Project description:Saccharomyces cerevisiae has been engineered to utilize cellobiose, which are prevalent in plant cell wall, by introducing a cellodextrin transporter gene (cdt-1) and an intracellular β-glucosidase gene (codon-optimized gh1-1) from Neurospora crassa. We previously found that codon-optimization of GH1-1 improved fermentation rates under aerobic and anaerobic conditions. However, we found that the codon-optimized version of the CDT-1 transporter (here denoted OPT for the mRNA) resulted in reduced cellobiose uptake and slower growth in cellobiose by S. cerevisiae relative to the transporter with Neurospora-derived coding sequence (hereafter NC for the mRNA). We performed ribosome profiling and RNA deep sequencing of cells expressing NC and OPT grown at mid-exponential phases, respectively. Differences in ribosome occupancy on NC and OPT transcripts suggested increased rates of translation elongation of the N-terminal sequence of OPT in contrast to NC, which may be responsible for the slow-growth phenotype of cells expressing OPT.
Project description:Pituitary gland function is regulated by the activity of various transcription factors which control cell fate decisions leading to cellular differentiation and hormone production. FOXO1 is necessary for the proper timing of somatotrope differentiation and for somatotrope function, but the exact mechanism of action has yet to be elucidated. Recent data implicate FOXO1 in the regulation of genes important for somatotrope differentiation including Gh1, Neurod4, and Pou1f1. Previously, a mouse model with conditional deletion of Foxo1 from the developing pituitary gland displayed reduced Gh1 and Neurod4 transcripts as early as embryonic day 18.5. Additional data from adult animals with conditional deletion of both Foxo1 and Foxo3 from the pituitary gland have a similar reduction in Neurod4 and Gh1, as well as Pou1f1. To investigate the mechanism by which FOXO1 regulates pituitary gland gene expression and confirm in vivo findings, the somatotrope-like cell line, GH3, was treated with the FOXO1 inhibitor, AS1842856, for 24 hours at various concentrations. Neurod4 was the most severely affected genes with a dose-dependent reduction in transcript at inhibitor concentrations as low as 30 nM. Gh1 transcripts were significantly reduced at 300 nM. Pou1f1 expression was trending down at 3 microM inhibitor (p=0.066). Consistent with these findings, CRISPR/Cas9-mediated deletion of Foxo1 in GH3 cells significantly reduced expression of Gh1, Neurod4, but not Pou1f1. To elucidate the molecular mechanisms underlying the role of FOXO1 in somatotropes, ChIPseq was performed for FOXO1 in the GH3 cell line. This study identified novel FOXO1 binding sites associated with the Neurod4, Gh1, and Pou1f1 genes. The FOXO1 binding site in the Neurod4 gene exhibits enhancer activity in somatotrope-like cells, but not in gonadotrope-like or heterologous cells. These data strongly suggest FOXO1 directly contributes to the transcriptional control of genes important for somatotrope differentiation. These novel findings contribute to the much-needed understanding of pituitary cell fate decisions.
Project description:Chromatin architecture relies on histone H1 whose central globular domain (GH1) sits on the nucleosome dyad and carboxy-terminal domain associates with linker DNA. We report that Arabidopsis H1 positively influences H3K27me3 chromatin enrichment over protein-coding genes but oppositely prevents its accumulation on telomeres and heterochromatic Interstitial Telomeric Repeats (ITRs). Contrasting with their neighboring heterochromatic environment, pericentromeric ITR regions remain highly compacted and are more prone to long-distance interactions with telomeres in H1 mutant plants. The switch from H1-rich to H3K27me3-rich ITR chromatin is further accompanied by an invasion of GH1-Myb Telomeric Repeat Binding protein 1 (TRB1), a structural component of telomeres capable to trigger H3K27me3 deposition over protein-coding genes displaying short telomeric motifs. This dual effect led us to propose a competition mechanism between H1 and TRB that prevents massive H3K27me3 deposition over large blocks of repeated motifs, thereby contributing to regulate H3K27me3 homeostasis over the genome.
Project description:Chromatin architecture relies on histone H1 whose central globular domain (GH1) sits on the nucleosome dyad and carboxy-terminal domain associates with linker DNA. We report that Arabidopsis H1 positively influences H3K27me3 chromatin enrichment over protein-coding genes but oppositely prevents its accumulation on telomeres and heterochromatic Interstitial Telomeric Repeats (ITRs). Contrasting with their neighboring heterochromatic environment, pericentromeric ITR regions remain highly compacted and are more prone to long-distance interactions with telomeres in H1 mutant plants. The switch from H1-rich to H3K27me3-rich ITR chromatin is further accompanied by an invasion of GH1-Myb Telomeric Repeat Binding protein 1 (TRB1), a structural component of telomeres capable to trigger H3K27me3 deposition over protein-coding genes displaying short telomeric motifs. This dual effect led us to propose a competition mechanism between H1 and TRB that prevents massive H3K27me3 deposition over large blocks of repeated motifs, thereby contributing to regulate H3K27me3 homeostasis over the genome.