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Romanelli-Cedrez L, Vairoletti F, Salinas G. Rhodoquinone-dependent electron transport chain is essential for C. elegans survival in hydrogen sulfide environments. J Biol Chem 2024:107708. [PMID: 39178951 DOI: 10.1016/j.jbc.2024.107708] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2024] [Revised: 07/29/2024] [Accepted: 08/14/2024] [Indexed: 08/26/2024] Open
Abstract
Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) has traditionally been considered as an environmental toxin for animal lineages; yet, it plays a signaling role in various processes at low concentrations. Mechanisms controlling H2S in animals, especially in sulfide-rich environments, are not fully understood. The main detoxification pathway involves the conversion of H2S into less harmful forms, through a mitochondrial oxidation pathway. The first step of this pathway oxidizes sulfide and reduces ubiquinone (UQ) through sulfide-quinone oxidoreductase (SQRD/SQOR). Because H2S inhibits cytochrome oxidase and hence UQ regeneration, this pathway becomes compromised at high H2S concentrations. The free-living nematode C. elegans feeds on bacteria and can face high sulfide concentrations in its natural environment. This organism has an alternative ETC that uses rhodoquinone (RQ) as the lipidic electron transporter and fumarate as the final electron acceptor. In this study, we demonstrate that RQ is essential for survival in sulfide. RQ-less animals (kynu-1 and coq-2e KO) cannot survive high H2S concentrations, while UQ-less animals (clk-1 and coq-2a KO) exhibit recovery, even when provided with a UQ-deficient diet. Our findings highlight that sqrd-1 uses both benzoquinones and that RQ-dependent ETC confers a key advantage (RQ regeneration) over UQ in sulfide-rich conditions. C. elegans also faces cyanide, another cytochrome oxidase inhibitor, whose detoxification leads to H2S production, via cysl-2. Our study reveals that RQ delays killing by the HCN-producing bacteria Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1. These results underscore the fundamental role that RQ-dependent ETC serves as a biochemical adaptation to H2S environments, and to pathogenic bacteria producing cyanide and H2S toxins.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Franco Vairoletti
- Worm Biology Lab, Institut Pasteur de Montevideo, Uruguay; Departamento de Biociencias, Facultad de Química, Universidad de la República, Montevideo, Uruguay
| | - Gustavo Salinas
- Worm Biology Lab, Institut Pasteur de Montevideo, Uruguay; Departamento de Biociencias, Facultad de Química, Universidad de la República, Montevideo, Uruguay; Laboratorio de Química Farmacéutica, Departamento de Química Orgánica, Facultad de Química, Universidad de la República, Montevideo, Uruguay.
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Warnhoff K, Bhattacharya S, Snoozy J, Breen PC, Ruvkun G. Hypoxia-inducible factor induces cysteine dioxygenase and promotes cysteine homeostasis in Caenorhabditis elegans. eLife 2024; 12:RP89173. [PMID: 38349720 PMCID: PMC10942545 DOI: 10.7554/elife.89173] [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] [Indexed: 02/15/2024] Open
Abstract
Dedicated genetic pathways regulate cysteine homeostasis. For example, high levels of cysteine activate cysteine dioxygenase, a key enzyme in cysteine catabolism in most animal and many fungal species. The mechanism by which cysteine dioxygenase is regulated is largely unknown. In an unbiased genetic screen for mutations that activate cysteine dioxygenase (cdo-1) in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, we isolated loss-of-function mutations in rhy-1 and egl-9, which encode proteins that negatively regulate the stability or activity of the oxygen-sensing hypoxia inducible transcription factor (hif-1). EGL-9 and HIF-1 are core members of the conserved eukaryotic hypoxia response. However, we demonstrate that the mechanism of HIF-1-mediated induction of cdo-1 is largely independent of EGL-9 prolyl hydroxylase activity and the von Hippel-Lindau E3 ubiquitin ligase, the classical hypoxia signaling pathway components. We demonstrate that C. elegans cdo-1 is transcriptionally activated by high levels of cysteine and hif-1. hif-1-dependent activation of cdo-1 occurs downstream of an H2S-sensing pathway that includes rhy-1, cysl-1, and egl-9. cdo-1 transcription is primarily activated in the hypodermis where it is also sufficient to drive sulfur amino acid metabolism. Thus, the regulation of cdo-1 by hif-1 reveals a negative feedback loop that maintains cysteine homeostasis. High levels of cysteine stimulate the production of an H2S signal. H2S then acts through the rhy-1/cysl-1/egl-9 signaling pathway to increase HIF-1-mediated transcription of cdo-1, promoting degradation of cysteine via CDO-1.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kurt Warnhoff
- Pediatrics and Rare Diseases Group, Sanford ResearchSioux FallsUnited States
