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Zhou L, Jiang L, Li L, Ma C, Xia P, Ding W, Liu Y. A germline-to-soma signal triggers an age-related decline of mitochondrial stress response. Nat Commun 2024; 15:8723. [PMID: 39379393 PMCID: PMC11461804 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-53064-0] [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: 05/24/2024] [Accepted: 09/27/2024] [Indexed: 10/10/2024] Open
Abstract
The abilities of an organism to cope with extrinsic stresses and activate cellular stress responses decline during aging. The signals that modulate stress responses in aged animals remain to be elucidated. Here, we discover that feeding Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) embryo lysates to adult worms enabled the animals to activate the mitochondrial unfolded protein response (UPRmt) upon mitochondrial perturbations. This discovery led to subsequent investigations that unveil a hedgehog-like signal that is transmitted from the germline to the soma in adults to inhibit UPRmt in somatic tissues. Additionally, we find that the levels of germline-expressed piRNAs in adult animals markedly decreased. This reduction in piRNA levels coincides with the production and secretion of a hedgehog-like signal and suppression of the UPRmt in somatic cells. Building upon existing research, our study further elucidates the intricate mechanisms of germline-to-soma signaling and its role in modulating the trade-offs between reproduction and somatic maintenance within the context of organismal aging.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liankui Zhou
- State Key Laboratory of Membrane Biology, New Cornerstone Science Laboratory, Institute of Molecular Medicine, College of Future Technology, Peking University, 100871, Beijing, China
- Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences, Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Peking University, 100871, Beijing, China
| | - Liu Jiang
- State Key Laboratory of Membrane Biology, New Cornerstone Science Laboratory, Institute of Molecular Medicine, College of Future Technology, Peking University, 100871, Beijing, China
| | - Lan Li
- State Key Laboratory of Membrane Biology, New Cornerstone Science Laboratory, Institute of Molecular Medicine, College of Future Technology, Peking University, 100871, Beijing, China
| | - Chengchuan Ma
- State Key Laboratory of Membrane Biology, New Cornerstone Science Laboratory, Institute of Molecular Medicine, College of Future Technology, Peking University, 100871, Beijing, China
- Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences, Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Peking University, 100871, Beijing, China
| | - Peixue Xia
- State Key Laboratory of Membrane Biology, New Cornerstone Science Laboratory, Institute of Molecular Medicine, College of Future Technology, Peking University, 100871, Beijing, China
- Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences, Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Peking University, 100871, Beijing, China
| | - Wanqiu Ding
- Bioinformatics Core Facility, College of Future Technology, Peking University, 100871, Beijing, China
| | - Ying Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Membrane Biology, New Cornerstone Science Laboratory, Institute of Molecular Medicine, College of Future Technology, Peking University, 100871, Beijing, China.
- Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences, Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Peking University, 100871, Beijing, China.
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LSM2-8 and XRN-2 contribute to the silencing of H3K27me3-marked genes through targeted RNA decay. Nat Cell Biol 2020; 22:579-590. [PMID: 32251399 PMCID: PMC7212045 DOI: 10.1038/s41556-020-0504-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2019] [Accepted: 03/05/2020] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
In fission yeast and plants, RNA-processing and degradation contribute to
heterochromatin silencing, alongside conserved pathways of transcriptional
repression. It was unknown if similar pathways exist in metazoans. Here we
describe a pathway of silencing in C. elegans somatic cells, in
which the highly conserved RNA binding complex LSM2-8 contributes selectively to
the repression of heterochromatic reporters and endogenous genes bearing the
Polycomb mark, histone H3K27me3. It acts by degrading selected transcripts
through the XRN-2 exoribonuclease. Disruption of the LSM2-8 pathway leads to
mRNA stabilization. Unlike previously described pathways of heterochromatic RNA
degradation, LSM2-8-mediated RNA degradation does not require nor deposit H3K9
methylation. Rather, loss of this pathway coincides with a localized reduction
in H3K27me3 at lsm-8-sensitive loci. Thus, we have uncovered a
mechanism of RNA degradation that selectively contributes to the silencing of a
subset of H3K27me3-marked genes, revealing a previously unrecognized layer of
post-transcriptional control in metazoan heterochromatin.
