Yeast hnRNP K-Like Genes Are Involved in Regulation of the Telomeric Position Effect and Telomere Length

Mammalian heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein K (hnRNP K) is an RNA- and DNA-binding protein implicated in the regulation of gene expression processes. To better understand its function, we studied two Saccharomyces cerevisiae homologues of the human hnRNP K, PBP2 and HEK2 (heterogeneous nuclear RNP K-like gene). pbp2Delta and hek2Delta mutations inhibited expression of a marker gene that was inserted near telomere but not at internal chromosomal locations. The telomere proximal to the ectopic marker gene became longer, while most of the other telomeres were not altered in the double mutant cells. We provide evidence that telomere elongation might be the primary event that causes enhanced silencing of an adjacent reporter gene. The telomere lengthening could, in part, be explained by the inhibitory effect of hek2Delta mutation on the telomeric rapid deletion pathway. Hek2p was detected in a complex with chromosome regions proximal to the affected telomere, suggesting a direct involvement of this protein in telomere maintenance. These results identify a role for hnRNP K-like genes in the structural and functional organization of telomeric chromatin in yeast.     

端粒及端粒酶活性的调控机制

广义的端粒由帽子、双链的串联重复序列的DNA核心部分及亚端粒构成,其结合蛋白是一个复合体,由TRF1、TRF2、TIN2、Pot1、TPP1、RAP1 6个亚单位组成;另外,还结合组蛋白的特定成分H3K9三甲基聚合体和H4K20三甲基聚合体。端粒酶主要由hTerc、hTert、dyskerin构成。端粒的功能主要受端粒酶的活性调控;而端粒酶活性主要受hTert及hTerc的转录水平和转录后的剪切、hTert的翻译等因素的调控。端粒与端粒酶结构和功能的异常与细胞衰老及肿瘤的发生、发展关系密切。     

Mutant Telomeric Repeats in Yeast Can Disrupt the Negative Regulation of Recombination-Mediated Telomere Maintenance and Create an Alternative Lengthening of Telomeres-Like Phenotype

Some human cancers maintain telomeres using alternative lengthening of telomeres (ALT), a process thought to be due to recombination. In Kluyveromyces lactis mutants lacking telomerase, recombinational telomere elongation (RTE) is induced at short telomeres but is suppressed once telomeres are moderately elongated by RTE. Recent work has shown that certain telomere capping defects can trigger a different type of RTE that results in much more extensive telomere elongation that is reminiscent of human ALT cells. In this study, we generated telomeres composed of either of two types of mutant telomeric repeats, Acc and SnaB, that each alter the binding site for the telomeric protein Rap1. We show here that arrays of both types of mutant repeats present basally on a telomere were defective in negatively regulating telomere length in the presence of telomerase. Similarly, when each type of mutant repeat was spread to all chromosome ends in cells lacking telomerase, they led to the formation of telomeres produced by RTE that were much longer than those seen in cells with only wild-type telomeric repeats. The Acc repeats produced the more severe defect in both types of telomere maintenance, consistent with their more severe Rap1 binding defect. Curiously, although telomerase deletion mutants with telomeres composed of Acc repeats invariably showed extreme telomere elongation, they often also initially showed persistent very short telomeres with few or no Acc repeats. We suggest that these result from futile cycles of recombinational elongation and truncation of the Acc repeats from the telomeres. The presence of extensive 3′ overhangs at mutant telomeres suggests that Rap1 may normally be involved in controlling 5′ end degradation.     

Regulation of Fission Yeast Myosin-II Function and Contractile Ring Dynamics by Regulatory Light-Chain and Heavy-Chain Phosphorylation

We investigated the role of regulatory light-chain (Rlc1p) and heavy-chain phosphorylation in controlling fission yeast myosin-II (Myo2p) motor activity and function during cytokinesis. Phosphorylation of Rlc1p leads to a fourfold increase in Myo2p''s in vitro motility rate, which ensures effective contractile ring constriction and function. Surprisingly, unlike with smooth muscle and nonmuscle myosin-II, RLC phosphorylation does not influence the actin-activated ATPase activity of Myo2p. A truncated form of Rlc1p lacking its extended N-terminal regulatory region (including phosphorylation sites) supported maximal Myo2p in vitro motility rates and normal contractile ring function. Thus, the unphosphorylated N-terminal extension of Rlc1p can uncouple the ATPase and motility activities of Myo2p. We confirmed the identity of one out of two putative heavy-chain phosphorylation sites previously reported to control Myo2p function and cytokinesis. Although in vitro studies indicated that phosphorylation at Ser-1444 is not needed for Myo2p motor activity, phosphorylation at this site promotes the initiation of contractile ring constriction.     

