Project description:FACT mediates cohesin function on chromatin Cohesin is a key regulator of genome architecture with roles in sister chromatid cohesion and the organisation of higher-order structures during interphase and mitosis. The recruitment and mobility of cohesin complexes on DNA are restricted by nucleosomes. Here we show that cohesin role in chromosome organization requires the histone chaperone FACT. Depletion of FACT in metaphase cells affects cohesin stability on chromatin reducing its accumulation at pericentric regions and binding on chromosome arms. Using Hi-C, we show that cohesin-dependent TAD (Topological Associated Domains)-like structures in G1 and metaphase chromosomes are disrupted in the absence of FACT. Surprisingly, sister chromatid cohesion is intact in FACT-depleted cells, although chromosome segregation failure is observed. Our results uncover a role for FACT in genome organisation by facilitating cohesin dependent compartmentalization of chromosomes into loop domains.
Project description:The ring-like cohesin complex plays an essential role in chromosome segregation, organization, and double-strand break repair through its ability to bring two DNA double helices together. Scc2 (NIPBL in humans) together with Scc4 function as the loader of cohesin onto chromosomes. Chromatin adapters such as the RSC complex facilitate localization of the Scc2-Scc4 cohesin loader. Here we identify a broad range of Scc2- chromatin protein interactions that are evolutionarily conserved and reveal a role for one complex, Mediator, in recruitment of the cohesin loader. We identified budding yeast Med14, a subunit of the Mediator complex, as a high copy suppressor of poor growth in Scc2 mutant strains. Physical and genetic interactions between Scc2 and Mediator are functionally substantiated in direct recruitment and cohesion assays. Depletion of Med14 results in defective sister chromatid cohesion and decreased binding of Scc2 at RNA Pol II transcribed genes. Previous work has suggested that Mediator, Nipbl, and cohesin connect enhancers and promoters of active mammalian genes. Our studies suggest an evolutionarily conserved fundamental role for Mediator in direct recruitment of Scc2 to RNA pol II transcribed genes. We identified two mutations in the evolutionarily conserved HEAT domain of SCC2 that result in significantly reduced growth, scc2R787G and scc2G1242V. This experiment uses ChIP Seq to examine global localization of Scc2 in the presence or absence of MED14.
Project description:Aneuploidy and aging are correlated; however, a causal link between these two phenomena has remained elusive. Here we show that yeast disomic for a single native yeast chromosome generally have a decreased replicative lifespan. In addition, the extent of this lifespan deficit correlates with the size of the extra chromosome. We identified a mutation in BUL1 that rescues both the lifespan deficit and a protein trafficking defect in yeast disomic for chromosome 5. Bul1 is an E4 ubiquitin ligase adaptor involved in a protein quality-control pathway that targets membrane proteins for endocytosis and destruction in the lysosomal vacuole thereby maintaining protein homeostasis. Concurrent suppression of the aging and trafficking phenotypes suggests that disrupted membrane protein homeostasis in aneuploid yeast may contribute to their accelerated aging. The data reported here demonstrate that aneuploidy can impair protein homeostasis, shorten lifespan, and may contribute to age-associated phenotypes.
Project description:The ring-like cohesin complex plays an essential role in chromosome segregation, organization, and double-strand break repair through its ability to bring two DNA double helices together. Scc2 (NIPBL in humans) together with Scc4 function as the loader of cohesin onto chromosomes. Chromatin adapters such as the RSC complex facilitate localization of the Scc2-Scc4 cohesin loader. Here we identify a broad range of Scc2- chromatin protein interactions that are evolutionarily conserved and reveal a role for one complex, Mediator, in recruitment of the cohesin loader. We identified budding yeast Med14, a subunit of the Mediator complex, as a high copy suppressor of poor growth in Scc2 mutant strains. Physical and genetic interactions between Scc2 and Mediator are functionally substantiated in direct recruitment and cohesion assays. Depletion of Med14 results in defective sister chromatid cohesion and decreased binding of Scc2 at RNA Pol II transcribed genes. Previous work has suggested that Mediator, Nipbl, and cohesin connect enhancers and promoters of active mammalian genes. Our studies suggest an evolutionarily conserved fundamental role for Mediator in direct recruitment of Scc2 to RNA pol II transcribed genes. We identified two mutations in the evolutionarily conserved HEAT domain of SCC2 that result in significantly reduced growth, scc2R787G and scc2G1242V. This experiment uses RNA-Seq analysis to study the effect of these mutations on gene expression.
Project description:The ring-like cohesin complex plays an essential role in chromosome segregation, organization, and double-strand break repair through its ability to bring two DNA double helices together. Scc2 (NIPBL in humans) together with Scc4 function as the loader of cohesin onto chromosomes. Chromatin adapters such as the RSC complex facilitate localization of the Scc2-Scc4 cohesin loader. Here we identify a broad range of Scc2- chromatin protein interactions that are evolutionarily conserved and reveal a role for one complex, Mediator, in recruitment of the cohesin loader. We identified budding yeast Med14, a subunit of the Mediator complex, as a high copy suppressor of poor growth in Scc2 mutant strains. Physical and genetic interactions between Scc2 and Mediator are functionally substantiated in direct recruitment and cohesion assays. Depletion of Med14 results in defective sister chromatid cohesion and decreased binding of Scc2 at RNA Pol II transcribed genes. Previous work has suggested that Mediator, Nipbl, and cohesin connect enhancers and promoters of active mammalian genes. Our studies suggest an evolutionarily conserved fundamental role for Mediator in direct recruitment of Scc2 to RNA pol II transcribed genes. We identified two mutations in the evolutionarily conserved HEAT domain of SCC2 that result in significantly reduced growth, scc2R787G and scc2G1242V. This experiment uses RNA-Seq analysis to study the effect of these mutations on gene expression.
