scholarly journals Cooperation between Caenorhabditis elegans COMPASS and condensin in germline chromatin organization

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marion Herbette ◽  
Valérie Robert ◽  
Aymeric Bailly ◽  
Loïc Gely ◽  
Robert Feil ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Histone-modifying activities play important roles in gene expression and influence higher-order genome organization. SET1/COMPASS (Complex Proteins Associated with Set1) deposits h istone H3 lysine 4 (H3K4) methylation at promoter regions and is associated with context-dependent effects on gene expression. Whether it also contributes to higher-order chromosome organization has not been explored. Results Using a quantitative FRET (Förster resonance energy transfer)-based fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM) approach to assay nanometer scale chromatin compaction in live animals, we reveal a novel role for SET1/COMPASS in structuring meiotic chromosomes in the C. elegans germline . Inactivation of SET-2, the C. elegans homologue of SET1, strongly enhanced chromosome organization defects and loss of fertility resulting from depletion of condensin-II, and aggravated defects in chromosome morphology resulting from inactivation of topoisomerase II, another major structural component of chromosomes. Loss of CFP-1, the chromatin targeting subunit of COMPASS, similarly affected germline chromatin compaction measured by FLIM-FRET and enhanced condensin-II knock-down phenotypes. Conclusions The data presented here are consistent with a role of SET1/ COMPASS in shaping meiotic chromosomes in the C. elegans germline. This new insight has important implications for how c hromatin-modifying complexes and histone modifications may cooperate with non histone-proteins to achieve proper chromosome organization, not only in meiosis, but also in mitosis.

Cells ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (9) ◽  
pp. 2049
Author(s):  
Marion Herbette ◽  
Valérie Robert ◽  
Aymeric Bailly ◽  
Loïc Gely ◽  
Robert Feil ◽  
...  

Deposition of histone H3 lysine 4 (H3K4) methylation at promoters is catalyzed by the SET1/COMPASS complex and is associated with context-dependent effects on gene expression and local changes in chromatin organization. The role of SET1/COMPASS in shaping chromosome architecture has not been investigated. Here we used Caenorhabditis elegans to address this question through a live imaging approach and genetic analysis. Using quantitative FRET (Förster resonance energy transfer)-based fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM) on germ cells expressing histones eGFP-H2B and mCherry-H2B, we find that SET1/COMPASS influences meiotic chromosome organization, with marked effects on the close proximity between nucleosomes. We further show that inactivation of set-2, encoding the C. elegans SET1 homologue, or CFP-1, encoding the chromatin targeting subunit of COMPASS, enhances germline chromosome organization defects and sterility of condensin-II depleted animals. set-2 loss also aggravates germline defects resulting from conditional inactivation of topoisomerase II, another structural component of chromosomes. Expression profiling of set-2 mutant germlines revealed only minor transcriptional changes, suggesting that the observed effects are at least partly independent of transcription. Altogether, our results are consistent with a role for SET1/COMPASS in shaping meiotic chromosomes in C. elegans, together with the non-histone proteins condensin-II and topoisomerase. Given the high degree of conservation, our findings expand the range of functions attributed to COMPASS and suggest a broader role in genome organization in different species.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Herbette ◽  
V. Robert ◽  
A. Bailly ◽  
L. Gely ◽  
R. Feil ◽  
...  

AbstractDeposition of histone H3 lysine 4 (H3K4) methylation at promoters by SET1/COMPASS is associated with context-dependent effects on gene expression and local changes in chromatin organization. Whether SET1/COMPASS also contributes to higher-order chromosome structure has not been investigated. Here, we address this question by quantitative FRET (Förster resonance energy transfer)-based fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM) on C. elegans germ cells expressing histones H2B-eGFP and H2B-mCherry. We find that SET1/COMPASS subunits strongly influence meiotic chromosome organization, with marked effects on the close proximity between nucleosomes. We further show that inactivation of SET-2, the C. elegans homologue of SET1, or CFP-1, the chromatin targeting subunit of COMPASS, strongly enhance chromosome organization defects and loss of fertility resulting from depletion of condensin-II. Defects in chromosome morphology resulting from conditional inactivation of topoisomerase II, another structural component of chromosomes, were also aggravated in the absence of SET-2. Combined, our in vivo findings suggest a model in which the SET1/COMPASS histone methyltransferase complex plays a role in shaping meiotic chromosome in cooperation with the non-histone proteins condensin-II and topoisomerase.


