scholarly journals Single-molecule tracking in live cells reveals distinct target-search strategies of transcription factors in the nucleus

eLife ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ignacio Izeddin ◽  
Vincent Récamier ◽  
Lana Bosanac ◽  
Ibrahim I Cissé ◽  
Lydia Boudarene ◽  
...  

Gene regulation relies on transcription factors (TFs) exploring the nucleus searching their targets. So far, most studies have focused on how fast TFs diffuse, underestimating the role of nuclear architecture. We implemented a single-molecule tracking assay to determine TFs dynamics. We found that c-Myc is a global explorer of the nucleus. In contrast, the positive transcription elongation factor P-TEFb is a local explorer that oversamples its environment. Consequently, each c-Myc molecule is equally available for all nuclear sites while P-TEFb reaches its targets in a position-dependent manner. Our observations are consistent with a model in which the exploration geometry of TFs is restrained by their interactions with nuclear structures and not by exclusion. The geometry-controlled kinetics of TFs target-search illustrates the influence of nuclear architecture on gene regulation, and has strong implications on how proteins react in the nucleus and how their function can be regulated in space and time.

2016 ◽  
Vol 44 (21) ◽  
pp. e160-e160 ◽  
Author(s):  
David A Ball ◽  
Gunjan D Mehta ◽  
Ronit Salomon-Kent ◽  
Davide Mazza ◽  
Tatsuya Morisaki ◽  
...  

Abstract In vivo single molecule tracking has recently developed into a powerful technique for measuring and understanding the transient interactions of transcription factors (TF) with their chromatin response elements. However, this method still lacks a solid foundation for distinguishing between specific and non-specific interactions. To address this issue, we took advantage of the power of molecular genetics of yeast. Yeast TF Ace1p has only five specific sites in the genome and thus serves as a benchmark to distinguish specific from non-specific binding. Here, we show that the estimated residence time of the short-residence molecules is essentially the same for Hht1p, Ace1p and Hsf1p, equaling 0.12–0.32 s. These three DNA-binding proteins are very different in their structure, function and intracellular concentration. This suggests that (i) short-residence molecules are bound to DNA non-specifically, and (ii) that non-specific binding shares common characteristics between vastly different DNA-bound proteins and thus may have a common underlying mechanism. We develop new and robust procedure for evaluation of adverse effects of labeling, and new quantitative analysis procedures that significantly improve residence time measurements by accounting for fluorophore blinking. Our results provide a framework for the reliable performance and analysis of single molecule TF experiments in yeast.


2014 ◽  
Vol 107 (4) ◽  
pp. 803-814 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter J. Bosch ◽  
Ivan R. Corrêa ◽  
Michael H. Sonntag ◽  
Jenny Ibach ◽  
Luc Brunsveld ◽  
...  

mBio ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rodney Tollerson ◽  
Anne Witzky ◽  
Michael Ibba

ABSTRACT Bacterial elongation factor P (EF-P) plays a pivotal role in the translation of polyproline motifs. To stimulate peptide bond formation, EF-P must enter the ribosome via an empty E-site. Using fluorescence-based single-molecule tracking, Mohapatra et al. (S. Mohapatra, H. Choi, X. Ge, S. Sanyal, and J. C. Weisshaar, mBio 8:e00300-17, 2017, https://doi.org/10.1128/mBio.00300-17 !) monitored the cellular distribution of EF-P and quantified the frequency of association between EF-P and the ribosome under various conditions. Findings from the study showed that EF-P has a localization pattern that is strikingly similar to that of ribosomes. Intriguingly, EF-P was seen to bind ribosomes more frequently than the estimated number of pausing events, indicating that E-site vacancies occur even when ribosomes are not paused. The study provides new insights into the mechanism of EF-P-dependent peptide bond formation and the intricacies of translation elongation.


Development ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 148 (18) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alan P. Boka ◽  
Apratim Mukherjee ◽  
Mustafa Mir

ABSTRACT For decades, we have relied on population and time-averaged snapshots of dynamic molecular scale events to understand how genes are regulated during development and beyond. The advent of techniques to observe single-molecule kinetics in increasingly endogenous contexts, progressing from in vitro studies to living embryos, has revealed how much we have missed. Here, we provide an accessible overview of the rapidly expanding family of technologies for single-molecule tracking (SMT), with the goal of enabling the reader to critically analyse single-molecule studies, as well as to inspire the application of SMT to their own work. We start by overviewing the basics of and motivation for SMT experiments, and the trade-offs involved when optimizing parameters. We then cover key technologies, including fluorescent labelling, excitation and detection optics, localization and tracking algorithms, and data analysis. Finally, we provide a summary of selected recent applications of SMT to study the dynamics of gene regulation.


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