scholarly journals Functional analysis of chromatin assembly genes in tetrahymena thermophila

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Renu Jeyapala
Keyword(s):  
Functional Analysis ◽  
Tetrahymena Thermophila ◽  
Histone Variants ◽  
Chromatin Assembly ◽  
Base Pairs ◽  
Post Translational Modifications ◽  
Disease States ◽  
Core Histones ◽  
Chromatin Biology ◽  
Assembly Pathways

The basic structural unit of chromatin is the nucleosome composed of ~147 base pairs of DNA wrapped around an octamer of histone proteins. Post-translational modifications such as histone acetylation or the substitution of histone variants in place of core histones have been implicated in various chromatin related processes. There are two distinct chromatin assembly pathways. Replication-dependent mediated by CAF-1 (H3-H4) and replication-independent mediated by HIRA (H3.3-H4). Miss-regulation of chromatin assembly patterns result in the onset of many disease states such as cancer. Tetrahymena thermophila is a useful model for understanding basic questions in chromatin biology due to the segregation of transcriptionally active and silent chromatin into two distinct nuclei. To better characterize replication-dependent and independent chromatin assembly pathways in T. thermophila, I have engineered somatic knockouts (HIRA, CAC2, UBN1 and UBN2) and initiated the functional analysis of these chromatin assembly genes mediated in growth and development. The absence of CAC2 results in larger macronuclei and speculated to be a result of reduced histone H3-H4 deposition onto chromatin during growth.

scholarly journals Functional analysis of chromatin assembly genes in tetrahymena thermophila

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Renu Jeyapala
Keyword(s):  
Functional Analysis ◽  
Tetrahymena Thermophila ◽  
Histone Variants ◽  
Chromatin Assembly ◽  
Base Pairs ◽  
Post Translational Modifications ◽  
Disease States ◽  
Core Histones ◽  
Chromatin Biology ◽  
Assembly Pathways

The basic structural unit of chromatin is the nucleosome composed of ~147 base pairs of DNA wrapped around an octamer of histone proteins. Post-translational modifications such as histone acetylation or the substitution of histone variants in place of core histones have been implicated in various chromatin related processes. There are two distinct chromatin assembly pathways. Replication-dependent mediated by CAF-1 (H3-H4) and replication-independent mediated by HIRA (H3.3-H4). Miss-regulation of chromatin assembly patterns result in the onset of many disease states such as cancer. Tetrahymena thermophila is a useful model for understanding basic questions in chromatin biology due to the segregation of transcriptionally active and silent chromatin into two distinct nuclei. To better characterize replication-dependent and independent chromatin assembly pathways in T. thermophila, I have engineered somatic knockouts (HIRA, CAC2, UBN1 and UBN2) and initiated the functional analysis of these chromatin assembly genes mediated in growth and development. The absence of CAC2 results in larger macronuclei and speculated to be a result of reduced histone H3-H4 deposition onto chromatin during growth.

scholarly journals Implementing Precision Medicine in Human Frailty through Epigenetic Biomarkers

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 1883
Author(s):  
José Luis García-Giménez ◽  
Salvador Mena-Molla ◽  
Francisco José Tarazona-Santabalbina ◽  
Jose Viña ◽  
Mari Carmen Gomez-Cabrera ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Histone Variants ◽  
Cellular Level ◽  
Older Individuals ◽  
Altered Expression ◽  
Post Translational Modifications ◽  
Adverse Health Outcomes ◽  
Epigenetic Biomarkers ◽  
Health Trajectories ◽  
Non Coding Rna ◽  
Core Histones

The main epigenetic features in aging are: reduced bulk levels of core histones, altered pattern of histone post-translational modifications, changes in the pattern of DNA methylation, replacement of canonical histones with histone variants, and altered expression of non-coding RNA. The identification of epigenetic mechanisms may contribute to the early detection of age-associated subclinical changes or deficits at the molecular and/or cellular level, to predict the development of frailty, or even more interestingly, to improve health trajectories in older adults. Frailty reflects a state of increased vulnerability to stressors as a result of decreased physiologic reserves, and even dysregulation of multiple physiologic systems leading to adverse health outcomes for individuals of the same chronological age. A key approach to overcome the challenges of frailty is the development of biomarkers to improve early diagnostic accuracy and to predict trajectories in older individuals. The identification of epigenetic biomarkers of frailty could provide important support for the clinical diagnosis of frailty, or more specifically, to the evaluation of its associated risks. Interventional studies aimed at delaying the onset of frailty and the functional alterations associated with it, would also undoubtedly benefit from the identification of frailty biomarkers. Specific to the article yet reasonably common within the subject discipline.

scholarly journals Histone variants in archaea and the evolution of combinatorial chromatin complexity

