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2016 et 2017

Article Reference chemical/x-molconn-Z SIN-3 transcriptional coregulator maintains mitochondrial homeostasis and polyamine flux
Summary Mitochondrial function relies on the coordinated transcription of mitochondrial and nuclear genomes to assemble respiratory chain complexes. Across species, the SIN3 coregulator influences mitochondrial functions, but how its loss impacts mitochondrial homeostasis and metabolism in the context of a whole organism is unknown. Exploring this link is important because SIN3 haploinsufficiency causes intellectual disability/autism syndromes and SIN3 plays a role in tumor biology. Here we show that loss of C. elegans SIN-3 results in transcriptional deregulation of mitochondrial- and nuclear-encoded mitochondrial genes, potentially leading to mito-nuclear imbalance. Consistent with impaired mitochondrial function, sin-3 mutants show extensive mitochondrial fragmentation by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and in vivo imaging, and altered oxygen consumption. Metabolomic analysis of sin-3 mutant animals revealed a mitochondria stress signature and deregulation of methionine flux, resulting in decreased S-adenosyl methionine (SAM) and increased polyamine levels. Our results identify SIN3 as a key regulator of mitochondrial dynamics and metabolic flux, with important implications for human pathologies.
Article Reference Yeast cell responses and survival during periodic osmotic stress are controlled by glucose availability
Natural environments of living organisms are often dynamic and multifactorial, with multiple parameters fluctuating over time. To better understand how cells respond to dynamically interacting factors, we quantified the effects of dual fluctuations of osmotic stress and glucose deprivation on yeast cells using microfluidics and time-lapse microscopy. Strikingly, we observed that cell proliferation, survival, and signaling depend on the phasing of the two periodic stresses. Cells divided faster, survived longer, and showed decreased transcriptional response when fluctuations of hyperosmotic stress and glucose deprivation occurred in phase than when the two stresses occurred alternatively. Therefore, glucose availability regulates yeast responses to dynamic osmotic stress, showcasing the key role of metabolic fluctuations in cellular responses to dynamic stress. We also found that mutants with impaired osmotic stress response were better adapted to alternating stresses than wild-type cells, showing that genetic mechanisms of adaptation to a persistent stress factor can be detrimental under dynamically interacting conditions.
Article Reference Ultrastructure Expansion Microscopy applied to C. elegans embryos.
Visualization of organelles using expansion microscopy has been previouslyapplied to Caenorhadbitis elegans adult gonads or worms. However, its applicationto embryos has remained a challenge due to the protective eggshell barrier. Here,by combining freeze-cracking and ultrastructure expansion microscopy (U-ExM), wedemonstrate a four-time isotropic expansion of C. elegans embryos. As an examplestructure, we chose the nuclear pore and demonstrate that we achieve sufficientresolution to distinguish them individually. Our work provides proof of principlefor U-ExM in C. elegans embryos, which will be applicable for imaging a widerange of cellular structures in this model system.
Article Reference Translation-dependent and -independent mRNA decay occur through mutually exclusive pathways defined by ribosome density during T cell activation.
mRNA translation and decay are tightly interconnected processes both in thecontext of mRNA quality-control pathways and for the degradation of functionalmRNAs. Cotranslational mRNA degradation through codon usage, ribosome collisions,and the recruitment of specific proteins to ribosomes is an important determinantof mRNA turnover. However, the extent to which translation-dependent mRNA decay(TDD) and translation-independent mRNA decay (TID) pathways participate in thedegradation of mRNAs has not been studied yet. Here we describe a comprehensiveanalysis of basal and signal-induced TDD and TID in mouse primary CD4(+) T cells.Our results indicate that most cellular transcripts are decayed to some extent ina translation-dependent manner. Our analysis further identifies the length ofuntranslated regions, the density of ribosomes, and GC3 content as importantdeterminants of TDD magnitude. Consistently, all transcripts that undergo changesin ribosome density within their coding sequence upon T cell activation display acorresponding change in their TDD level. Moreover, we reveal a dynamic modulationin the relationship between GC3 content and TDD upon T cell activation, with areversal in the impact of GC3- and AU3-rich codons. Altogether, our data show astrong and dynamic interconnection between mRNA translation and decay inmammalian primary cells.
Article Reference Stable structures or PABP1 loading protects cellular and viral RNAs against ISG20-mediated decay.