2021 ◽  
Vol 220 (9) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mezmur D. Belew ◽  
Emilie Chien ◽  
Matthew Wong ◽  
W. Matthew Michael

While much is known about how transcription is controlled at individual genes, comparatively little is known about how cells regulate gene expression on a genome-wide level. Here, we identify a molecular pathway in the C. elegans germline that controls transcription globally in response to nutritional stress. We report that when embryos hatch into L1 larvae, they sense the nutritional status of their environment, and if food is unavailable, they repress gene expression via a global chromatin compaction (GCC) pathway. GCC is triggered by the energy-sensing kinase AMPK and is mediated by a novel mechanism that involves the topoisomerase II/condensin II axis acting upstream of heterochromatin assembly. When the GCC pathway is inactivated, then transcription persists during starvation. These results define a new mode of whole-genome control of transcription.


2009 ◽  
Vol 187 (4) ◽  
pp. 481-496 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Llères ◽  
John James ◽  
Sam Swift ◽  
David G. Norman ◽  
Angus I. Lamond

We present a quantitative Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET)–based assay using multiphoton fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM) to measure chromatin compaction at the scale of nucleosomal arrays in live cells. The assay uses a human cell line coexpressing histone H2B tagged to either enhanced green fluorescent protein (FP) or mCherry FPs (HeLaH2B-2FP). FRET occurs between FP-tagged histones on separate nucleosomes and is increased when chromatin compacts. Interphase cells consistently show three populations of chromatin with low, medium, or high FRET efficiency, reflecting spatially distinct regions with different levels of chromatin compaction. Treatment with inhibitors that either increase chromatin compaction (i.e., depletion of adenosine triphosphate) or decrease chromosome compaction (trichostatin A) results in a parallel increase or decrease in the FLIM–FRET signal. In mitosis, the assay showed variation in compaction level, as reflected by different FRET efficiency populations, throughout the length of all chromosomes, increasing to a maximum in late anaphase. These data are consistent with extensive higher order folding of chromatin fibers taking place during anaphase.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 1596
Author(s):  
Elsa Ronzier ◽  
Claire Corratgé-Faillie ◽  
Frédéric Sanchez ◽  
Christian Brière ◽  
Tou Cheu Xiong

Post-translational regulations of Shaker-like voltage-gated K+ channels were reported to be essential for rapid responses to environmental stresses in plants. In particular, it has been shown that calcium-dependent protein kinases (CPKs) regulate Shaker channels in plants. Here, the focus was on KAT2, a Shaker channel cloned in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana, where is it expressed namely in the vascular tissues of leaves. After co-expression of KAT2 with AtCPK6 in Xenopuslaevis oocytes, voltage-clamp recordings demonstrated that AtCPK6 stimulates the activity of KAT2 in a calcium-dependent manner. A physical interaction between these two proteins has also been shown by Förster resonance energy transfer by fluorescence lifetime imaging (FRET-FLIM). Peptide array assays support that AtCPK6 phosphorylates KAT2 at several positions, also in a calcium-dependent manner. Finally, K+ fluorescence imaging in planta suggests that K+ distribution is impaired in kat2 knock-out mutant leaves. We propose that the AtCPK6/KAT2 couple plays a role in the homeostasis of K+ distribution in leaves.


2018 ◽  
Vol 115 (46) ◽  
pp. E10859-E10868 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuwei Li ◽  
Jason A. Junge ◽  
Cosimo Arnesano ◽  
Garrett G. Gross ◽  
Jeffrey H. Miner ◽  
...  

Vertebrate embryogenesis and organogenesis are driven by cell biological processes, ranging from mitosis and migration to changes in cell size and polarity, but their control and causal relationships are not fully defined. Here, we use the developing limb skeleton to better define the relationships between mitosis and cell polarity. We combine protein-tagging and -perturbation reagents with advanced in vivo imaging to assess the role of Discs large 1 (Dlg1), a membrane-associated scaffolding protein, in mediating the spatiotemporal relationship between cytokinesis and cell polarity. Our results reveal that Dlg1 is enriched at the midbody during cytokinesis and that its multimerization is essential for the normal polarity of daughter cells. Defects in this process alter tissue dimensions without impacting other cellular processes. Our results extend the conventional view that division orientation is established at metaphase and anaphase and suggest that multiple mechanisms act at distinct phases of the cell cycle to transmit cell polarity. The approach employed can be used in other systems, as it offers a robust means to follow and to eliminate protein function and extends the Phasor approach for studying in vivo protein interactions by frequency-domain fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy of Förster resonance energy transfer (FLIM-FRET) to organotypic explant culture.


2015 ◽  
Vol 7 (10) ◽  
pp. 4071-4089 ◽  
Author(s):  
Douglas J. Kelly ◽  
Sean C. Warren ◽  
Dominic Alibhai ◽  
Sunil Kumar ◽  
Yuriy Alexandrov ◽  
...  

An HCA-FLIM instrument is presented alongside exemplar oligomerisation, intermolecular and intramolecular FRET assays that require robust measurement of small lifetime changes.


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