Project description:Aneuploidy and aging are correlated; however, a causal link between these two phenomena has remained elusive. Here we show that yeast disomic for a single native yeast chromosome generally have a decreased replicative lifespan. In addition, the extent of this lifespan deficit correlates with the size of the extra chromosome. We identified a mutation in BUL1 that rescues both the lifespan deficit and a protein trafficking defect in yeast disomic for chromosome 5. Bul1 is an E4 ubiquitin ligase adaptor involved in a protein quality-control pathway that targets membrane proteins for endocytosis and destruction in the lysosomal vacuole thereby maintaining protein homeostasis. Concurrent suppression of the aging and trafficking phenotypes suggests that disrupted membrane protein homeostasis in aneuploid yeast may contribute to their accelerated aging. The data reported here demonstrate that aneuploidy can impair protein homeostasis, shorten lifespan, and may contribute to age-associated phenotypes. These are all CGH arrays comparing DNA content between the indicated strain of interest and a wt control.
Project description:Gentamicin is a highly efficacious antibiotic against gram-negative bacteria. However, its usefulness in treating infection is compromised by its poorly understood renal toxicity. This toxic effect is seen in a variety of organisms. While the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae is relatively insensitive to gentamicin, mutations in any one of 20 or so genes causes a dramatic increase in sensitivity. Many of these genes encode proteins important for translation termination or specific protein trafficking complexes. Here, we demonstrate by microarray analysis that gentamicin treatment leads to dramatic decreases in genes under the control of the MADS box protein Mcm1, including genes encoding products involved in mating, nitrogen utilization, and ribosome biogenesis. Furthermore, microarray analysis also demonstrates an increase in a Rlm1-dependent set of genes involved in maintaining the structure of the cell wall that are also induced by the antifungal agents caspofungin and calcofluor white. Subsequent inspection of the physical and genetic interactions of the remaining gentamicin sensitive mutants revealed a network centered around chitin synthase and the Arf Pathway. Furthermore, conditional arf1 mutants are hypersensitive to gentamicin even under permissive conditions. These results suggest that gentamicin may act as a cell wall stress, possibly by disrupting Arf-dependent trafficking of proteins involved in forming the cell wall. Keywords: disease state analysis, comparative genomic analysis +/- gentamicin treatment
Project description:Aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases (aaRSs) are essential enzymes that ligate amino acids to tRNAs, and often require editing to ensure accurate protein synthesis. Recessive mutations in aaRSs cause various neurological disorders in humans, yet the underlying mechanism remains poorly understood. Pathogenic aaRS mutations frequently cause protein destabilization and aminoacylation deficiency. In this study, we report that combined aminoacylation and editing defects cause severe proteotoxicity. We show that a C268A mutation in yeast threonyl-tRNA synthetase (ThrRS) abolishes editing and causes heat sensitivity. Surprisingly, directed-evolution of the C268A mutant result in intragenic mutations that restore heat resistance but not editing. C268A destabilizes ThrRS and decreases overall Thr-tRNAThr synthesis, and the suppressor mutations in the evolved strains improve aminoacylation. We further show that deficiency in ThrRS aminoacylation or editing alone is not sufficient to cause heat sensitivity, and that C268A impairs ribosome-associated quality control. Our results suggest that aminoacylation deficiency predisposes cells to proteotoxic stress.
Project description:Sir2 is a highly conserved NAD+-dependent histone deacetylase that functions in heterochromatin formation and promotes replicative lifespan (RLS) in the budding yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Within the yeast rDNA locus, Sir2 is required for efficient cohesin recruitment and maintaining stability of the tandem array. In addition to the previously reported depletion of Sir2 in replicatively aged cells, we discovered that subunits of the Sir2 containing complexes, SIR and RENT, were depleted. Several other rDNA structural protein complexes also exhibited age-related depletion, most notably the cohesin complex. We hypothesized that mitotic chromosome instability (CIN) due to cohesin depletion could be a driver of replicative aging. ChIP assays of the residual cohesin (Mcd1-13xMyc) in moderately aged cells showed strong depletion from the rDNA and initial redistribution to the point centromeres, which was then lost in older cells. Despite the shift in cohesin distribution, sister chromatid cohesion was partially attenuated in aged cells and the frequency of chromosome loss was increased. This age-induced CIN was exacerbated in strains lacking Sir2 and its paralog, Hst1, but suppressed in strains that stabilize the rDNA array due to deletion of FOB1 or through caloric restriction (CR). Furthermore, ectopic expression of MCD1 from a doxycycline-inducible promoter was sufficient to suppress rDNA instability in aged cells and to extend RLS. Taken together we conclude that age-induced depletion of cohesin and multiple other nucleolar chromatin factors destabilize the rDNA locus, which then results in general CIN and aneuploidy that shortens RLS.