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Acs-Szabo L, Papp LA, Miklos I. Understanding the molecular mechanisms of human diseases: the benefits of fission yeasts. MICROBIAL CELL (GRAZ, AUSTRIA) 2024; 11:288-311. [PMID: 39104724 PMCID: PMC11299203 DOI: 10.15698/mic2024.08.833] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/06/2024] [Revised: 07/04/2024] [Accepted: 07/10/2024] [Indexed: 08/07/2024]
Abstract
The role of model organisms such as yeasts in life science research is crucial. Although the baker's yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) is the most popular model among yeasts, the contribution of the fission yeasts (Schizosaccharomyces) to life science is also indisputable. Since both types of yeasts share several thousands of common orthologous genes with humans, they provide a simple research platform to investigate many fundamental molecular mechanisms and functions, thereby contributing to the understanding of the background of human diseases. In this review, we would like to highlight the many advantages of fission yeasts over budding yeasts. The usefulness of fission yeasts in virus research is shown as an example, presenting the most important research results related to the Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 (HIV-1) Vpr protein. Besides, the potential role of fission yeasts in the study of prion biology is also discussed. Furthermore, we are keen to promote the uprising model yeast Schizosaccharomyces japonicus, which is a dimorphic species in the fission yeast genus. We propose the hyphal growth of S. japonicus as an unusual opportunity as a model to study the invadopodia of human cancer cells since the two seemingly different cell types can be compared along fundamental features. Here we also collect the latest laboratory protocols and bioinformatics tools for the fission yeasts to highlight the many possibilities available to the research community. In addition, we present several limiting factors that everyone should be aware of when working with yeast models.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lajos Acs-Szabo
- Department of Genetics and Applied Microbiology, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of DebrecenDebrecen, 4032Hungary
| | - Laszlo Attila Papp
- Department of Genetics and Applied Microbiology, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of DebrecenDebrecen, 4032Hungary
| | - Ida Miklos
- Department of Genetics and Applied Microbiology, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of DebrecenDebrecen, 4032Hungary
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Rahayu AF, Hayashi A, Yoshimura Y, Nakagawa R, Arita K, Nakayama JI. Cooperative DNA-binding activities of Chp2 are critical for its function in heterochromatin assembly. J Biochem 2023; 174:371-382. [PMID: 37400983 DOI: 10.1093/jb/mvad050] [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: 06/13/2023] [Revised: 06/27/2023] [Accepted: 06/28/2023] [Indexed: 07/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Heterochromatin protein 1 (HP1) is an evolutionarily conserved protein that plays a critical role in heterochromatin assembly. HP1 proteins share a basic structure consisting of an N-terminal chromodomain (CD) and a C-terminal chromoshadow domain (CSD) linked by a disordered hinge region. The CD recognizes histone H3 lysine 9 methylation, a hallmark of heterochromatin, while the CSD forms a dimer to recruit other chromosomal proteins. HP1 proteins have been shown to bind DNA or RNA primarily through the hinge region. However, how DNA or RNA binding contributes to their function remains elusive. Here, we focus on Chp2, one of the two HP1 proteins in fission yeast, and investigate how Chp2's DNA-binding ability contributes to its function. Similar to other HP1 proteins, the Chp2 hinge exhibits clear DNA-binding activity. Interestingly, the Chp2 CSD also shows robust DNA-binding activity. Mutational analysis revealed that basic residues in the Chp2 hinge and at the N-terminus of the CSD are essential for DNA binding, and the combined amino acid substitutions of these residues alter Chp2 stability, impair Chp2 heterochromatin localization and lead to a silencing defect. These results demonstrate that the cooperative DNA-binding activities of Chp2 play an important role in heterochromatin assembly in fission yeast.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anisa Fitri Rahayu
- Division of Chromatin Regulation, National Institute for Basic Biology, 38 Nishigonaka, Myodaiji, Okazaki 444-8585, Japan
- Department of Basic Biology, School of Life Science, The Graduate University for Advanced Studies, SOKENDAI, 38 Nishigonaka, Myodaiji, Okazaki 444-8585, Japan
| | - Aki Hayashi
- Division of Chromatin Regulation, National Institute for Basic Biology, 38 Nishigonaka, Myodaiji, Okazaki 444-8585, Japan
| | - Yuriko Yoshimura
- Division of Chromatin Regulation, National Institute for Basic Biology, 38 Nishigonaka, Myodaiji, Okazaki 444-8585, Japan
| | - Reiko Nakagawa
- Laboratory for Cell-Free Protein Synthesis, RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research, 6-7-1 Minatojima-minamimachi, Chuo-ku, Kobe 650-0047, Japan
| | - Kyohei Arita
- Graduate School of Medical Life Science, Yokohama City University, 1-7-29, Suehiro-cho, Tsurumi-ku, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan
| | - Jun-Ichi Nakayama
- Division of Chromatin Regulation, National Institute for Basic Biology, 38 Nishigonaka, Myodaiji, Okazaki 444-8585, Japan
- Department of Basic Biology, School of Life Science, The Graduate University for Advanced Studies, SOKENDAI, 38 Nishigonaka, Myodaiji, Okazaki 444-8585, Japan
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Abstract
Methylation of histone H3K9 is a hallmark of epigenetic silencing in eukaryotes. Nucleosome modifications often rely on positive feedback where enzymes are recruited by modified nucleosomes. A combination of local and global feedbacks has been proposed to account for some dynamic properties of heterochromatin, but the range at which the global feedbacks operate and the exact mode of heterochromatin propagation are not known. We investigated these questions in fission yeast. Guided by mathematical modeling, we incrementally increased the size of the mating-type region and profiled heterochromatin establishment over time. We observed exponential decays in the proportion of cells with active reporters, with rates that decreased with domain size. Establishment periods varied from a few generations in wild type to >200 generations in the longest region examined, and highly correlated silencing of two reporters located outside the nucleation center was observed. On a chromatin level, this indicates that individual regions are silenced in sudden bursts. Mathematical modeling accounts for these bursts if heterochromatic nucleosomes facilitate a deacetylation or methylation reaction at long range, in a distance-independent manner. A likely effector of three-dimensional interactions is the evolutionarily conserved Swi6HP1 H3K9me reader, indicating the bursting behavior might be a general mode of heterochromatin propagation.
