Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Wasif Al-Shareef, Yogev Brown, Christopher Bryan, Elena Shuvaeva, Shhadeh Bsoul, Raanan Greenman, Majdi M. Kabaha, Nikolai B. Ulyanov, Emmanuel Skordalakes, Yehuda Tzfati
Summary: Telomerase is composed of telomerase RNA and telomerase reverse transcriptase, which maintain chromosome end integrity by copying a template onto chromosome ends. Despite diversity in telomerase RNA sequence across fungi and mammals, structural motifs essential for telomerase function are conserved. Est2 interacts with specific RNA structures and mutations in these domains cause severe telomere shortening, highlighting the conservation and importance of these interactions for telomerase function.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Woo Suk Choi, Peter J. Weng, Wei Yang
Summary: Telomerase synthesizes telomeres at the ends of linear chromosomes by reverse transcription from a short RNA template. In this study, the potential of the structural cavity of tcTERT to accommodate a looped-out DNA bulge and enable the separation of the RNA/DNA hybrid was investigated. It was found that tcTERT can accommodate and extend a looped-out telomeric repeat in the DNA primer, but retroviral reverse transcriptase cannot. The ternary-complex structure of tcTERT with a downstream RNA/DNA hybrid was also determined, and it was shown to enhance the efficiency of telomere synthesis by tcTERT. Overall, flexible RNA-DNA binding plays a crucial role in telomeric repeat addition.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2022)
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Neal F. Lue, Chantal Autexier
Summary: In this Review, the authors discuss the implications of new cryo-EM structures of telomerase from different species on its mechanisms and functions. Telomerase is a unique reverse transcriptase ribonucleoprotein dedicated to the synthesis of telomere repeats. Recent cryo-EM structures provide insights into the intricate protein-nucleic acid interactions and the reconfiguration of the reverse transcriptase scaffold in telomerase. The structures also reveal the conservation of a protein-protein interface that regulates telomerase function in vivo.
NATURE STRUCTURAL & MOLECULAR BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Abhishek Dey, Anais Monroy-Eklund, Kaitlin Klotz, Arpita Saha, Justin Davis, Bibo Li, Alain Laederach, Kausik Chakrabarti
Summary: Telomerase is a unique ribonucleoprotein reverse transcriptase that uses RNA as a template for synthesizing telomere DNA repeats. In this study using Trypanosoma brucei as a model, important regional folding information of the native telomerase RNA core domains was revealed, showing at least two different conformers of TR in insect and mammalian developmental stages. TERT does not significantly influence RNA folding in vivo, indicating a conformationally preorganized stable structure of telomerase RNA in T. brucei.
NUCLEIC ACIDS RESEARCH
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Liu-Tao Zhai, Stephane Rety, Wei-Fei Chen, Ze-Yu Song, Daniel Auguin, Bo Sun, Shuo-Xing Dou, Xu-Guang Xi
Summary: Telomerase plays key roles in cellular processes, cancer development, and stem-cell renewal. The structure and function of telomerase, including the conserved U-motif, are crucial for its catalytic activity and understanding fungal TERTs.
NUCLEIC ACIDS RESEARCH
(2021)
Article
Cell Biology
Zhikai Chen, Shengnan Zheng, Chuanhai Fu
Summary: The CRISPR-Cas13d system is a promising tool for RNA manipulation, as it targets RNA with a small effector protein and does not require specific sites in the target transcript. In this study, the CRISPR-Cas13d system was successfully implemented in fission yeast for reversible RNA knockdown. The system's effectiveness was ensured by using an array of CRISPR RNAs (crRNAs) expressed from an RNA polymerase II promoter. This new toolkit is expected to have diverse applications in biology, including gene function analysis and RNA visualization.
JOURNAL OF CELL SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Genetics & Heredity
Bradley Benjamin, Ana M. Sanchez, Angad Garg, Beate Schwer, Stewart Shuman
Summary: This study investigates the impact of DPS null mutations on the fission yeast transcriptome, as well as the genetic interactions of Ppn1 with other components of the machinery, highlighting the essential activities of Ppn1 affected by perturbation of distinct binding sites with Dis2 and Swd22.
