treatment and management.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aierpati Maimaiti
- Department of Neurosurgery, Neurosurgery Centre, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xinjiang Medical University, Urumqi, China
| | - Yirizhati Aili
- Department of Neurosurgery, Neurosurgery Centre, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xinjiang Medical University, Urumqi, China
| | - Mirzat Turhon
- Department of Neurointerventional Surgery, Beijing Neurosurgical Institute, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
- Department of Neurointerventional Surgery, Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
| | - Kaheerman Kadeer
- Department of Neurosurgery, Neurosurgery Centre, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xinjiang Medical University, Urumqi, China
| | - Paziliya Aikelamu
- Department of Neurosurgery, Neurosurgery Centre, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xinjiang Medical University, Urumqi, China
| | - Zhitao Wang
- Department of Neurosurgery, Neurosurgery Centre, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xinjiang Medical University, Urumqi, China
| | - Weiwei Niu
- Department of Neurosurgery, Neurosurgery Centre, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xinjiang Medical University, Urumqi, China
| | - Maimaitili Aisha
- Department of Neurosurgery, Neurosurgery Centre, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xinjiang Medical University, Urumqi, China
| | - Maimaitijiang Kasimu
- Department of Neurosurgery, Neurosurgery Centre, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xinjiang Medical University, Urumqi, China
| | - Yongxin Wang
- Department of Neurosurgery, Neurosurgery Centre, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xinjiang Medical University, Urumqi, China
- *Correspondence: Yongxin Wang, ; Zengliang Wang,
| | - Zengliang Wang
- Department of Neurosurgery, Neurosurgery Centre, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xinjiang Medical University, Urumqi, China
- *Correspondence: Yongxin Wang, ; Zengliang Wang,
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Carlini V, Policarpi C, Hackett JA. Epigenetic inheritance is gated by naïve pluripotency and Dppa2. EMBO J 2022; 41:e108677. [PMID: 35199868 PMCID: PMC8982627 DOI: 10.15252/embj.2021108677] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/08/2021] [Revised: 01/12/2022] [Accepted: 01/17/2022] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Environmental factors can trigger cellular responses that propagate across mitosis or even generations. Perturbations to the epigenome could underpin such acquired changes, however, the extent and contexts in which modified chromatin states confer heritable memory in mammals is unclear. Here, we exploit a precision epigenetic editing strategy and forced Xist activity to programme de novo heterochromatin domains (epialleles) at endogenous loci and track their inheritance in a developmental model. We find that naïve pluripotent phases systematically erase ectopic domains of heterochromatin via active mechanisms, which likely acts as an intergenerational safeguard against transmission of epialleles. Upon lineage specification, however, acquired chromatin states can be probabilistically inherited under selectively favourable conditions, including propagation of p53 silencing through in vivo development. Using genome‐wide CRISPR screening, we identify molecular factors that restrict heritable memory of epialleles in naïve pluripotent cells, and demonstrate that removal of chromatin factor Dppa2 unlocks the potential for epigenetic inheritance uncoupled from DNA sequence. Our study outlines a mechanistic basis for how epigenetic inheritance is constrained in mammals, and reveals genomic and developmental contexts in which heritable memory is feasible.