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathryn M Stevens ◽  
Jacob B Swadling ◽  
Antoine Hocher ◽  
Corinna Bang ◽  
Simonetta Gribaldo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Histone Variants ◽  
Post Translational Modifications ◽  
Functional Roles ◽  
Methanosphaera Stadtmanae ◽  
Core Histones ◽  
Duplication Events ◽  
Dna Binding Affinity ◽  
Dynamics Simulations ◽  
Archaeal Histone ◽  
Tetramer Stability

ABSTRACTNucleosomes in eukaryotes act as platforms for the dynamic integration of epigenetic information. Post-translational modifications are reversibly added or removed and core histones exchanged for paralogous variants, in concert with changing demands on transcription and genome accessibility. Histones are also common in archaea. Their role in genome regulation, however, and the capacity of individual paralogs to assemble into histone-DNA complexes with distinct properties remain poorly understood. Here, we combine structural modelling with phylogenetic analysis to shed light on archaeal histone paralogs, their evolutionary history and capacity to generate complex combinatorial chromatin states through hetero-oligomeric assembly. Focusing on the human commensal Methanosphaera stadtmanae as a model archaeal system, we show that the heteromeric complexes that can be assembled from its seven histone paralogs vary substantially in DNA binding affinity and tetramer stability, occupying a large but densely populated chromatin state space. Using molecular dynamics simulations, we go on to identify unique paralogs in M. stadtmanae and Methanobrevibacter smithii that are characterized by unstable dimer:dimer interfaces. We propose that these paralogs act as capstones that prevent stable tetramer formation and extension into longer oligomers characteristic of model archaeal histones. Importantly, we provide evidence from phylogeny and genome architecture that these capstones, as well as other paralogs in the Methanobacteriales, have been maintained for hundreds of millions of years following ancient duplication events. Taken together, our findings indicate that at least some archaeal histone paralogs have evolved to play distinct and conserved functional roles, reminiscent of eukaryotic histone variants. We conclude that combinatorially complex histone-based chromatin is not restricted to eukaryotes and likely predates their emergence.

scholarly journals The histone chaperoning pathway: from ribosome to nucleosome

2019 ◽  
Vol 63 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-43 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alonso J. Pardal ◽  
Filipe Fernandes-Duarte ◽  
Andrew J. Bowman
Keyword(s):  
Supply And Demand ◽  
Histone Chaperone ◽  
Histone Chaperones ◽  
Post Translational Modifications ◽  
Core Histones ◽  
Eukaryotic Dna ◽  
Chaperone Interactions ◽  
Almost All ◽  
Chromatin Biology ◽  
Cellular Components

AbstractNucleosomes represent the fundamental repeating unit of eukaryotic DNA, and comprise eight core histones around which DNA is wrapped in nearly two superhelical turns. Histones do not have the intrinsic ability to form nucleosomes; rather, they require an extensive repertoire of interacting proteins collectively known as ‘histone chaperones’. At a fundamental level, it is believed that histone chaperones guide the assembly of nucleosomes through preventing non-productive charge-based aggregates between the basic histones and acidic cellular components. At a broader level, histone chaperones influence almost all aspects of chromatin biology, regulating histone supply and demand, governing histone variant deposition, maintaining functional chromatin domains and being co-factors for histone post-translational modifications, to name a few. In this essay we review recent structural insights into histone-chaperone interactions, explore evidence for the existence of a histone chaperoning ‘pathway’ and reconcile how such histone-chaperone interactions may function thermodynamically to assemble nucleosomes and maintain chromatin homeostasis.

scholarly journals Novel Roles for the Sirtuin Deacylase SIRT5 in Normal Physiology and in Cancer

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 741-741
Author(s):  
David Lombard
Keyword(s):  
Mitochondrial Matrix ◽  
Genomic Integrity ◽  
Biological Functions ◽  
Protein Targets ◽  
Post Translational Modifications ◽  
Catalytic Activities ◽  
Cellular Processes ◽  
Specific Cancer ◽  
Cancer Types ◽  
Chromatin Biology

Abstract Sirtuins are NAD+-dependent deacylases that regulate diverse cellular processes such as metabolic homeostasis and genomic integrity. Mammals possess seven sirtuin family members, SIRT1-SIRT7, that display diverse subcellular localization patterns, catalytic activities, protein targets, and biological functions. Three sirtuins, SIRT3, SIRT4, and SIRT5, are primarily located in the mitochondrial matrix. SIRT5 is a very inefficient deacetylase, instead removing negatively charged post-translational modifications (succinyl, glutaryl, and malonyl groups) from lysines of its target proteins, in mitochondria and throughout the cell. SIRT5 plays only modest known roles in normal physiology, with its major functions occurring in the heart under stress conditions. In contrast, in specific cancer types, including melanoma, we have identified a major pro-survival role for SIRT5. We have traced this function of SIRT5 to novel roles for this protein in regulating chromatin biology. New insights into mechanisms of SIRT5 action in cancer, and in normal myocardium, will be discussed.