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Selection and gene flow shape niche-associated variation in pheromone response. Nat Ecol Evol 2019; 3:1455-1463. [PMID: 31548647 PMCID: PMC6764921 DOI: 10.1038/s41559-019-0982-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/26/2019] [Accepted: 08/14/2019] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
From quorum sensing in bacteria to pheromone signaling in social insects, chemical communication mediates interactions among individuals in a local population. In Caenorhabditis elegans, ascaroside pheromones can dictate local population density, in which high levels of pheromones inhibit the reproductive maturation of individuals. Little is known about how natural genetic diversity affects the pheromone responses of individuals from diverse habitats. Here, we show that a niche-associated variation in pheromone receptor genes contributes to natural differences in pheromone responses. We identified putative loss-of-function deletions that impair duplicated pheromone receptor genes (srg-36 and srg-37), which were shown previously to be lost in population-dense laboratory cultures. A common natural deletion in srg-37 arose recently from a single ancestral population that spread throughout the world and underlies reduced pheromone sensitivity across the global C. elegans population. We found that many local populations harbor individuals with wild-type or a deletion allele of srg-37, suggesting that balancing selection has maintained the recent variation in this pheromone receptor gene. The two srg-37 genotypes are associated with niche diversity underlying boom-and-bust population dynamics. We hypothesize that human activities likely contributed to the gene flow and balancing selection of srg-37 variation through facilitating migration of species and providing favorable niche for recently arose srg-37 deletion.
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Krause MW, Love DC, Ghosh SK, Wang P, Yun S, Fukushige T, Hanover JA. Nutrient-Driven O-GlcNAcylation at Promoters Impacts Genome-Wide RNA Pol II Distribution. Front Endocrinol (Lausanne) 2018; 9:521. [PMID: 30250452 PMCID: PMC6139338 DOI: 10.3389/fendo.2018.00521] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/25/2018] [Accepted: 08/21/2018] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Nutrient-driven O-GlcNAcylation has been linked to epigenetic regulation of gene expression in metazoans. In C. elegans, O-GlcNAc marks the promoters of over 800 developmental, metabolic, and stress-related genes; these O-GlcNAc marked genes show a strong 5', promoter-proximal bias in the distribution of RNA Polymerase II (Pol II). In response to starvation or feeding, the steady state distribution of O-GlcNAc at promoters remain nearly constant presumably due to dynamic cycling mediated by the transferase OGT-1 and the O-GlcNAcase OGA-1. However, in viable mutants lacking either of these enzymes of O-GlcNAc metabolism, the nutrient-responsive GlcNAcylation of promoters is dramatically altered. Blocked O-GlcNAc cycling leads to a striking nutrient-dependent accumulation of O-GlcNAc on RNA Pol II. O-GlcNAc cycling mutants also show an exaggerated, nutrient-responsive redistribution of promoter-proximal RNA Pol II isoforms and extensive transcriptional deregulation. Our findings suggest a complex interplay between the O-GlcNAc modification at promoters, the kinase-dependent "CTD-code," and co-factors regulating RNA Pol II dynamics. Nutrient-responsive O-GlcNAc cycling may buffer the transcriptional apparatus from dramatic swings in nutrient availability by modulating promoter activity to meet metabolic and developmental needs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael W. Krause
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, United States
| | - Dona C. Love
- Laboratory of Cell and Molecular Biology, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, United States
| | - Salil K. Ghosh
- Laboratory of Cell and Molecular Biology, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, United States
| | - Peng Wang
- Laboratory of Cell and Molecular Biology, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, United States
| | - Sijung Yun
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, United States
| | - Tetsunari Fukushige
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, United States
| | - John A. Hanover
- Laboratory of Cell and Molecular Biology, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, United States
- *Correspondence: John A. Hanover
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