Functional characterization of the copper transcription factor AfMac1 from Aspergillus fumigatus

2017 ◽  
Vol 474 (14) ◽  
pp. 2365-2378 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yong-Sung Park ◽  
Tae-Hyoung Kim ◽  
Cheol-Won Yun
Keyword(s):  
Transcription Factor ◽  
Dna Binding ◽  
Promoter Region ◽  
Functional Characterization ◽  
Copper Homeostasis ◽  
Binding Motif ◽  
Copper Binding ◽  
Binding Domains ◽  
Physiological Processes ◽  
Cellular Copper

Although copper functions as a cofactor in many physiological processes, copper overload leads to harmful effects in living cells. Thus, copper homeostasis is tightly regulated. However, detailed copper metabolic pathways have not yet been identified in filamentous fungi. In this report, we investigated the copper transcription factor AfMac1 (Aspergillus fumigatusMac1 homolog) and identified its regulatory mechanism in A. fumigatus. AfMac1 has domains homologous to the DNA-binding and copper-binding domains of Mac1 from Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and AfMac1 efficiently complemented Mac1 in S. cerevisiae. Expression of Afmac1 resulted in CTR1 up-regulation, and mutation of the DNA-binding domain of Afmac1 failed to activate CTR1 expression in S. cerevisiae. The Afmac1 deletion strain of A. fumigatus failed to grow in copper-limited media, and its growth was restored by introducing ctrC. We found that AfMac1 specifically bound to the promoter region of ctrC based on EMSA. The AfMac1-binding motif 5′-TGTGCTCA-3′ was identified from the promoter region of ctrC, and the addition of mutant ctrC lacking the AfMac1-binding motif failed to up-regulate ctrC in A. fumigatus. Furthermore, deletion of Afmac1 significantly reduced strain virulence and activated conidial killing activity by neutrophils and macrophages. Taken together, these results suggest that AfMac1 is a copper transcription factor that regulates cellular copper homeostasis in A. fumigatus.

scholarly journals Control of bacterial anti-phage signaling by a WYL domain transcription factor

2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chelsea L Blankenchip ◽  
Justin V Nguyen ◽  
Rebecca K Lau ◽  
Qiaozhen Ye ◽  
Yajie Gu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Transcription Factor ◽  
Dna Binding ◽  
Promoter Region ◽  
Bound State ◽  
Signaling Proteins ◽  
Abortive Infection ◽  
Immune Systems ◽  
Dna Binding Domains ◽  
Binding Domains

Bacteria use diverse immune systems to defend themselves from ubiquitous viruses termed bacteriophages (phages). Many anti-phage systems function by abortive infection to kill a phage-infected cell, raising the question of how these systems are regulated to avoid activation and cell killing outside the context of infection. Here, we identify a transcription factor associated with the widespread CBASS bacterial immune system, that we term CapW. CapW forms a homodimer and binds a palindromic DNA sequence in the CBASS promoter region. Two crystal structures of CapW reveal how the protein switches from a DNA binding-competent state to a ligand-bound state that cannot bind DNA due to misalignment of dimer-related DNA binding domains. We show that CapW strongly represses CBASS gene expression in uninfected cells, and that CapW disruption likely results in toxicity due to uncontrolled CBASS expression. Our results parallel recent findings with BrxR, a transcription factor associated with the BREX anti-phage system, and suggest that CapW and BrxR are the founding members of a family of universal anti-phage signaling proteins.

scholarly journals Binding and Regulation of Transcription by Yeast Ste12 Variants To Drive Mating and Invasion Phenotypes

Genetics ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 214 (2) ◽  
pp. 397-407 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wei Zhou ◽  
Michael W. Dorrity ◽  
Kerry L. Bubb ◽  
Christine Queitsch ◽  
Stanley Fields
Keyword(s):  
Transcription Factor ◽  
Amino Acid ◽  
Dna Binding ◽  
Cellular Response ◽  
Expression Profiles ◽  
Single Amino Acid ◽  
Binding Motif ◽  
Regulation Of Transcription ◽  
Coding Region ◽  
Binding Domains