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Schnabl J, Wang J, Hohmann U, Gehre M, Batki J, Andreev VI, Purkhauser K, Fasching N, Duchek P, Novatchkova M, Mechtler K, Plaschka C, Patel DJ, Brennecke J. Molecular principles of Piwi-mediated cotranscriptional silencing through the dimeric SFiNX complex. Genes Dev 2021; 35:392-409. [PMID: 33574069 PMCID: PMC7919418 DOI: 10.1101/gad.347989.120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/08/2020] [Accepted: 01/22/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Nuclear Argonaute proteins, guided by their bound small RNAs to nascent target transcripts, mediate cotranscriptional silencing of transposons and repetitive genomic loci through heterochromatin formation. The molecular mechanisms involved in this process are incompletely understood. Here, we show that the SFiNX complex, a silencing mediator downstream from nuclear Piwi-piRNA complexes in Drosophila, facilitates cotranscriptional silencing as a homodimer. The dynein light chain protein Cut up/LC8 mediates SFiNX dimerization, and its function can be bypassed by a heterologous dimerization domain, arguing for a constitutive SFiNX dimer. Dimeric, but not monomeric SFiNX, is capable of forming molecular condensates in a nucleic acid-stimulated manner. Mutations that prevent SFiNX dimerization result in loss of condensate formation in vitro and the inability of Piwi to initiate heterochromatin formation and silence transposons in vivo. We propose that multivalent SFiNX-nucleic acid interactions are critical for heterochromatin establishment at piRNA target loci in a cotranscriptional manner.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jakob Schnabl
- Institute of Molecular Biotechnology of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (IMBA), Vienna BioCenter (VBC), 1030 Vienna, Austria
- Vienna BioCenter PhD Program, Doctoral School at the University of Vienna and Medical University of Vienna, 1030 Vienna, Austria
| | - Juncheng Wang
- Structural Biology Program, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York 10065, USA
| | - Ulrich Hohmann
- Institute of Molecular Biotechnology of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (IMBA), Vienna BioCenter (VBC), 1030 Vienna, Austria
- Research Institute of Molecular Pathology (IMP), Vienna BioCenter (VBC), 1030 Vienna, Austria
| | - Maja Gehre
- Institute of Molecular Biotechnology of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (IMBA), Vienna BioCenter (VBC), 1030 Vienna, Austria
| | - Julia Batki
- Institute of Molecular Biotechnology of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (IMBA), Vienna BioCenter (VBC), 1030 Vienna, Austria
| | - Veselin I Andreev
- Institute of Molecular Biotechnology of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (IMBA), Vienna BioCenter (VBC), 1030 Vienna, Austria
- Vienna BioCenter PhD Program, Doctoral School at the University of Vienna and Medical University of Vienna, 1030 Vienna, Austria
| | - Kim Purkhauser
- Institute of Molecular Biotechnology of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (IMBA), Vienna BioCenter (VBC), 1030 Vienna, Austria
| | - Nina Fasching
- Institute of Molecular Biotechnology of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (IMBA), Vienna BioCenter (VBC), 1030 Vienna, Austria
| | - Peter Duchek
- Institute of Molecular Biotechnology of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (IMBA), Vienna BioCenter (VBC), 1030 Vienna, Austria
| | - Maria Novatchkova
- Institute of Molecular Biotechnology of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (IMBA), Vienna BioCenter (VBC), 1030 Vienna, Austria
| | - Karl Mechtler
- Research Institute of Molecular Pathology (IMP), Vienna BioCenter (VBC), 1030 Vienna, Austria
| | - Clemens Plaschka
- Research Institute of Molecular Pathology (IMP), Vienna BioCenter (VBC), 1030 Vienna, Austria
| | - Dinshaw J Patel
- Structural Biology Program, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York 10065, USA
| | - Julius Brennecke
- Institute of Molecular Biotechnology of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (IMBA), Vienna BioCenter (VBC), 1030 Vienna, Austria
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