ISG20 is an IFN-induced 3'-5' RNA exonuclease that acts as a broad antiviralfactor. At present, the features that expose RNA to ISG20 remain unclear,although recent studies have pointed to the modulatory role of epitranscriptomicmodifications in the susceptibility of target RNAs to ISG20. These findings raisethe question as to how cellular RNAs, on which these modifications are abundant,cope with ISG20. To obtain an unbiased perspective on this topic, we used RNA-seqand biochemical assays to identify elements that regulate the behavior of RNAsagainst ISG20. RNA-seq analyses not only indicate a general preservation of thecell transcriptome, but they also highlight a small, but detectable, decrease inthe levels of histone mRNAs. Contrarily to all other cellular ones, histone mRNAsare non-polyadenylated and possess a short stem-loop at their 3' end, promptingus to examine the relationship between these features and ISG20 degradation. Theresults we have obtained indicate that poly(A)-binding protein loading on the RNA3' tail provides a primal protection against ISG20, easily explaining the overallprotection of cellular mRNAs observed by RNA-seq. Terminal stem-loop RNAstructures have been associated with ISG20 protection before. Here, were-examined this question and found that the balance between resistance andsusceptibility to ISG20 depends on their thermodynamic stability. These resultsshed new light on the complex interplay that regulates the susceptibility ofdifferent classes of viruses against ISG20.
Article Reference Metabolism-dependent secondary effect of anti-MAPK cancer therapy on DNA repair.
Amino acid bioavailability impacts mRNA translation in a codon-dependent manner.Here, we report that the anti-cancer MAPK inhibitors (MAPKi) decrease theintracellular concentration of aspartate and glutamate in melanoma cells. Thiscoincides with the accumulation of ribosomes on codons corresponding to theseamino acids and triggers the translation-dependent degradation of mRNAs encodingaspartate- and glutamate-rich proteins, involved in DNA metabolism such as DNAreplication and repair. Consequently, cells that survive MAPKi degrade aspartateand glutamate likely to generate energy, which simultaneously decreases theirrequirement for amino acids due to the downregulation of aspartate- andglutamate-rich proteins involved in cell proliferation. Concomitantly, thedownregulation of aspartate- and glutamate-rich proteins involved in DNA repairincreases DNA damage loads. Thus, DNA repair defects, and therefore mutations,are at least in part a secondary effect of the metabolic adaptation of cellsexposed to MAPKi.
Article Reference The C. elegans SET1 histone methyltransferase SET-2 is not required for transgenerational memory of silencing.
The SET-2 /SET1 histone H3K4 methyltransferase and RNAi pathway components arerequired to maintain fertility across generations in C. elegans . SET-2 preservesthe germline transcriptional program transgenerationally, and RNAi pathways relyon small RNAs to establish and maintain transgenerational gene silencing. Weinvestigated whether the functionality of RNAi-induced transgenerationalsilencing and the composition of pools of endogenous small RNA are affected bythe absence of SET-2 . Our results suggest that defects in RNAi pathways are notresponsible for the transcriptional misregulation observed in the absence ofSET-2 .
Article Reference Assembly of a unique membrane complex in type VI secretion systems of Bacteroidota.
The type VI secretion system (T6SS) of Gram-negative bacteria inhibits competitorcells through contact-dependent translocation of toxic effector proteins. InProteobacteria, the T6SS is anchored to the cell envelope through amegadalton-sized membrane complex (MC). However, the genomes of Bacteroidota withT6SSs appear to lack genes encoding homologs of canonical MC components. Here, weidentify five genes in Bacteroides fragilis (tssNQOPR) that are essential forT6SS function and encode a Bacteroidota-specific MC. We purify this complex,reveal its dimensions using electron microscopy, and identify a protein-proteininteraction network underlying the assembly of the MC including the stoichiometryof the five TssNQOPR components. Protein TssN mediates the connection between theBacteroidota MC and the conserved baseplate. Although MC gene content andorganization varies across the phylum Bacteroidota, no MC homologs are detectedoutside of T6SS loci, suggesting ancient co-option and functional convergencewith the non-homologous MC of Pseudomonadota.
Article Reference RNAP II antagonizes mitotic chromatin folding and chromosome segregation by condensin.
Condensin shapes mitotic chromosomes by folding chromatin into loops, but whetherit does so by DNA-loop extrusion remains speculative. Although loop-extrudingcohesin is stalled by transcription, the impact of transcription on condensin,which is enriched at highly expressed genes in many species, remains unclear.Using degrons of Rpb1 or the torpedo nuclease Dhp1(XRN2) to either deplete ordisplace RNAPII on chromatin in fission yeast metaphase cells, we show thatRNAPII does not load condensin on DNA. Instead, RNAPII retains condensin in cisand hinders its ability to fold mitotic chromatin and to support chromosomesegregation, consistent with the stalling of a loop extruder. Transcriptiontermination by Dhp1 limits such a hindrance. Our results shed light on theintegrated functioning of condensin, and we argue that a tight control oftranscription underlies mitotic chromosome assembly by loop-extruding condensin.