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Affiliation(s)
- Valentina Carlini
- Epigenetics & Neurobiology Unit, European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), Rome, Italy.,Faculty of Biosciences, Collaboration for Joint PhD Degree between EMBL and Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Cristina Policarpi
- Epigenetics & Neurobiology Unit, European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), Rome, Italy
| | - Jamie A Hackett
- Epigenetics & Neurobiology Unit, European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), Rome, Italy
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Bao K, Shan CM, Chen X, Raiymbek G, Monroe JG, Fang Y, Toda T, Koutmou KS, Ragunathan K, Lu C, Berchowitz LE, Jia S. The cAMP signaling pathway regulates Epe1 protein levels and heterochromatin assembly. PLoS Genet 2022; 18:e1010049. [PMID: 35171902 PMCID: PMC8887748 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1010049] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2021] [Revised: 03/01/2022] [Accepted: 01/20/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The epigenetic landscape of a cell frequently changes in response to fluctuations in nutrient levels, but the mechanistic link is not well understood. In fission yeast, the JmjC domain protein Epe1 is critical for maintaining the heterochromatin landscape. While loss of Epe1 results in heterochromatin expansion, overexpression of Epe1 leads to defective heterochromatin. Through a genetic screen, we found that mutations in genes of the cAMP signaling pathway suppress the heterochromatin defects associated with Epe1 overexpression. We further demonstrated that the activation of Pka1, the downstream effector of cAMP signaling, is required for the efficient translation of epe1+ mRNA to maintain Epe1 overexpression. Moreover, inactivation of the cAMP-signaling pathway, either through genetic mutations or glucose deprivation, leads to the reduction of endogenous Epe1 and corresponding heterochromatin changes. These results reveal the mechanism by which the cAMP signaling pathway regulates heterochromatin landscape in fission yeast. Genomic DNA is folded with histones into chromatin and posttranslational modifications on histones separate chromatin into active euchromatin and repressive heterochromatin. These chromatin domains often change in response to environmental cues, such as nutrient levels. How environmental changes affect histone modifications is not well understood. Here, we found that in fission yeast, the cAMP signaling pathway is required for the function of Epe1, an enzyme that removes histone modifications associated with heterochromatin. Moreover, we found that active cAMP signaling ensures the efficient translation of epe1+ mRNA and therefore maintains high Epe1 protein levels. Finally, we show that changing glucose levels, which modulate cAMP signaling, also affect heterochromatin in a way consistent with cAMP signaling-mediated Epe1 protein level changes. As histone-modifying enzymes often require cofactors that are metabolic intermediates, previous studies on the impact of nutrient levels on chromatin states have mainly focused on metabolites. Our results suggest that nutrient-sensing signaling pathways also regulate histone-modifying enzymes in response to nutritional conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kehan Bao
- Department of Biological Sciences, Columbia University, New York, New York, United States of America
| | - Chun-Min Shan
- Department of Biological Sciences, Columbia University, New York, New York, United States of America
| | - Xiao Chen
- Department of Genetics and Development, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, New York, United States of America
- Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, New York, United States of America
| | - Gulzhan Raiymbek
- Department of Biological Chemistry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States of America
| | - Jeremy G. Monroe
- Department of Chemistry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States of America
| | - Yimeng Fang
- Department of Biological Sciences, Columbia University, New York, New York, United States of America
| | - Takenori Toda
- Department of Biological Sciences, Columbia University, New York, New York, United States of America
| | - Kristin S. Koutmou
- Department of Chemistry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States of America
| | - Kaushik Ragunathan
- Department of Biological Chemistry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States of America
| | - Chao Lu
- Department of Genetics and Development, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, New York, United States of America
- Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, New York, United States of America
| | - Luke E. Berchowitz
- Department of Genetics and Development, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, New York, United States of America
| | - Songtao Jia
- Department of Biological Sciences, Columbia University, New York, New York, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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Ramakrishnan N, Pillai SRB, Padinhateeri R. High fidelity epigenetic inheritance: Information theoretic model predicts threshold filling of histone modifications post replication. PLoS Comput Biol 2022; 18:e1009861. [PMID: 35176029 PMCID: PMC8903295 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1009861] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/28/2021] [Revised: 03/08/2022] [Accepted: 01/24/2022] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
