Project description:Nearly all mitochondrial proteins are nuclear-encoded and are targeted to their mitochondrial destination from the cytosol. Here, we used proximity-specific ribosome profiling to comprehensively measure translation at the mitochondrial surface in yeast. The majority of inner membrane proteins were co-translationally targeted to mitochondria, reminiscent of proteins entering the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). Comparison between mitochondrial and ER localization demonstrated that the vast majority of proteins were targeted to a specific organelle. A prominent exception was the fumarate reductase Osm1, known to reside in mitochondria. We identified a conserved ER isoform of Osm1, which contributes to the oxidative protein folding capacity of the organelle. This dual localization was enabled by alternative translation initiation sites encoding distinct targeting signals. These findings highlight the exquisite in vivo specificity of organellar targeting mechanisms.
Project description:Nuclear depletion of the essential transcription termination factor Nrd1 in Saccharomyces cerevisiae was studied using a combination of RNA-Seq, ChIP-Seq of Pol II and PAR-CLIP of Nrd1. The drug rapamycin induces the formation of a ternary complex between a protein of interest, the drug and the small subunit of the ribosome (both proteins are genetically engineered). The small ribosome subunit is transported out of the nucleus. therefore the protein of interest can be depleted from nucleus upon treatment with rapamycin.
Project description:The signal recognition particle (SRP) enables cotranslational delivery of proteins for translocation into the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), but its full in vivo role remains incompletely explored. We combined rapid auxin-induced SRP degradation with proximity-specific ribosome profiling to define SRP’s in vivo function in yeast. Despite the classic view that SRP recognizes amino-terminal signal sequences, we show that SRP was generally essential for targeting transmembrane domains regardless of their position relative to the amino-terminus. By contrast, many proteins containing cleavable amino-terminal signal peptides were efficiently cotranslationally targeted in SRP’s absence. We also reveal an unanticipated consequence of SRP loss: Transcripts normally targeted to the ER were mistargeted to mitochondria, leading to mitochondrial defects. These results elucidate SRP’s essential roles in maintaining the efficiency and specificity of protein targeting.
Project description:Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder. Oligomers of Amyloid-β peptides (Aβ) are thought to play a pivotal role in AD pathogenesis, yet the mechanisms involved remain unclear. Two major isoforms of Aβ associated with AD are Aβ40 and Aβ42, the latter being more prone to form oligomers and toxic. Humanized yeast models are currently applied to unravel the cellular mechanisms behind Aβ toxicity. Here, we took a systems biology approach to study two yeast AD models which expressed either Aβ40 or Aβ42 in bioreactor cultures. Strict control of oxygen availability and culture pH, strongly affected the chronological lifespan and reduced confounding effects of variations during cell growth. Reduced growth rates and biomass yields were observed upon expression of Aβ42, indicating a redirection of energy from growth to maintenance. Quantitative physiology analyses furthermore revealed reduced mitochondrial functionality and ATP generation in Aβ42 expressing cells, which matched with observed aberrant fragmented mitochondrial structures. Genome-wide expression levels analysis showed that Aβ42 expression triggers strong ER stress and unfolded protein responses (UPR). Expression of Aβ40 induced only mild ER stress, leading to activation of UPR target genes that cope with misfolded proteins, which resulted in hardly affected physiology. The combination of well-controlled cultures and AD yeast models strengthen our understanding of how cells translate different levels of Aβ toxicity signals into particular cell fate programs, and further enhance their role as a discovery platform to identify potential therapies.
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