Article Reference AlphaFold2 Predicts Whether Proteins Interact Amidst Confounding Structural Compatibility
Predicting whether two proteins physically interact is one of the holy grails of computational biology, galvanized by rapid advancements in deep learning. AlphaFold2, although not developed with this goal, is promising in this respect. Here, I test the prediction capability of AlphaFold2 on a very challenging data set, where proteins are structurally compatible, even when they do not interact. AlphaFold2 achieves high discrimination between interacting and non-interacting proteins, and the cases of misclassifications can either be rescued by revisiting the input sequences or can suggest false positives and negatives in the data set. AlphaFold2 is thus not impaired by the compatibility between protein structures and has the potential to be applied on a large scale.
Article Reference Dynamics of Protein–RNA Interfaces Using All-Atom Molecular Dynamics Simulations
Facing the current challenges posed by human health diseases requires the understanding of cell machinery at a molecular level. The interplay between proteins and RNA is key for any physiological phenomenon, as well protein–RNA interactions. To understand these interactions, many experimental techniques have been developed, spanning a very wide range of spatial and temporal resolutions. In particular, the knowledge of tridimensional structures of protein–RNA complexes provides structural, mechanical, and dynamical pieces of information essential to understand their functions. To get insights into the dynamics of protein–RNA complexes, we carried out all-atom molecular dynamics simulations in explicit solvent on nine different protein–RNA complexes with different functions and interface size by taking into account the bound and unbound forms. First, we characterized structural changes upon binding and, for the RNA part, the change in the puckering. Second, we extensively analyzed the interfaces, their dynamics and structural properties, and the structural waters involved in the binding, as well as the contacts mediated by them. Based on our analysis, the interfaces rearranged during the simulation time showing alternative and stable residue–residue contacts with respect to the experimental structure.
Article Reference Discriminating physiological from non-physiological interfaces in structures of protein complexes: a community-wide study
Article Reference SIN3 acts in distinct complexes to regulate the germline transcriptional program in C. elegans.
The SIN3 transcriptional coregulator influences gene expression through multipleinteractions that include histone deacetylases (HDACs). Haploinsufficiency andmutations in SIN3 are the underlying cause of Witteveen-Kolk syndrome and relatedintellectual disability (ID)/autism syndromes, emphasizing its key role indevelopment. However, little is known about the diversity of its interactions andfunctions in developmental processes. Here we show that loss of SIN-3, the singleSIN3 homologue in Caenorhabditis elegans, results in maternal effect sterilityassociated with deregulation of the germline transcriptome, including desilencingof X-linked genes. We identify at least two distinct SIN3 complexes containingspecific HDACs, and show that they differentially contribute to fertility. Singlecell smFISH reveals that in sin-3 mutants, the X chromosome becomes re-expressedprematurely and in a stochastic manner in individual germ cells, suggesting arole for SIN-3 in its silencing. Furthermore, we identify histone residues whoseacetylation increases in the absence of SIN3. Together, this work provides apowerful framework for the in vivo study of SIN3 and associated proteins.
Article Reference Biophysical ordering transitions underlie genome 3D re-organization during cricket spermiogenesis
Abstract Spermiogenesis is a radical process of differentiation whereby sperm cells acquire a compact and specialized morphology to cope with the constraints of sexual reproduction while preserving their main cargo, an intact copy of the paternal genome. In animals, this often involves the replacement of most histones by sperm-specific nuclear basic proteins (SNBPs). Yet, how the SNBP-structured genome achieves compaction and accommodates shaping remain largely unknown. Here, we exploit confocal, electron and super-resolution microscopy, coupled with polymer modeling to identify the higher-order architecture of sperm chromatin in the needle-shaped nucleus of the emerging model cricket Gryllus bimaculatus . Accompanying spermatid differentiation, the SNBP-based genome is strikingly reorganized as ˊ25nm-thick fibers orderly coiled along the elongated nucleus axis. This chromatin spool is further found to achieve large-scale helical twisting in the final stages of spermiogenesis, favoring its ultracompaction. We reveal that these dramatic transitions may be recapitulated by a surprisingly simple biophysical principle based on a nucleated rigidification of chromatin linked to the histone-to-SNBP transition within a confined nuclear space. Our work highlights a unique, liquid crystal-like mode of higher-order genome organization in ultracompact cricket sperm, and establishes a multidisciplinary methodological framework to explore the diversity of non-canonical modes of DNA organization.