During cell devision, maintaining the epigenetic information encoded in histone modification patterns is crucial for survival and identity of cells. The faithful inheritance of the histone marks from the parental to the daughter strands is a puzzle, given that each strand gets only half of the parental nucleosomes. Mapping DNA replication and reconstruction of modifications to equivalent problems in communication of information, we ask how well enzymes can recover the parental modifications, if they were ideal computing machines. Studying a parameter regime where realistic enzymes can function, our analysis predicts that enzymes may implement a critical threshold filling algorithm which fills unmodified regions of length at most k. This algorithm, motivated from communication theory, is derived from the maximum à posteriori probability (MAP) decoding which identifies the most probable modification sequence based on available observations. Simulations using our method produce modification patterns similar to what has been observed in recent experiments. We also show that our results can be naturally extended to explain inheritance of spatially distinct antagonistic modifications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nithya Ramakrishnan
- Department of Biosciences and Bioengineering, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Mumbai, India
| | - Sibi Raj B. Pillai
- Department of Electrical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Mumbai, India
| | - Ranjith Padinhateeri
- Department of Biosciences and Bioengineering, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Mumbai, India
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Yao Y, Wen Q, Zhang T, Yu C, Chan KM, Gan H. Advances in Approaches to Study Chromatin-Mediated Epigenetic Memory. ACS Synth Biol 2022; 11:16-25. [PMID: 34965084 DOI: 10.1021/acssynbio.1c00394] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Chromatin structure contains critical epigenetic information in various forms, such as histone post-translational modifications (PTMs). The deposition of certain histone PTMs can remodel the chromatin structure, resulting in gene expression alteration. The epigenetic information carried by histone PTMs could be inherited by daughter cells to maintain the gene expression status. Recently, studies revealed that several conserved replisome proteins regulate the recycling of parental histones carrying epigenetic information in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Hence, the proper recycling and deposition of parental histones onto newly synthesized DNA strands is presumed to be essential for epigenetic inheritance. Here, we first reviewed the fundamental mechanisms of epigenetic modification establishment and maintenance discovered within fungal models. Next, we discussed the functions of parental histone chaperones and the potential impacts of the parental histone recycling process on heterochromatin-mediated transcriptional silencing inheritance. Subsequently, we summarized novel synthetic biology approaches developed to analyze individual epigenetic components during epigenetic inheritance in fungal and mammalian systems. These newly emerged research paradigms enable us to dissect epigenetic systems in a bottom-up manner. Furthermore, we highlighted the approaches developed in this emerging field and discussed the potential applications of these engineered regulators to building synthetic epigenetic systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuan Yao
- Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Synthetic Genomics, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Synthetic Genomics, CAS Key Laboratory of Quantitative Engineering Biology, Shenzhen Institute of Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518055, China
| | - Qing Wen
- Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Synthetic Genomics, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Synthetic Genomics, CAS Key Laboratory of Quantitative Engineering Biology, Shenzhen Institute of Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518055, China
| | - Tianjun Zhang
- Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Synthetic Genomics, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Synthetic Genomics, CAS Key Laboratory of Quantitative Engineering Biology, Shenzhen Institute of Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518055, China
- Department of Molecular and Biomedical Science, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA 5005, Australia
| | - Chuanhe Yu
- The Hormel Institute, University of Minnesota, Austin, Minnesota 55912, United States
| | - Kui Ming Chan
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR 999077, China
- Key Laboratory of Biochip Technology, Biotech and Health Centre, Shenzhen Research Institute of City University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen 518172, China
| | - Haiyun Gan
- Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Synthetic Genomics, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Synthetic Genomics, CAS Key Laboratory of Quantitative Engineering Biology, Shenzhen Institute of Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518055, China
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50
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Abstract
Increasing evidence indicates that non-DNA sequence-based epigenetic information can be inherited across several generations in organisms ranging from yeast to plants to humans. This raises the possibility of heritable 'epimutations' contributing to heritable phenotypic variation and thus to evolution. Recent work has shed light on both the signals that underpin these epimutations, including DNA methylation, histone modifications and non-coding RNAs, and the mechanisms by which they are transmitted across generations at the molecular level. These mechanisms can vary greatly among species and have a more limited effect in mammals than in plants and other animal species. Nevertheless, common principles are emerging, with transmission occurring either via direct replicative mechanisms or indirect reconstruction of the signal in subsequent generations. As these processes become clearer we continue to improve our understanding of the distinctive features and relative contribution of DNA sequence and epigenetic variation to heritable differences in phenotype.
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