An abundant high-mobility-group-like protein is targeted to micronuclei in a cell cycle-dependent and developmentally regulated fashion in Tetrahymena thermophila

1993 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 163-173
Author(s):  
T Wang ◽  
C D Allis

In this report, we have demonstrated for the first time that an abundant high-mobility-group (HMG)-like protein, HMG B, previously thought to be specific to macronuclei in Tetrahymena thermophila, is also present in micronuclei. Biochemical data document the fact that HMG B is extremely labile in micronuclei. Unless extreme precautions are taken during the isolation of nuclei (addition of 1% formaldehyde to the nucleus isolation buffer), HMG B is not detected in micronuclei. Using polyclonal antibodies highly selective for HMG B, immunoblotting and immunofluorescence analyses show that the presence of HMG B in micronuclei is dynamic, correlating well with known periods of micronuclear DNA replication. This is the case not only during the vegetative cell cycle but also during early stages of the sexual cycle, conjugation, when the presence of HMG B in micronuclei is also closely correlated with meiotic DNA recombination and repair. Since micronuclei are transcriptionally inactive during vegetative growth, our data lend support to the idea that HMG B does not function exclusively in the establishment of transcriptionally competent chromatin. However, micronuclei are transcriptionally active during early stages of conjugation. Evidence that HMG B is strongly synthesized and deposited into micronuclei during this stage is presented. Therefore, it is tempting to suggest that HMG B may play an important role in remodeling micronuclear chromatin into an "active," more open configuration. We favor a model wherein HMG B, like other abundant, low-specificity HMG box-containing proteins, functions to wrap DNA, presumably modulating higher-order chromatin structure for a broad range of biological processes, including transcription and replication.

1993 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 163-173 ◽  
Author(s):  
T Wang ◽  
C D Allis

In this report, we have demonstrated for the first time that an abundant high-mobility-group (HMG)-like protein, HMG B, previously thought to be specific to macronuclei in Tetrahymena thermophila, is also present in micronuclei. Biochemical data document the fact that HMG B is extremely labile in micronuclei. Unless extreme precautions are taken during the isolation of nuclei (addition of 1% formaldehyde to the nucleus isolation buffer), HMG B is not detected in micronuclei. Using polyclonal antibodies highly selective for HMG B, immunoblotting and immunofluorescence analyses show that the presence of HMG B in micronuclei is dynamic, correlating well with known periods of micronuclear DNA replication. This is the case not only during the vegetative cell cycle but also during early stages of the sexual cycle, conjugation, when the presence of HMG B in micronuclei is also closely correlated with meiotic DNA recombination and repair. Since micronuclei are transcriptionally inactive during vegetative growth, our data lend support to the idea that HMG B does not function exclusively in the establishment of transcriptionally competent chromatin. However, micronuclei are transcriptionally active during early stages of conjugation. Evidence that HMG B is strongly synthesized and deposited into micronuclei during this stage is presented. Therefore, it is tempting to suggest that HMG B may play an important role in remodeling micronuclear chromatin into an "active," more open configuration. We favor a model wherein HMG B, like other abundant, low-specificity HMG box-containing proteins, functions to wrap DNA, presumably modulating higher-order chromatin structure for a broad range of biological processes, including transcription and replication.


2008 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 368-377 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christiane Wiese

γ-Tubulin is an indispensable component of the animal centrosome and is required for proper microtubule organization. Within the cell, γ-tubulin exists in a multiprotein complex containing between two (some yeasts) and six or more (metazoa) additional highly conserved proteins named gamma ring proteins (Grips) or gamma complex proteins (GCPs). γ-Tubulin containing complexes isolated from Xenopus eggs or Drosophila embryos appear ring-shaped and have therefore been named the γ-tubulin ring complex (γTuRC). Curiously, many organisms (including humans) have two distinct γ-tubulin genes. In Drosophila, where the two γ-tubulin isotypes have been studied most extensively, the γ-tubulin genes are developmentally regulated: the “maternal” γ-tubulin isotype (named γTub37CD according to its location on the genetic map) is expressed in the ovary and is deposited in the egg, where it is thought to orchestrate the meiotic and early embryonic cleavages. The second γ-tubulin isotype (γTub23C) is ubiquitously expressed and persists in most of the cells of the adult fly. In those rare cases where both γ-tubulins coexist in the same cell, they show distinct subcellular distributions and cell-cycle-dependent changes: γTub37CD mainly localizes to the centrosome, where its levels vary only slightly with the cell cycle. In contrast, the level of γTub23C at the centrosome increases at the beginning of mitosis, and γTub23C also associates with spindle pole microtubules. Here, we show that γTub23C forms discrete complexes that closely resemble the complexes formed by γTub37CD. Surprisingly, however, γTub23C associates with a distinct, longer splice variant of Dgrip84. This may reflect a role for Dgrip84 in regulating the activity and/or the location of the γ-tubulin complexes formed with γTub37CD and γTub23C.


1991 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 166-174 ◽  
Author(s):  
I G Schulman ◽  
T Wang ◽  
M Wu ◽  
J Bowen ◽  
R G Cook ◽  
...  