Amino acid substitutions are commonly found in human transcription factors, yet the functional consequences of much of this variation remain unknown, even in well-characterized DNA-binding domains. Here, we examine how six single-amino acid variants in the DNA-binding domain of Ste12—a yeast transcription factor regulating mating and invasion—alter Ste12 genome binding, motif recognition, and gene expression to yield markedly different phenotypes. Using a combination of the “calling-card” method, RNA sequencing, and HT-SELEX (high throughput systematic evolution of ligands by exponential enrichment), we find that variants with dissimilar binding and expression profiles can converge onto similar cellular behaviors. Mating-defective variants led to decreased expression of distinct subsets of genes necessary for mating. Hyper-invasive variants also decreased expression of subsets of genes involved in mating, but increased the expression of other subsets of genes associated with the cellular response to osmotic stress. While single-amino acid changes in the coding region of this transcription factor result in complex regulatory reconfiguration, the major phenotypic consequences for the cell appear to depend on changes in the expression of a small number of genes with related functions.

scholarly journals Cdc13 N-Terminal Dimerization, DNA Binding, and Telomere Length Regulation

2010 ◽  
Vol 30 (22) ◽  
pp. 5325-5334 ◽  
Author(s):  
Meghan T. Mitchell ◽  
Jasmine S. Smith ◽  
Mark Mason ◽  
Sandy Harper ◽  
David W. Speicher ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Dna Binding ◽  
Telomere Length ◽  
Functional Characterization ◽  
Point Mutations ◽  
Telomeric Dna ◽  
Dna Binding Domains ◽  
Binding Domains ◽  
Length Regulation ◽  
Telomere Length Regulation

ABSTRACT The essential yeast protein Cdc13 facilitates chromosome end replication by recruiting telomerase to telomeres, and together with its interacting partners Stn1 and Ten1, it protects chromosome ends from nucleolytic attack, thus contributing to genome integrity. Although Cdc13 has been studied extensively, the precise role of its N-terminal domain (Cdc13N) in telomere length regulation remains unclear. Here we present a structural, biochemical, and functional characterization of Cdc13N. The structure reveals that this domain comprises an oligonucleotide/oligosaccharide binding (OB) fold and is involved in Cdc13 dimerization. Biochemical data show that Cdc13N weakly binds long, single-stranded, telomeric DNA in a fashion that is directly dependent on domain oligomerization. When introduced into full-length Cdc13 in vivo, point mutations that prevented Cdc13N dimerization or DNA binding caused telomere shortening or lengthening, respectively. The multiple DNA binding domains and dimeric nature of Cdc13 offer unique insights into how it coordinates the recruitment and regulation of telomerase access to the telomeres.

Dimeric transcription factor families: it takes two to tango but who decides on partners and the venue?

1992 ◽  
Vol 103 (1) ◽  
pp. 9-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
K.A. Lee
Keyword(s):  
Transcription Factor ◽  
Transcription Factors ◽  
Dna Binding ◽  
Experimental Evidence ◽  
Cdna Cloning ◽  
Transcriptional Activation ◽  
Effector Functions ◽  
Dna Binding Domains ◽  
Binding Domains ◽  
Dna Elements

Dimeric transcription factors that bind to DNA are often grouped into families on the basis of dimerization and DNA-binding specificities. cDNA cloning studies have established that members of the same family have structurally related dimerisation and DNA-binding domains but diverge in other regions that are important for transcriptional activation. These features lead to the straightforward suggestion that although all members of a family bind to similar DNA elements, individual members exhibit distinct transcriptional effector functions. This simple view is now supported by experimental evidence from those systems that have proved amenable to study. There are however some largely unaddressed questions that concern the mechanisms that allow family members to go about their business without interference from their highly related siblings. Here I will discuss some insights from studies of the bZIP class of transcription factors.

scholarly journals The Activity of Mammalian brm/SNF2α Is Dependent on a High-Mobility-Group Protein I/Y-Like DNA Binding Domain

