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1. Mutations in yeast Pcf11, a conserved protein essential for mRNA 3′ end processing and transcription termination, elicit the Environmental Stress Response

   https://doi.org/10.1093/genetics/iyad199  

   Graber, Joel H. ; Hoskinson, Derick ; Liu, Huiyun ; Kaczmarek Michaels, Katarzyna ; Benson, Peter S. ; Maki, Nathaniel J. ; Wilson, Christian L. ; McGrath, Caleb ; Puleo, Franco ; Pearson, Erika ; et al ( November 2023 , GENETICS)

   The Pcf11 protein is an essential subunit of the large complex that cleaves and polyadenylates eukaryotic mRNA precursor. It has also been functionally linked to gene-looping, termination of RNA Polymerase II (Pol II) transcripts, and mRNA export. We have examined a poorly characterized but conserved domain (amino acids 142–225) of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae  Pcf11 and found that while it is not needed for mRNA 3′ end processing or termination downstream of the poly(A) sites of protein-coding genes, its presence improves the interaction with Pol II and the use of transcription terminators near gene promoters. Analysis of genome-wide Pol II occupancy in cells with Pcf11 missing this region, as well as Pcf11 mutated in the Pol II CTD Interacting Domain, indicates that systematic changes in mRNA expression are mediated primarily at the level of transcription. Global expression analysis also shows that a general stress response, involving both activation and suppression of specific gene sets known to be regulated in response to a wide variety of stresses, is induced in the two pcf11 mutants, even though cells are grown in optimal conditions. The mutants also cause an unbalanced expression of cell wall-related genes that does not activate the Cell Wall Integrity pathway but is associated with strong caffeine sensitivity. Based on these findings, we propose that Pcf11 can modulate the expression level of specific functional groups of genes in ways that do not involve its well-characterized role in mRNA 3′ end processing.

    

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2. Structural basis of non-canonical transcriptional regulation by the σA-bound iron-sulfur protein WhiB1 in M. tuberculosis

   https://doi.org/10.1093/nar/gkz1133  

   Wan, Tao ; Li, Shanren ; Beltran, Daisy Guiza ; Schacht, Andrew ; Zhang, Lu ; Becker, Donald F ; Zhang, LiMei ( December 2019 , Nucleic Acids Research)

   Abstract WhiB1 is a monomeric iron–sulfur cluster-containing transcription factor in the WhiB-like family that is widely distributed in actinobacteria including the notoriously persistent pathogen Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tuberculosis). WhiB1 plays multiple roles in regulating cell growth and responding to nitric oxide stress in M. tuberculosis, but its underlying mechanism is unclear. Here we report a 1.85 Å-resolution crystal structure of the [4Fe–4S] cluster-bound (holo-) WhiB1 in complex with the C-terminal domain of the σ70-family primary sigma factor σA of M. tuberculosis containing the conserved region 4 (σA4). Region 4 of the σ70-family primary sigma factors is commonly used by transcription factors for gene activation, and holo-WhiB1 has been proposed to activate gene expression via binding to σA4. The complex structure, however, unexpectedly reveals that the interaction between WhiB1 and σA4 is dominated by hydrophobic residues in the [4Fe–4S] cluster binding pocket, distinct from previously characterized canonical σ704-bound transcription activators. Furthermore, we show that holo-WhiB1 represses transcription by interaction with σA4in vitro and that WhiB1 must interact with σA4 to perform its essential role in supporting cell growth in vivo. Together, these results demonstrate that holo-WhiB1 regulates gene expression by a non-canonical mechanism relative to well-characterized σA4-dependent transcription activators. 

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3. Transcriptome and phenotyping analyses support a role for chloroplast sigma factor 2 in red‐light‐dependent regulation of growth, stress, and photosynthesis

   https://doi.org/10.1002/pld3.43  

   Oh, Sookyung ; Strand, Deserah D. ; Kramer, David M. ; Chen, Jin ; Montgomery, Beronda L. ( February 2018 , Plant Direct)

   Sigma factor (SIG) proteins contribute to promoter specificity of the plastid‐encodedRNApolymerase during chloroplast genome transcription. All six members of theSIGfamily, that is,SIG1–SIG6, are nuclear‐encoded proteins targeted to chloroplasts. Sigma factor 2 (SIG2) is a phytochrome‐regulated protein important for stoichiometric control of the expression of plastid‐ and nuclear‐encoded genes that impact plastid development and plant growth and development. AmongSIGfactors,SIG2 is required not only for transcription of chloroplast genes (i.e., anterograde signaling), but also impacts nuclear‐encoded, photosynthesis‐related, and light signaling‐related genes (i.e., retrograde signaling) in response to plastid functional status. AlthoughSIG2 is involved in photomorphogenesis in Arabidopsis, the molecular bases for its role in light signaling that impacts photomorphogenesis and aspects of photosynthesis have only recently begun to be investigated. Previously, we reported thatSIG2 is necessary for phytochrome‐mediated photomorphogenesis specifically under red (R) and far‐red light, thereby suggesting a link between phytochromes and nuclear‐encodedSIG2 in light signaling. To explore transcriptional roles ofSIG2 in R‐dependent growth and development, we performedRNAsequencing analysis to compare gene expression insig2‐2mutant and Col‐0 wild‐type seedlings at two developmental stages (1‐ and 7‐day). We identified a subset of misregulated genes involved in growth, hormonal cross talk, stress responses, and photosynthesis. To investigate the functional relevance of these gene expression analyses, we performed several comparative phenotyping tests. In these analyses, strongsig2mutants showed insensitivity to bioactiveGA₃, high intracellular levels of hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) indicative of a stress response, and specific defects in photosynthesis, including elevated levels of cyclic electron flow (CEF) and nonphotochemical quenching (NPQ). We demonstrated thatSIG2 regulates a broader range of physiological responses at the molecular level than previously reported, with specific roles in red‐light‐mediated photomorphogenesis.