- Department of Pediatrics, Sanford School of Medicine, University of South DakotaSioux FallsUnited States
| | | | - Jennifer Snoozy
- Pediatrics and Rare Diseases Group, Sanford ResearchSioux FallsUnited States
| | - Peter C Breen
- Department of Molecular Biology, Massachusetts General HospitalBostonUnited States
| | - Gary Ruvkun
- Department of Molecular Biology, Massachusetts General HospitalBostonUnited States
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Warnhoff K, Bhattacharya S, Snoozy J, Breen PC, Ruvkun G. Hypoxia-inducible factor induces cysteine dioxygenase and promotes cysteine homeostasis in Caenorhabditis elegans. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.05.04.538701. [PMID: 37205365 PMCID: PMC10187278 DOI: 10.1101/2023.05.04.538701] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/21/2023]
Abstract
Dedicated genetic pathways regulate cysteine homeostasis. For example, high levels of cysteine activate cysteine dioxygenase, a key enzyme in cysteine catabolism in most animal and many fungal species. The mechanism by which cysteine dioxygenase is regulated is largely unknown. In an unbiased genetic screen for mutations that activate cysteine dioxygenase (cdo-1) in the nematode C. elegans, we isolated loss-of-function mutations in rhy-1 and egl-9, which encode proteins that negatively regulate the stability or activity of the oxygen-sensing hypoxia inducible transcription factor (hif-1). EGL-9 and HIF-1 are core members of the conserved eukaryotic hypoxia response. However, we demonstrate that the mechanism of HIF-1-mediated induction of cdo-1 is largely independent of EGL-9 prolyl hydroxylase activity and the von Hippel-Lindau E3 ubiquitin ligase, the classical hypoxia signaling pathway components. We demonstrate that C. elegans cdo-1 is transcriptionally activated by high levels of cysteine and hif-1. hif-1-dependent activation of cdo-1 occurs downstream of an H2S-sensing pathway that includes rhy-1, cysl-1, and egl-9. cdo-1 transcription is primarily activated in the hypodermis where it is also sufficient to drive sulfur amino acid metabolism. Thus, the regulation of cdo-1 by hif-1 reveals a negative feedback loop that maintains cysteine homeostasis. High levels of cysteine stimulate the production of an H2S signal. H2S then acts through the rhy-1/cysl-1/egl-9 signaling pathway to increase HIF-1-mediated transcription of cdo-1, promoting degradation of cysteine via CDO-1.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kurt Warnhoff
- Pediatrics and Rare Diseases Group, Sanford Research, Sioux Falls, SD 57104, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, Sanford School of Medicine, University of South Dakota, Sioux Falls, SD 57105 USA
| | - Sushila Bhattacharya
- Pediatrics and Rare Diseases Group, Sanford Research, Sioux Falls, SD 57104, USA
| | - Jennifer Snoozy
- Pediatrics and Rare Diseases Group, Sanford Research, Sioux Falls, SD 57104, USA
| | - Peter C. Breen
- Department of Molecular Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02114, USA
| | - Gary Ruvkun
- Department of Molecular Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02114, USA
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Genetics: A cross-kingdom evolutionary handoff. Curr Biol 2022; 32:R1267-R1269. [PMID: 36413968 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2022.09.057] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
In the fight to resist environmental toxins, Caenorhabditis elegans might have co-opted cysteine-synthase-related enzymes that were likely acquired from algae and then integrated them into a hypoxia-signaling pathway to adapt to cyanide.
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Hadi Abdullah A, Mat R, Somderam S, Shah Abd Aziz A, Abu Asshaary Daud M. H 2S adsorption using ZnO modified Na-A zeolite and conditions optimization by Response Surface Methodology. JOURNAL OF PHYSICS: CONFERENCE SERIES 2022; 2266:012006. [DOI: 10.1088/1742-6596/2266/1/012006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/02/2023]
Abstract
Abstract
Zinc oxide-impregnated Na-A zeolites were synthesized and used in sour gas treatment for hydrogen sulfide (H2S) removal. Response Surface Methodology (RSM) was used to study the effect adsorption variables, on the adsorbent adsorption capacity. Box– Behnken design of experiment was selected and quadratic regression was used to describe the relationship between the process variables and the adsorbent adsorption capacity. The effects of three process variables of A: reaction temperature (28, 64 and 100 °C), B: inlet H2S concentration (111, 142 and 200 ppm), and C: inlet flow rate (20,30 and 40 mL min–1) on the adsorbent adsorption capacity were investigated. ANOVA was used to analyzed the interaction between the process variables and response factor. The result showed that all studied factors are significant for H2S removal. Analysis of variance implied the selected model was fitted with the experimental data. The result indicates that up to 31.07 mg S/g adsorbent can be obtained at optimum conditions.