1999 ◽  
Vol 19 (6) ◽  
pp. 3931-3939 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brigitte Bourachot ◽  
Moshe Yaniv ◽  
Christian Muchardt
Keyword(s):  
Dna Binding ◽  
Transcriptional Activation ◽  
High Mobility ◽  
High Mobility Group ◽  
Binding Motif ◽  
High Mobility Group Protein ◽  
Interaction Domain ◽  
Dna Binding Domains ◽  
Binding Domains ◽  
Group Protein

ABSTRACT The mammalian SWI-SNF complex is a chromatin-remodelling machinery involved in the modulation of gene expression. Its activity relies on two closely related ATPases known as brm/SNF2α and BRG-1/SNF2β. These two proteins can cooperate with nuclear receptors for transcriptional activation. In addition, they are involved in the control of cell proliferation, most probably by facilitating p105Rb repression of E2F transcriptional activity. In the present study, we have examined the ability of various brm/SNF2α deletion mutants to reverse the transformed phenotype ofras-transformed fibroblasts. Deletions within the p105Rb LXCXE binding motif or the conserved bromodomain had only a moderate effect. On the other hand, a 49-amino-acid segment, rich in lysines and arginines and located immediately downstream of the p105Rb interaction domain, appeared to be essential in this assay. This region was also required for cooperation of brm/SNF2α with the glucocorticoid receptor in transfection experiments, but only in the context of a reporter construct integrated in the cellular genome. The region has homology to the AT hooks present in high-mobility-group protein I/Y DNA binding domains and is required for the tethering of brm/SNF2α to chromatin.

scholarly journals The PAX3-FKHR fusion protein created by the t(2;13) translocation in alveolar rhabdomyosarcomas is a more potent transcriptional activator than PAX3.

1995 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 1522-1535 ◽  
Author(s):  
W J Fredericks ◽  
N Galili ◽  
S Mukhopadhyay ◽  
G Rovera ◽  
J Bennicelli ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Transcription Factor ◽  
Dna Binding ◽  
Fusion Protein ◽  
Target Genes ◽  
Transcriptional Activator ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Dna Binding Domains ◽  
Binding Domains ◽  
Pediatric Solid Tumors ◽  
Single Polypeptide

Alveolar rhabdomyosarcomas are pediatric solid tumors with a hallmark cytogenetic abnormality: translocation of chromosomes 2 and 13 [t(2;13) (q35;q14)]. The genes on each chromosome involved in this translocation have been identified as the transcription factor-encoding genes PAX3 and FKHR. The NH2-terminal paired box and homeodomain DNA-binding domains of PAX3 are fused in frame to COOH-terminal regions of the chromosome 13-derived FKHR gene, a novel member of the forkhead DNA-binding domain family. To determine the role of the fusion protein in transcriptional regulation and oncogenesis, we identified the PAX3-FKHR fusion protein and characterized its function(s) as a transcription factor relative to wild-type PAX3. Antisera specific to PAX3 and FKHR were developed and used to examine PAX3 and PAX3-FKHR expression in tumor cell lines. Sequential immunoprecipitations with anti-PAX3 and anti-FKHR sera demonstrated expression of a 97-kDa PAX3-FKHR fusion protein in the t(2;13)-positive rhabdomyosarcoma Rh30 cell line and verified that a single polypeptide contains epitopes derived from each protein. The PAX3-FKHR protein was localized to the nucleus in Rh30 cells, as was wild-type PAX3, in t(2;13)-negative A673 cells. In gel shift assays using a canonical PAX binding site (e5 sequence), we found that DNA binding of PAX3-FKHR was significantly impaired relative to that of PAX3 despite the two proteins having identical PAX DNA-binding domains. However, the PAX3-FKHR fusion protein was a much more potent transcriptional activator than PAX3 as determined by transient cotransfection assays using e5-CAT reporter plasmids. The PAX3-FKHR protein may function as an oncogenic transcription factor by enhanced activation of normal PAX3 target genes.

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