HMG (high-mobility-group protein) B and HMG C are abundant nonhistone chromosomal proteins isolated from Tetrahymena thermophila macronuclei with solubilities, molecular weights, and amino acid compositions like those of vertebrate HMG proteins. Genomic clones encoding each of these proteins have been sequenced. Both are single-copy genes that encode single polyadenylated messages whose amounts are 10 to 15 times greater in growing cells than in starved, nongrowing cells. The derived amino acid sequences of HMG B and HMG C contain a highly conserved sequence, the HMG 1 box, found in vertebrate HMGs 1 and 2, and we speculate that this sequence may represent a novel, previously unrecognized DNA-binding motif in this class of chromosomal proteins. Like HMGs 1 and 2, HMGs B and C contain a high percentage of aromatic amino acids. However, the Tetrahymena HMGs are small, are associated with nucleosome core particles, and can be specifically extracted from macronuclei by elutive intercalation, properties associated with vertebrate HMGs 14 and 17, not HMGs 1 and 2. Thus, it appears that these Tetrahymena proteins have features in common with both of the major subgroups of higher eucaryotic HMG proteins. Surprisingly, a linker histone found exclusively in transcriptionally inactive micronuclei also has several HMG-like characteristics, including the ability to be specifically extracted from nuclei by elutive intercalation and the presence of the HMG 1 box. This finding suggests that at least in T. thermophila, proteins with HMG-like properties are not restricted to regions of transcriptionally active chromatin.


1987 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 435-443 ◽  
Author(s):  
C F Austerberry ◽  
M C Yao

DNA deletion by site-specific chromosome breakage and rejoining occurs extensively during macronuclear development in the ciliate Tetrahymena thermophila. We have sequenced both the micronuclear (germ line) and rearranged macronuclear (somatic) forms of one region from which 1.1 kilobases of micronuclear DNA are reproducibly deleted during macronuclear development. The deletion junctions lie within a pair of 6-base-pair direct repeats. The termini of the deleted sequence are not inverted repeats. The precision of deletion at the nucleotide level was also characterized by hybridization with a synthetic oligonucleotide matching the determined macronuclear (rejoined) junction sequence. This deletion occurs in a remarkably sequence-specific manner. However, a very minor degree of variability in the macronuclear junction sequences was detected and was shown to be inherent in the mechanism of deletion itself. These results suggest that DNA deletion during macronuclear development in T. thermophila may constitute a novel type of DNA recombination and that it can create sequence heterogeneity on the order of a few base pairs at rejoining junctions.


1987 ◽  
Vol 104 (6) ◽  
pp. 1485-1494 ◽  
Author(s):  
I G Schulman ◽  
R G Cook ◽  
R Richman ◽  
C D Allis

Previous studies have described the existence of high mobility group (HMG)-like proteins in macronuclei of the ciliated protozoan, Tetrahymena thermophila (Hamana, K., and K. Iwai, 1979, J. Biochem. [Tokyo], 69:1097-1111; Levy-Wilson, B., M. S. Denker, and E. Ito, 1983, Biochemistry, 22:1715-1721). In this report, two of these proteins, LG-1 and LG-2, have been further characterized. Polyclonal antibodies raised against LG-1 and LG-2 fail to cross react with each other or any other macronuclear polypeptide in immunoblotting analyses. As well, LG-1 and LG-2 antibodies do not react with calf thymus, chicken, or yeast HMG proteins. Consistent with these results, a 47 amino-terminal sequence of LG-1 has been determined that shows limited homology to both calf thymus HMGs 1 and 2 and HMGs 14 and 17. Two internal sequences of V8 protease-generated peptides from LG-2 have been determined, and these do not share any homology to the LG-1 sequence or any other sequenced HMG proteins. Comparison of the partial sequences of LG-1 and LG-2 with the complete amino acid sequence of the Tetrahymena histone H1 (Wu, M., C. D. Allis, R. Richman, R. G. Cook, and M. A. Gorovsky, 1986, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 83:8674-8678) rules out the possibility that LG-1 and LG-2 are proteolytically derived from H1, the other major macronuclear perchloric acid-soluble protein. Interestingly, however, both LG-1 and LG-2 are efficiently extracted from macronuclei by elutive intercalation (Schröter, H., G. Maier, H. Ponsting, and A. Nordheim, 1985, Embo (Eur. Mol. Biol. Organ.) J., 4:3867-3872), suggesting that both may share yet undetermined properties with HMGs 14 and 17 of higher eukaryotes. Examination of the pattern of LG-1 and LG-2 synthesis during the sexual phase of the life cycle, conjugation, demonstrates that the synthesis of LG-1 and LG-2 is coordinately increased from basal levels during the differentiation of new macronuclei (7-13 h), suggesting that both of these proteins play a role in determining a macronuclear phenotype. However, a specific induction of LG-2 synthesis is detected in early stages of conjugation (meiotic prophase, 1-4 h), leading to maximal synthesis of LG-2 at 3 h. Interestingly, the early induction of LG-2 synthesis closely parallels the hyperphosphorylation of histone H1. Taken together, these data suggest that LG-1 and LG-2 are not strongly related to each other or to higher eukaryotic HMG proteins.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)


2007 ◽  
Vol 254 (1) ◽  
pp. 146-155 ◽  
Author(s):  
K.M. Brannon ◽  
C.M. Million Passe ◽  
C.R. White ◽  
N.A. Bade ◽  
M.W. King ◽  
...  

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