    

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4. The Hippo effector YAP1 biochemically and functionally interacts with the nuclear factor-kappa B/RELA transcription factor

   Cinar, B: Al-Mathkour ; Dwead, A ; Boston, A ; Alp, E. ( May 2021 , The FASEB journal)

   null (Ed.)

   The transcriptional co-activator YAP1 (yes-associated protein 1) is a critical nuclear effector of the Hippo pathway. The Hippo pathway regulates cell growth, cell motility, cell migration, and carcinogenesis, but poorly defined mechanism. We investigated biochemical and functional interactions between YAP1 and the nuclear factor (NF)-kappa B/RELA subunit in prostate cancer cell models. We demonstrated that endogenous YAP1 and RELA form protein complexes in the cell, as revealed by co-immunoprecipitation and western blotting. Compared with control, we found that combined treatment of cells with androgen and SDF-1a (stromal cell-derived factor-1 alpha) or RANKL (receptor activator of NF-kappa B ligand) enhanced the protein-protein interaction between YAP1 and RELA, as showed by proximity ligation assay. Our confocal microscopy experiment further showed that combined SDF-1aand androgen treatment promoted the YAP1 and RELA colocalization instead of single-agent treatment. Moreover, our promoter-reporter and RNAi experiments showed that knockdown of YAP1 or TEAD, a key mediator of the YAP transcription, significantly reduced the NF-Kappa B promoter-reporter gene activity. Also, disruption of YAP1 activity attenuated the TEAD-RELA interaction. Furthermore, the controlled expression of MST1/STK4, a potent inhibitor of YAP1, attenuated the NF-Kappa B-promoter reporter activity. Additionally, our unbiased bioinformatics analysis of the exiting ChIP-seq (chromatin immunoprecipitation-sequencing) data sets identified several genes that are likely co-regulated by the YAP1/TEAD and NF-Kappa B/RELA transcription factors. These findings suggest that cooperative androgen and cytokine signaling regulates Hippo/YAP and NF-Kappa B interaction. Thus, the YAP1/TEAD and NF-Kappa B/RELA interaction may have critical roles in cellular biology and human diseases. 

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5. RNA polymerase II transcription attenuation at the yeast DNA repair gene DEF1 is biologically significant and dependent on the Hrp1 RNA-recognition motif

   https://doi.org/10.1093/g3journal/jkac292  

   Amodeo, Maria E. ; Mitchell, Shane P. C. ; Pavan, Vincent ; Kuehner, Jason N. ; Andrews, ed., B. ( October 2022 , G3 Genes|Genomes|Genetics)

   Premature transcription termination (i.e. attenuation) is a potent gene regulatory mechanism that represses mRNA synthesis. Attenuation of RNA polymerase II is more prevalent than once appreciated, targeting 10–15% of mRNA genes in yeast through higher eukaryotes, but its significance and mechanism remain obscure. In the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, polymerase II attenuation was initially shown to rely on Nrd1–Nab3–Sen1 termination, but more recently our laboratory characterized a hybrid termination pathway involving Hrp1, an RNA-binding protein in the 3′-end cleavage factor. One of the hybrid attenuation gene targets is DEF1, which encodes a repair protein that promotes degradation of polymerase II stalled at DNA lesions. In this study, we characterized the chromosomal DEF1 attenuator and the functional role of Hrp1. DEF1 attenuator mutants overexpressed Def1 mRNA and protein, exacerbated polymerase II degradation, and hindered cell growth, supporting a biologically significant DEF1 attenuator function. Using an auxin-induced Hrp1 depletion system, we identified new Hrp1-dependent attenuators in MNR2, SNG1, and RAD3 genes. An hrp1-5 mutant (L205S) known to impair binding to cleavage factor protein Rna14 also disrupted attenuation, but surprisingly no widespread defect was observed for an hrp1-1 mutant (K160E) located in the RNA-recognition motif. We designed a new RNA recognition motif mutant (hrp1-F162W) that altered a highly conserved residue and was lethal in single copy. In a heterozygous strain, hrp1-F162W exhibited dominant-negative readthrough defects at several gene attenuators. Overall, our results expand the hybrid RNA polymerase II termination pathway, confirming that Hrp1-dependent attenuation controls multiple yeast genes and may function through binding cleavage factor proteins and/or RNA.

    

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