scholarly journals Identification and Characterization of the Genes Encoding the Core Histones and Histone Variants of Neurospora crassa

Genetics ◽  
2002 ◽  
Vol 160 (3) ◽  
pp. 961-973 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shan M Hays ◽  
Johanna Swanson ◽  
Eric U Selker
Keyword(s):  
Neurospora Crassa ◽  
Histone Variants ◽  
Null Alleles ◽  
Histone Genes ◽  
Histone H4 ◽  
Coding Regions ◽  
The Core ◽  
Genomic Arrangement ◽  
Genes Encoding ◽  
Core Histones

Abstract We have identified and characterized the complete complement of genes encoding the core histones of Neurospora crassa. In addition to the previously identified pair of genes that encode histones H3 and H4 (hH3 and hH4-1), we identified a second histone H4 gene (hH4-2), a divergently transcribed pair of genes that encode H2A and H2B (hH2A and hH2B), a homolog of the F/Z family of H2A variants (hH2Az), a homolog of the H3 variant CSE4 from Saccharomyces cerevisiae (hH3v), and a highly diverged H4 variant (hH4v) not described in other species. The hH4-1 and hH4-2 genes, which are 96% identical in their coding regions and encode identical proteins, were inactivated independently. Strains with inactivating mutations in either gene were phenotypically wild type, in terms of growth rates and fertility, but the double mutants were inviable. As expected, we were unable to isolate null alleles of hH2A, hH2B, or hH3. The genomic arrangement of the histone and histone variant genes was determined. hH2Az and the hH3-hH4-1 gene pair are on LG IIR, with hH2Az centromere-proximal to hH3-hH4-1 and hH3 centromere-proximal to hH4-1. hH3v and hH4-2 are on LG IIIR with hH3v centromere-proximal to hH4-2. hH4v is on LG IVR and the hH2A-hH2B pair is located immediately right of the LG VII centromere, with hH2A centromere-proximal to hH2B. Except for the centromere-distal gene in the pairs, all of the histone genes are transcribed toward the centromere. Phylogenetic analysis of the N. crassa histone genes places them in the Euascomycota lineage. In contrast to the general case in eukaryotes, histone genes in euascomycetes are few in number and contain introns. This may be a reflection of the evolution of the RIP (repeat-induced point mutation) and MIP (methylation induced premeiotically) processes that detect sizable duplications and silence associated genes.

scholarly journals Histone transfer among chaperones

2012 ◽  
Vol 40 (2) ◽  
pp. 357-363 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wallace H. Liu ◽  
Mair E.A. Churchill
Keyword(s):  
Histone H3 ◽  
Histone Chaperone ◽  
Chromatin Assembly ◽  
Histone Chaperones ◽  
Nucleosome Assembly ◽  
Post Translational Modifications ◽  
Chromatin Dynamics ◽  
Nucleosomal Dna ◽  
Chaperone Interactions ◽  
Dependent Processes

The eukaryotic processes of nucleosome assembly and disassembly govern chromatin dynamics, in which histones exchange in a highly regulated manner to promote genome accessibility for all DNA-dependent processes. This regulation is partly carried out by histone chaperones, which serve multifaceted roles in co-ordinating the interactions of histone proteins with modification enzymes, nucleosome remodellers, other histone chaperones and nucleosomal DNA. The molecular details of the processes by which histone chaperones promote delivery of histones among their many functional partners are still largely undefined, but promise to offer insights into epigenome maintenance. In the present paper, we review recent findings on the histone chaperone interactions that guide the assembly of histones H3 and H4 into chromatin. This evidence supports the concepts of histone post-translational modifications and specific histone chaperone interactions as guiding principles for histone H3/H4 transactions during chromatin assembly.

scholarly journals Essential and nonessential histone H2A variants in Tetrahymena thermophila.

1996 ◽  
Vol 16 (8) ◽  
pp. 4305-4311 ◽  
Author(s):  
X Liu ◽  
B Li ◽  
GorovskyMA
Keyword(s):  
Tetrahymena Thermophila ◽  
Essential Gene ◽  
Histone Variants ◽  
Gene Replacement ◽  
Histone H2a ◽  
Gene Encoding ◽  
Genes Encoding ◽  
Simple Mass ◽  
Essential Function ◽  
High Degree