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Feng D, Zhai Z, Shao Z, Zhang Y, Powell-Coffman JA. Crosstalk in oxygen homeostasis networks: SKN-1/NRF inhibits the HIF-1 hypoxia-inducible factor in Caenorhabditis elegans. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0249103. [PMID: 34242227 PMCID: PMC8270126 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0249103] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2021] [Accepted: 06/24/2021] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
During development, homeostasis, and disease, organisms must balance responses that allow adaptation to low oxygen (hypoxia) with those that protect cells from oxidative stress. The evolutionarily conserved hypoxia-inducible factors are central to these processes, as they orchestrate transcriptional responses to oxygen deprivation. Here, we employ genetic strategies in C. elegans to identify stress-responsive genes and pathways that modulate the HIF-1 hypoxia-inducible factor and facilitate oxygen homeostasis. Through a genome-wide RNAi screen, we show that RNAi-mediated mitochondrial or proteasomal dysfunction increases the expression of hypoxia-responsive reporter Pnhr-57::GFP in C. elegans. Interestingly, only a subset of these effects requires hif-1. Of particular importance, we found that skn-1 RNAi increases the expression of hypoxia-responsive reporter Pnhr-57::GFP and elevates HIF-1 protein levels. The SKN-1/NRF transcription factor has been shown to promote oxidative stress resistance. We present evidence that the crosstalk between HIF-1 and SKN-1 is mediated by EGL-9, the prolyl hydroxylase that targets HIF-1 for oxygen-dependent degradation. Treatment that induces SKN-1, such as heat or gsk-3 RNAi, increases expression of a Pegl-9::GFP reporter, and this effect requires skn-1 function and a putative SKN-1 binding site in egl-9 regulatory sequences. Collectively, these data support a model in which SKN-1 promotes egl-9 transcription, thereby inhibiting HIF-1. We propose that this interaction enables animals to adapt quickly to changes in cellular oxygenation and to better survive accompanying oxidative stress.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dingxia Feng
- Department of Genetics, Development and Cell Biology, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa, United States of America
| | - Zhiwei Zhai
- Department of Genetics, Development and Cell Biology, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa, United States of America
| | - Zhiyong Shao
- Department of Genetics, Development and Cell Biology, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa, United States of America
| | - Yi Zhang
- Department of Genetics, Development and Cell Biology, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa, United States of America
| | - Jo Anne Powell-Coffman
- Department of Genetics, Development and Cell Biology, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa, United States of America
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Frolows N, Ashe A. Small RNAs and chromatin in the multigenerational epigenetic landscape of Caenorhabditis elegans. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2021; 376:20200112. [PMID: 33866817 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2020.0112] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
For decades, it was thought that the only heritable information transmitted from one individual to another was that encoded in the DNA sequence. However, it has become increasingly clear that this is not the case and that the transmission of molecules from within the cytoplasm of the gamete also plays a significant role in heritability. The roundworm, Caenorhabditis elegans, has emerged as one of the leading model organisms in which to study the mechanisms of transgenerational epigenetic inheritance (TEI). Collaborative efforts over the past few years have revealed that RNA molecules play a critical role in transmitting transgenerational responses, but precisely how they do so is as yet uncertain. In addition, the role of histone modifications in epigenetic inheritance is increasingly apparent, and RNA and histones interact in a way that we do not yet fully understand. Furthermore, both exogenous and endogenous RNA molecules, as well as other environmental triggers, are able to induce heritable epigenetic changes that affect transcription across the genome. In most cases, these epigenetic changes last only for a handful of generations, but occasionally can be maintained much longer: perhaps indefinitely. In this review, we discuss the current understanding of the role of RNA and histones in TEI, as well as making clear the gaps in our knowledge. We also speculate on the evolutionary implications of epigenetic inheritance, particularly in the context of a short-lived, clonally propagating species. This article is part of the theme issue 'How does epigenetics influence the course of evolution?'
