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Ohtsuka H, Otsubo Y, Shimasaki T, Yamashita A, Aiba H. ecl family genes: Factors linking starvation and lifespan extension in Schizosaccharomyces pombe. Mol Microbiol 2023; 120:645-657. [PMID: 37525511 DOI: 10.1111/mmi.15134] [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: 04/18/2023] [Revised: 07/11/2023] [Accepted: 07/12/2023] [Indexed: 08/02/2023]
Abstract
In the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe, the duration of survival in the stationary phase, termed the chronological lifespan (CLS), is affected by various environmental factors and the corresponding gene activities. The ecl family genes were identified in the genomic region encoding non-coding RNA as positive regulators of CLS in S. pombe, and subsequently shown to encode relatively short proteins. Several studies revealed that ecl family genes respond to various nutritional starvation conditions via different mechanisms, and they are additionally involved in stress resistance, autophagy, sexual differentiation, and cell cycle control. Recent studies reported that Ecl family proteins strongly suppress target of rapamycin complex 1, which is a conserved eukaryotic nutrient-sensing kinase complex that also regulates longevity in a variety of organisms. In this review, we introduce the regulatory mechanisms of Ecl family proteins and discuss their emerging findings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hokuto Ohtsuka
- Laboratory of Molecular Microbiology, Department of Basic Medicinal Sciences, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Nagoya University, Nagoya, Japan
| | - Yoko Otsubo
- Interdisciplinary Research Unit, National Institute for Basic Biology, Okazaki, Japan
| | - Takafumi Shimasaki
- Laboratory of Molecular Microbiology, Department of Basic Medicinal Sciences, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Nagoya University, Nagoya, Japan
| | - Akira Yamashita
- Interdisciplinary Research Unit, National Institute for Basic Biology, Okazaki, Japan
| | - Hirofumi Aiba
- Laboratory of Molecular Microbiology, Department of Basic Medicinal Sciences, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Nagoya University, Nagoya, Japan
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Kozlowski P. Thirty Years with ERH: An mRNA Splicing and Mitosis Factor Only or Rather a Novel Genome Integrity Protector? Cells 2023; 12:2449. [PMID: 37887293 PMCID: PMC10605862 DOI: 10.3390/cells12202449] [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: 08/29/2023] [Revised: 10/10/2023] [Accepted: 10/12/2023] [Indexed: 10/28/2023] Open
Abstract
ERH is a 100 to about 110 aa nuclear protein with unique primary and three-dimensional structures that are very conserved from simple eukaryotes to humans, albeit some species have lost its gene, with most higher fungi being a noteworthy example. Initially, studies on Drosophila melanogaster implied its function in pyrimidine metabolism. Subsequently, research on Xenopus laevis suggested that it acts as a transcriptional repressor. Finally, studies in humans pointed to a role in pre-mRNA splicing and in mitosis but further research, also in Caenorhabditis elegans and Schizosaccharomyces pombe, demonstrated its much broader activity, namely involvement in the biogenesis of mRNA, and miRNA, piRNA and some other ncRNAs, and in repressive heterochromatin formation. ERH interacts with numerous, mostly taxon-specific proteins, like Mmi1 and Mei2 in S. pombe, PID-3/PICS-1, TOST-1 and PID-1 in C. elegans, and DGCR8, CIZ1, PDIP46/SKAR and SAFB1/2 in humans. There are, however, some common themes in this wide range of processes and partners, such as: (a) ERH homodimerizes to form a scaffold for several complexes involved in the metabolism of nucleic acids, (b) all these RNAs are RNA polymerase II transcripts, (c) pre-mRNAs, whose splicing depends on ERH, are enriched in transcripts of DNA damage response and DNA metabolism genes, and (d) heterochromatin is formed to silence unwanted transcription, e.g., from repetitive elements. Thus, it seems that ERH has been adopted for various pathways that serve to maintain genome integrity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Piotr Kozlowski
- Department of Molecular Biology, Institute of Biochemistry, Faculty of Biology, University of Warsaw, Miecznikowa 1, 02-096 Warsaw, Poland
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Ohtsuka H, Imada K, Shimasaki T, Aiba H. Sporulation: A response to starvation in the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe. Microbiologyopen 2022; 11:e1303. [PMID: 35765188 PMCID: PMC9214231 DOI: 10.1002/mbo3.1303] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/13/2022] [Revised: 06/08/2022] [Accepted: 06/08/2022] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
The fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe employs two main strategies to adapt to the environment and survive when starved for nutrients. The strategies employ sporulation via sexual differentiation and extension of the chronological lifespan. When a cell is exposed to nutrient starvation in the presence of a cell of the opposite sex, the cells undergo fusion through conjugation and sporulation through meiosis. S. pombe spores are highly resistant to diverse stresses and may survive for a very long time. In this minireview, among the various sexual differentiation processes induced by starvation, we focused on and summarized the findings of the molecular mechanisms of spore formation in fission yeast. Furthermore, comparative measurements of the chronological lifespan of stationary phase cells and G0 cells and the survival period of spore cells revealed that the spore cells survived for a long period, indicating the presence of an effective mechanism for survival. Currently, many molecules involved in sporulation and their functions are being discovered; however, our understanding of these is not complete. Further understanding of spores may not only deepen our comprehension of sexual differentiation but may also provide hints for sustaining life.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hokuto Ohtsuka
- Laboratory of Molecular Microbiology, Department of Basic Medicinal Sciences, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Nagoya University, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya, Japan
| | - Kazuki Imada
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, National Institute of Technology (KOSEN), Suzuka College, Suzuka, Japan.,Department of Biology, Graduate School of Science, Osaka City University, Sumiyoshi-ku, Osaka, Japan
| | - Takafumi Shimasaki
- Laboratory of Molecular Microbiology, Department of Basic Medicinal Sciences, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Nagoya University, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya, Japan
| | - Hirofumi Aiba
- Laboratory of Molecular Microbiology, Department of Basic Medicinal Sciences, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Nagoya University, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya, Japan
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Faber MW, Vo TV. Long RNA-Mediated Chromatin Regulation in Fission Yeast and Mammals. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:968. [PMID: 35055152 PMCID: PMC8778201 DOI: 10.3390/ijms23020968] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2021] [Revised: 01/07/2022] [Accepted: 01/13/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
As part of a complex network of genome control, long regulatory RNAs exert significant influences on chromatin dynamics. Understanding how this occurs could illuminate new avenues for disease treatment and lead to new hypotheses that would advance gene regulatory research. Recent studies using the model fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe (S. pombe) and powerful parallel sequencing technologies have provided many insights in this area. This review will give an overview of key findings in S. pombe that relate long RNAs to multiple levels of chromatin regulation: histone modifications, gene neighborhood regulation in cis and higher-order chromosomal ordering. Moreover, we discuss parallels recently found in mammals to help bridge the knowledge gap between the study systems.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Tommy V. Vo
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, College of Human Medicine, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA;
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Rodriguez-Lopez M, Anver S, Cotobal C, Kamrad S, Malecki M, Correia-Melo C, Hoti M, Townsend S, Marguerat S, Pong SK, Wu MY, Montemayor L, Howell M, Ralser M, Bähler J. Functional profiling of long intergenic non-coding RNAs in fission yeast. eLife 2022; 11:e76000. [PMID: 34984977 PMCID: PMC8730722 DOI: 10.7554/elife.76000] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2021] [Accepted: 12/02/2021] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Eukaryotic genomes express numerous long intergenic non-coding RNAs (lincRNAs) that do not overlap any coding genes. Some lincRNAs function in various aspects of gene regulation, but it is not clear in general to what extent lincRNAs contribute to the information flow from genotype