Article Reference Expulsion mechanism of the substrate-translocating subunit in ECF transporters
Article Reference CGCompiler: Automated Coarse-Grained Molecule Parametrization via Noise-Resistant Mixed-Variable Optimization
Coarse-grained force fields (CG FFs) such as the Martini model entail a predefined, fixed set of Lennard-Jones parameters (building blocks) to model virtually all possible nonbonded interactions between chemically relevant molecules. Owing to its universality and transferability, the building-block coarse-grained approach has gained tremendous popularity over the past decade. The parametrization of molecules can be highly complex and often involves the selection and fine-tuning of a large number of parameters (e.g., bead types and bond lengths) to optimally match multiple relevant targets simultaneously. The parametrization of a molecule within the building-block CG approach is a mixed-variable optimization problem: the nonbonded interactions are discrete variables, whereas the bonded interactions are continuous variables. Here, we pioneer the utility of mixed-variable particle swarm optimization in automatically parametrizing molecules within the Martini 3 coarse-grained force field by matching both structural (e.g., RDFs) as well as thermodynamic data (phase-transition temperatures). For the sake of demonstration, we parametrize the linker of the lipid sphingomyelin. The important advantage of our approach is that both bonded and nonbonded interactions are simultaneously optimized while conserving the search efficiency of vector guided particle swarm optimization (PSO) methods over other metaheuristic search methods such as genetic algorithms. In addition, we explore noise-mitigation strategies in matching the phase-transition temperatures of lipid membranes, where nucleation and concomitant hysteresis introduce a dominant noise term within the objective function. We propose that noise-resistant mixed-variable PSO methods can both improve and automate parametrization of molecules within building-block CG FFs, such as Martini.
Article Reference Transmembrane dimers of type 1 receptors sample alternate configurations: MD simulations using coarse grain Martini 3 versus AlphaFold2 Multimer
Article Reference An implementation of the Martini coarse-grained force field in OpenMM
Article Reference Automatic Optimization of Lipid Models in the Martini Force Field Using SwarmCG
After two decades of continued development of the Martini coarse-grained force field (CG FF), further refinment of the already rather accurate Martini lipid models has become a demanding task that could benefit from integrative data-driven methods. Automatic approaches are increasingly used in the development of accurate molecular models, but they typically make use of specifically designed interaction potentials that transfer poorly to molecular systems or conditions different than those used for model calibration. As a proof of concept, here, we employ SwarmCG, an automatic multiobjective optimization approach facilitating the development of lipid force fields, to refine specifically the bonded interaction parameters in building blocks of lipid models within the framework of the general Martini CG FF. As targets of the optimization procedure, we employ both experimental observables (top-down references: area per lipid and bilayer thickness) and all-atom molecular dynamics simulations (bottom-up reference), which respectively inform on the supra-molecular structure of the lipid bilayer systems and on their submolecular dynamics. In our training sets, we simulate at different temperatures in the liquid and gel phases up to 11 homogeneous lamellar bilayers composed of phosphatidylcholine lipids spanning various tail lengths and degrees of (un)saturation. We explore different CG representations of the molecules and evaluate improvements a posteriori using additional simulation temperatures and a portion of the phase diagram of a DOPC/DPPC mixture. Successfully optimizing up to ∼80 model parameters within still limited computational budgets, we show that this protocol allows the obtainment of improved transferable Martini lipid models. In particular, the results of this study demonstrate how a fine-tuning of the representation and parameters of the models may improve their accuracy and how automatic approaches, such as SwarmCG, may be very useful to this end.
Article Reference Facilitating CG Simulations with MAD: The MArtini Database Server
The MArtini Database (MAD - https://mad.ibcp.fr) is a web server designed for the sharing of structures and topologies of molecules parametrized with the Martini coarse-grained (CG) force field. MAD can also convert atomistic structures into CG structures and prepare complex systems (including proteins, lipids, etc.) for molecular dynamics (MD) simulations at the CG level. It is dedicated to the generation of input files for Martini 3, the most recent version of this popular CG force field. Specifically, the MAD server currently includes tools to submit or retrieve CG models of a wide range of molecules (lipids, carbohydrates, nanoparticles, etc.), transform atomistic protein structures into CG structures and topologies, with fine control on the process and assemble biomolecules into large systems, and deliver all files necessary to start simulations in the GROMACS MD engine.