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Affiliation(s)
- Natalya Frolows
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Sydney, New South Wales, 2006, Australia.,CSIRO Health and Biosecurity, Sydney, New South Wales, 2113, Australia
| | - Alyson Ashe
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Sydney, New South Wales, 2006, Australia
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Kruempel JCP, Miller HA, Schaller ML, Fretz A, Howington M, Sarker M, Huang S, Leiser SF. Hypoxic response regulators RHY-1 and EGL-9/PHD promote longevity through a VHL-1-independent transcriptional response. GeroScience 2020; 42:1621-1633. [PMID: 32399915 DOI: 10.1007/s11357-020-00194-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2020] [Accepted: 04/15/2020] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
HIF-1-mediated adaptation to changes in oxygen availability is a critical aspect of healthy physiology. HIF is regulated by a conserved mechanism whereby EGLN/PHD family members hydroxylate HIF in an oxygen-dependent manner, targeting it for ubiquitination by Von-Hippel-Lindau (VHL) family members, leading to its proteasomal degradation. The activity of the only C. elegans PHD family member, EGL-9, is also regulated by a hydrogen sulfide sensing cysteine-synthetase-like protein, CYSL-1, which is, in turn, regulated by RHY-1/acyltransferase. Over the last decade, multiple seminal studies have established a role for the hypoxic response in regulating longevity, with mutations in vhl-1 substantially extending C. elegans lifespan through a HIF-1-dependent mechanism. However, studies on other components of the hypoxic signaling pathway that similarly stabilize HIF-1 have shown more mixed results, suggesting that mutations in egl-9 and rhy-1 frequently fail to extend lifespan. Here, we show that egl-9 and rhy-1 mutants suppress the long-lived phenotype of vhl-1 mutants. We also show that RNAi of rhy-1 extends lifespan of wild-type worms while decreasing lifespan of vhl-1 mutant worms. We further identify VHL-1-independent gene expression changes mediated by EGL-9 and RHY-1 and find that a subset of these genes contributes to longevity regulation. The resulting data suggest that changes in HIF-1 activity derived by interactions with EGL-9 likely contribute greatly to its role in regulation of longevity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joseph C P Kruempel
- Molecular & Integrative Physiology Department, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA
| | - Hillary A Miller
- Cellular and Molecular Biology Graduate Program, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA
| | - Megan L Schaller
- Molecular & Integrative Physiology Department, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA
| | - Abrielle Fretz
- Molecular & Integrative Physiology Department, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA
| | - Marshall Howington
- Cellular and Molecular Biology Graduate Program, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA
| | - Marjana Sarker
- Molecular & Integrative Physiology Department, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA
| | - Shijiao Huang
- Molecular & Integrative Physiology Department, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA
| | - Scott F Leiser
- Molecular & Integrative Physiology Department, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA. .,Department of Internal Medicine, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA.
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Burton NO, Riccio C, Dallaire A, Price J, Jenkins B, Koulman A, Miska EA. Cysteine synthases CYSL-1 and CYSL-2 mediate C. elegans heritable adaptation to P. vranovensis infection. Nat Commun 2020; 11:1741. [PMID: 32269224 PMCID: PMC7142082 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-15555-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/24/2019] [Accepted: 03/19/2020] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Parental exposure to pathogens can prime offspring immunity in diverse organisms. The mechanisms by which this heritable priming occurs are largely unknown. Here we report that the soil bacteria Pseudomonas vranovensis is a natural pathogen of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans and that parental exposure of animals to P. vranovensis promotes offspring resistance to infection. Furthermore, we demonstrate a multigenerational enhancement of progeny survival when three consecutive generations of animals are exposed to P. vranovensis. By investigating the mechanisms by which animals heritably adapt to P. vranovensis infection, we found that parental infection by P. vranovensis results in increased expression of the cysteine synthases cysl-1 and cysl-2 and the regulator of hypoxia inducible factor rhy-1 in progeny, and that these three genes are required for adaptation to P. vranovensis. These observations establish a CYSL-1, CYSL-2, and RHY-1 dependent mechanism by which animals heritably adapt to infection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicholas O Burton
- Centre for Trophoblast Research, Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 3EG, UK.
| | - Cristian Riccio
- Gurdon Institute, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 1QN, UK
- Wellcome Sanger Institute, Wellcome Genome Campus, Cambridge, CB10 1SA, UK
| | - Alexandra Dallaire
- Gurdon Institute, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 1QN, UK
- Department of Genetics, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge, CB2 3EH, UK
| | - Jonathan Price
- Gurdon Institute, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 1QN, UK
- Department of Genetics, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge, CB2 3EH, UK
| | - Benjamin Jenkins
- Metabolic Research Laboratories, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 0QQ, UK
| | - Albert Koulman
- Metabolic Research Laboratories, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 0QQ, UK
| | - Eric A Miska
- Gurdon Institute, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 1QN, UK
- Wellcome Sanger Institute, Wellcome Genome Campus, Cambridge, CB10 1SA, UK
- Department of Genetics, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge, CB2 3EH, UK
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