to phenotype. To explore this question, we systematically analysed cellular roles of lincRNAs in Schizosaccharomyces pombe. Using seamless CRISPR/Cas9-based genome editing, we deleted 141 lincRNA genes to broadly phenotype these mutants, together with 238 diverse coding-gene mutants for functional context. We applied high-throughput colony-based assays to determine mutant growth and viability in benign conditions and in response to 145 different nutrient, drug, and stress conditions. These analyses uncovered phenotypes for 47.5% of the lincRNAs and 96% of the protein-coding genes. For 110 lincRNA mutants, we also performed high-throughput microscopy and flow cytometry assays, linking 37% of these lincRNAs with cell-size and/or cell-cycle control. With all assays combined, we detected phenotypes for 84 (59.6%) of all lincRNA deletion mutants tested. For complementary functional inference, we analysed colony growth of strains ectopically overexpressing 113 lincRNA genes under 47 different conditions. Of these overexpression strains, 102 (90.3%) showed altered growth under certain conditions. Clustering analyses provided further functional clues and relationships for some of the lincRNAs. These rich phenomics datasets associate lincRNA mutants with hundreds of phenotypes, indicating that most of the lincRNAs analysed exert cellular functions in specific environmental or physiological contexts. This study provides groundwork to further dissect the roles of these lincRNAs in the relevant conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Rodriguez-Lopez
- University College London, Institute of Healthy Ageing and Department of Genetics, Evolution & EnvironmentLondonUnited Kingdom
| | - Shajahan Anver
- University College London, Institute of Healthy Ageing and Department of Genetics, Evolution & EnvironmentLondonUnited Kingdom
| | - Cristina Cotobal
- University College London, Institute of Healthy Ageing and Department of Genetics, Evolution & EnvironmentLondonUnited Kingdom
| | - Stephan Kamrad
- University College London, Institute of Healthy Ageing and Department of Genetics, Evolution & EnvironmentLondonUnited Kingdom
- The Francis Crick Institute, Molecular Biology of Metabolism LaboratoryLondonUnited Kingdom
- Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Institute of BiochemistryBerlinGermany
| | - Michal Malecki
- University College London, Institute of Healthy Ageing and Department of Genetics, Evolution & EnvironmentLondonUnited Kingdom
| | - Clara Correia-Melo
- The Francis Crick Institute, Molecular Biology of Metabolism LaboratoryLondonUnited Kingdom
| | - Mimoza Hoti
- University College London, Institute of Healthy Ageing and Department of Genetics, Evolution & EnvironmentLondonUnited Kingdom
| | - StJohn Townsend
- University College London, Institute of Healthy Ageing and Department of Genetics, Evolution & EnvironmentLondonUnited Kingdom
- The Francis Crick Institute, Molecular Biology of Metabolism LaboratoryLondonUnited Kingdom
| | - Samuel Marguerat
- University College London, Institute of Healthy Ageing and Department of Genetics, Evolution & EnvironmentLondonUnited Kingdom
| | - Sheng Kai Pong
- University College London, Institute of Healthy Ageing and Department of Genetics, Evolution & EnvironmentLondonUnited Kingdom
| | - Mary Y Wu
- The Francis Crick Institute, High Throughput ScreeningLondonUnited Kingdom
| | - Luis Montemayor
- University College London, Institute of Healthy Ageing and Department of Genetics, Evolution & EnvironmentLondonUnited Kingdom
| | - Michael Howell
- The Francis Crick Institute, High Throughput ScreeningLondonUnited Kingdom
| | - Markus Ralser
- The Francis Crick Institute, Molecular Biology of Metabolism LaboratoryLondonUnited Kingdom
- Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Institute of BiochemistryBerlinGermany
| | - Jürg Bähler
- University College London, Institute of Healthy Ageing and Department of Genetics, Evolution & EnvironmentLondonUnited Kingdom