Although variants have been identified for every class of histone, their functions remain unknown. We have been studying the histone H2A variant hv1 in the ciliated protozoan Tetrahymena thermophila. Sequence analysis indicates that hv1 belongs to the H2A.F/Z type of histone variants. On the basis of the high degree of evolutionary conservation of this class of histones, they are proposed to have one or more distinct and essential functions that cannot be performed by their major H2A counterparts. Considerable evidence supports the hypothesis that the hv1 protein in T. thermophila and hv1-like proteins in other eukaryotes are associated with active chromatin. In T. thermophila, simple mass transformation and gene replacement techniques have recently become available. In this report, we demonstrate that either the HTA1 gene or the HTA2 gene, encoding the major H2As, can be completely replaced by disrupted genes in the polyploid, transcriptionally active macronucleus, indicating that neither of the two genes is essential. However, only some of the HTA3 genes encoding hv1 can be replaced by disrupted genes, indicating that the H2A.F/Z type variants have an essential function that cannot be performed by the major H2A genes. Thus, an essential gene in T. thermophila can be defined by the fact that it can be partially, but not completely, eliminated from the polyploid macronucleus. To our knowledge, this study represents the first use of gene disruption technology to study core histone gene function in any organism other than yeast and the first demonstration of an essential gene in T. thermophila using these methods. When a rescuing plasmid carrying a wild-type HTA3 gene was introduced into the T. thermophila cells, the endogenous chromosomal HTA3 could be completely replaced, defining a gene replacement strategy that can be used to analyze the function of essential genes.

The nucleosome: a little variation goes a long wayThis paper is one of a selection of papers published in this Special Issue, entitled 27th International West Coast Chromatin and Chromosome Conference, and has undergone the Journal's usual peer review process.

2006 ◽  
Vol 84 (4) ◽  
pp. 505-507 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emily Bernstein ◽  
Sandra B. Hake
Keyword(s):  
Peer Review Process ◽  
Gene Activation ◽  
Epigenetic Inheritance ◽  
Histone Variants ◽  
Post Translational Modifications ◽  
Chromatin Compaction ◽  
Cellular Processes ◽  
Chromatin Template ◽  
Mitosis And Meiosis ◽  
Selection Of

Changes in the overall structure of chromatin are essential for the proper regulation of cellular processes, including gene activation and silencing, DNA repair, chromosome segregation during mitosis and meiosis, X chromosome inactivation in female mammals, and chromatin compaction during apoptosis. Such alterations of the chromatin template occur through at least 3 interrelated mechanisms: post-translational modifications of histones, ATP-dependent chromatin remodeling, and the incorporation (or replacement) of specialized histone variants into chromatin. Of these mechanisms, the exchange of variants into and out of chromatin is the least well understood. However, the exchange of conventional histones for variant histones has distinct and profound consequences within the cell. This review focuses on the growing number of mammalian histone variants, their particular biological functions and unique features, and how they may affect the structure of the nucleosome. We propose that a given nucleosome might not consist of heterotypic variants, but rather, that only specific histone variants come together to form a homotypic nucleosome, a hypothesis that we refer to as the nucleosome code. Such nucleosomes might in turn participate in marking specific chromatin domains that may contribute to epigenetic inheritance.

scholarly journals Constitutive expression, not a particular primary sequence, is the important feature of the H3 replacement variant hv2 in Tetrahymena thermophila.

1997 ◽  
Vol 17 (11) ◽  
pp. 6303-6310 ◽  
Author(s):  
L Yu ◽  
M A Gorovsky
Keyword(s):  
Protein Sequence ◽  
Tetrahymena Thermophila ◽  
Histone H3 ◽  
Constitutive Expression ◽  
Histone Variants ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Ciliated Protozoan ◽  
Knockout Mutant ◽  
Double Knockout ◽  
Constitutive Synthesis

Although quantitatively minor replication-independent (replacement) histone variants have been found in a wide variety of organisms, their functions remain unknown. Like the H3.3 replacement variants of vertebrates, hv2, an H3 variant in the ciliated protozoan Tetrahymena thermophila, is synthesized and deposited in nuclei of nongrowing cells. Although hv2 is clearly an H3.3-like replacement variant by its expression, sequence analysis indicates that it evolved independently of the H3.3 variants of multicellular eukaryotes. This suggested that it is the constitutive synthesis, not the particular protein sequence, of these variants that is important in the function of H3 replacement variants. Here, we demonstrate that the gene (HHT3) encoding hv2 or either gene (HHT1 or HHT2) encoding the abundant major H3 can be completely knocked out in Tetrahymena. Surprisingly, when cells lacking hv2 are starved, a major histone H3 mRNA transcribed by the HHT2 gene, which is synthesized little, if at all, in wild-type nongrowing cells, is easily detectable. Both HHT2 and HHT3 knockout strains show no obvious defect during vegetative growth. In addition, a mutant with the double knockout of HHT1 and HHT3 is viable while the HHT2 HHT3 double-knockout mutant is not. These results argue strongly that cells require a constitutively expressed H3 gene but that the particular sequence being expressed is not critical.

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