酵母基因上游序列中潜在的转录正调控位点分析

前期研究表明,高效转录酵母基因内含子在序列长度、寡核苷酸使用、以及位置分布等方面都有着区别于低转录内含子的特征 . 进一步观察发现：上游基因间区域的序列长度与基因转录频率也有与内含子序列相同的现象,转录频率高的上游基因间序列一般都比转录频率低的长 . 对高效转录和低效转录上游基因间序列的寡核苷酸使用频率进行统计比较分析,抽提出高转录基因上游区可能的转录正调控元件 . 与酵母的所有非编码序列比较,这些可能的正调控元件基本上也是过表达的 (over-represented) ,其中多数和实验所得的一些位点特征相吻合 . 这些元件富含 G 、 C ,这与内含子中可能的正调控元件在碱基组成上有一定的互补性 . 从这些特征看,高效转录基因上游的序列结构确实有利于基因的转录 .     

Estimating the Prevalence of Nonpaternity in Germany

The prevalence of nonpaternity in human societies is difficult to establish. To obtain a current and fairly unbiased estimate of the nonpaternity rate in Germany, we analysed a dataset consisting of 971 children and their parents in whom human leukocyte antigen (HLA) typing had been carried out in the context of bone marrow transplantation. In this sample, nine exclusions (0.93%) could be identified on the basis of more than 300 HLA-haplotypes defined by four HLA genes. Given this number of exclusions, a maximum likelihood estimate of the nonpaternity rate in the population of 0.94% was obtained with asymptotic 95% confidence limits of 0.33% and 1.55%, respectively. This result is in accordance with recent surveys as well as findings from Switzerland for a comparable sample, and it suggests that earlier estimates of the nonpaternity rate which were often in excess of 10% may have been largely exaggerated.     

转录调控因子Rex的功能及调节机制研究进展

转录因子Rex是一种广泛存在于革兰氏阳性菌,能够与NADH或者NAD⁺直接结合响应胞内NADH/NAD⁺的氧化还原传感器,与靶基因的结合可调节细胞内的多种生理代谢。NAD（H）是调节细胞能量代谢的必需辅酶,显示微生物细胞内的氧化还原状态。研究发现Rex的调节活性与细胞内NADH/NAD⁺比率相关。需氧和厌氧菌属中Rex单体和复合物晶体结构的解析揭示了Rex、NADH/NAD⁺和靶基因间的作用关系及调控机制。通过比较分析了不同菌株中Rex单体和复合物的晶体蛋白结构,并揭示了NADH/NAD⁺对Rex调控活性的影响,进一步解析了Rex与碳和能量代谢、厌氧代谢、发酵、生物膜等之间的联系,并展望了Rex的研究和应用方向。     

酵母转录因子Gal4研究进展

胁迫应答基因的转录激活是细胞应答胁迫作用的关键步骤。转录激活因子与启动子顺式作用元件结合是胁迫应答基因转录激活的关键环节。进化保守的Gal4是半乳糖代谢相关基因的转录激活因子。酵母Gal4通过其N端的DNA结合结构域识别并结合启动子UAS,通过其C端的激活结构域与转录因子作用,起始RNA聚合酶Ⅱ复合体的组装和转录。该过程不仅受转录调控因子Gal80和Gal3的调节,还与Gal4二聚体的形成有关。概述了酵母半乳糖代谢相关基因转录激活因子Gal4的研究进展。     

Analyzing Chromatin Structure and Transcription Factor Binding in Yeast

The study of chromatin, once thought to be a purely structural matrix serving to compact the DNA of the genome into the nucleus, is of increasing value for our understanding of how DNA functions in the cell. This article provides two basic procedures for the study of chromatinin vivo.The first is a DNase I-based method for the treatment of isolated nuclei to resolve the chromatin structure of a particular region; the second employs dimethyl sulfate footprinting of whole cellsin vivoto determine the binding of factors tociselements in the locus of interest. Specific examples illustrating the techniques described are given from our work on the regulation of the yeastPHO8gene, but have also been successfully and reliably applied to the study of many other yeast loci. These procedures make it possible to correlate the binding of atransactivator with an altered or perturbed chromatin organization at a specific locus.     

Prototrophic Regulatory Mutants of Adenylosuccinate Synthetase in Yeast

MUTANTS of the genes ade12 and ade13 in Saccharomyces cerevisiae require adenine, which suggests that they are defective in the conversion of inosine monophosphate (IMP) to adenosine monophosphate (AMP). Two enzymes are required for this conversion: adenylosuccinate lyase and adenylosuccinate synthetase. The former has been shown to be absent in mutants of ade13 (ref. 1) so that one can infer that ade12 specifies the latter. Mutants of ade12 have been isolated on the basis of an adenine insensitive pigment accumulation by strains carrying ade1 or ade2 (refs. 1 and 2). They seem to synthesize purines constitutively and excrete hypoxanthine¹. These observations suggest that in addition to its catalytic function adenylosuccinate synthetase has an important function in the regulation of purine synthesis.