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Andric V, Rougemaille M. Long Non-Coding RNAs in the Control of Gametogenesis: Lessons from Fission Yeast. Noncoding RNA 2021; 7:ncrna7020034. [PMID: 34208016 PMCID: PMC8293462 DOI: 10.3390/ncrna7020034] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2021] [Revised: 06/03/2021] [Accepted: 06/09/2021] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) contribute to cell fate decisions by modulating genome expression and stability. In the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe, the transition from mitosis to meiosis results in a marked remodeling of gene expression profiles, which ultimately ensures gamete production and inheritance of genetic information to the offspring. This key developmental process involves a set of dedicated lncRNAs that shape cell cycle-dependent transcriptomes through a variety of mechanisms, including epigenetic modifications and the modulation of transcription, post-transcriptional and post-translational regulations, and that contribute to meiosis-specific chromosomal events. In this review, we summarize the biology of these lncRNAs, from their identification to mechanism of action, and discuss their regulatory role in the control of gametogenesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vedrana Andric
- Institute for Integrative Biology of the Cell (I2BC), Université Paris-Saclay, CEA, CNRS, 91198 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
- Institute Curie, PSL Research University, CNRS UMR3215, INSERM U934, 75005 Paris, France;
| | - Mathieu Rougemaille
- Institute for Integrative Biology of the Cell (I2BC), Université Paris-Saclay, CEA, CNRS, 91198 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
- Correspondence:
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Fernandes N, Buchan JR. RNAs as Regulators of Cellular Matchmaking. Front Mol Biosci 2021; 8:634146. [PMID: 33898516 PMCID: PMC8062979 DOI: 10.3389/fmolb.2021.634146] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/27/2020] [Accepted: 02/22/2021] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
RNA molecules are increasingly being identified as facilitating or impeding the interaction of proteins and nucleic acids, serving as so-called scaffolds or decoys. Long non-coding RNAs have been commonly implicated in such roles, particularly in the regulation of nuclear processes including chromosome topology, regulation of chromatin state and gene transcription, and assembly of nuclear biomolecular condensates such as paraspeckles. Recently, an increased awareness of cytoplasmic RNA scaffolds and decoys has begun to emerge, including the identification of non-coding regions of mRNAs that can also function in a scaffold-like manner to regulate interactions of nascently translated proteins. Collectively, cytoplasmic RNA scaffolds and decoys are now implicated in processes such as mRNA translation, decay, protein localization, protein degradation and assembly of cytoplasmic biomolecular condensates such as P-bodies. Here, we review examples of RNA scaffolds and decoys in both the nucleus and cytoplasm, illustrating common themes, the suitability of RNA to such roles, and future challenges in identifying and better understanding RNA scaffolding and decoy functions.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - J. Ross Buchan
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United States
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Krasikova A, Kulikova T. Identification of Genomic Loci Responsible for the Formation of Nuclear Domains Using Lampbrush Chromosomes. Noncoding RNA 2019; 6:ncrna6010001. [PMID: 31881720 PMCID: PMC7151628 DOI: 10.3390/ncrna6010001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2019] [Revised: 12/19/2019] [Accepted: 12/22/2019] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
In the cell nuclei, various types of nuclear domains assemble as a result of transcriptional activity at specific chromosomal loci. Giant transcriptionally active lampbrush chromosomes, which form in oocyte nuclei of amphibians and birds enable the mapping of genomic sequences with high resolution and the visualization of individual transcription units. This makes avian and amphibian oocyte nuclei an advantageous model for studying locus-specific nuclear domains. We developed two strategies for identification and comprehensive analysis of the genomic loci involved in nuclear domain formation on lampbrush chromosomes. The first approach was based on the sequential FISH-mapping of BAC clones containing genomic DNA fragments with a known chromosomal position close to the locus of a nuclear domain. The second approach involved mechanical microdissection of the chromosomal region adjacent to the nuclear domain followed by the generation of FISH-probes and DNA sequencing. Furthermore, deciphering the DNA sequences from the dissected material by high throughput sequencing technologies and their mapping to the reference genome helps to identify the genomic region responsible for the formation of the nuclear domain. For those nuclear domains structured by nascent transcripts, identification of genomic loci of their formation is a crucial step in the identification of scaffold RNAs.
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