Article
Cell Biology
Daqiang Wu, Yongkang Chu, Wenfan Wei, Ling Liu, Chuanhai Fu
Summary: This study used live-cell microscopy and an algorithm to quantitatively assess the mixing of parental mitochondria in fission yeast. The results showed that parental mitochondria mixed progressively during meiosis. The study also identified mitochondrial fission and the size of the conjugation neck as limiting factors in restricting mitochondrial mixing.
JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR CELL BIOLOGY
(2022)
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Xinyu Tang, Ruirong Xu, Yan Wang, Kaiqing Chen, Siyuan Cui
Summary: The TERC gene is crucial for telomerase-dependent telomere extension and maintenance. Cell reprogramming can reverse differentiation and enhance pluripotency, and also extend telomere length. This study investigates the role of TERC haploinsufficiency and cell reprogramming in aplastic anemia, aiming to identify diagnostic indicators and therapeutic strategies.
MOLECULAR MEDICINE
(2023)
Article
Cell Biology
Takahiro Asanuma, Soichi Inagaki, Tetsuji Kakutani, Hiroyuki Aburatani, Yota Murakami
Summary: This study reveals that tandemly repeated mRNA genes, in cooperation with the antisilencing factor Epe1, promote RNA interference (RNAi)-mediated heterochromatin formation. It suggests that Epe1 generates sufficient transcripts for the activation of RNAi without disrupting heterochromatin when repetitive transcription units form the basis of heterochromatin.
GENES & DEVELOPMENT
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Sydney C. Pimentel, Heather E. Upton, Kathleen Collins
Summary: The broad evolutionary expansion of polymerase families has allowed specialization of their activities for different cellular roles. In this study, the relationship between nontemplated nucleotide addition (NTA) and template jumping in reverse transcriptases was examined. The results clarify the interdependence of these activities and shed light on the biological functions and laboratory applications of reverse transcriptases.
JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL CHEMISTRY
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Masashi Yukawa, Mitsuki Ohishi, Yusuke Yamada, Takashi Toda
Summary: In the absence of kinesin-5, deletion of the dri1 gene in fission yeast can rescue temperature sensitivity caused by kinesin-5 mutants. This deletion also significantly reduces the levels of kinesin-14/Klp2 on the spindles in the kinesin-5 mutants. The RNA-binding motifs of Dri1 are essential for its cytoplasmic localization and function.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Diego J. Paez-Moscoso, David Ho, Lili Pan, Katie Hildebrand, Kristi L. Jensen, Michaella J. Levy, Laurence Florens, Peter Baumann
Summary: Most eukaryotes maintain telomeres using a specialized reverse transcriptase. This study found that Thc1, Bmc1, and Pof8 form a complex in fission yeast and are involved in telomerase biogenesis, which is crucial for telomerase activity and telomere length maintenance.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Caterina Manzato, Luca Larini, Claudio Oss Pegorar, Maria Rosaria Dello Stritto, Katarina Jurikova, Verena Jantsch, Emilio Cusanelli
Summary: This study reports the expression of TERRA in Caenorhabditis elegans. TERRA is regulated by the telomere-binding proteins POT-1 and POT-2, and its transcripts are heterogeneous in length and form discrete nuclear foci. In germ cells, TERRA is expressed in all stages of meiotic prophase I, and it is upregulated prior to activation of the alternative lengthening mechanism (ALT).
NUCLEIC ACIDS RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Marine
Moonsu Park, Phill-Seung Lee
Summary: This study presents an effective numerical solution procedure to integrate hydrostatic and hydrodynamic analyses for flexible floating structures. It proposes a single integrated mesh model that seamlessly performs both analyses without the need for waterline matching mesh.
Article
Cell Biology
Lili Pan, Katie Hildebrand, Cian Stutz, Nicolas Thomae, Peter Baumann
GENES & DEVELOPMENT
(2015)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Melissa A. Mefford, David C. Zappulla
MOLECULAR AND CELLULAR BIOLOGY
(2016)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Kevin J. Lebo, Rachel O. Niederer, David C. Zappulla
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Ram Kannan, Rachel M. Helston, Richard O. Dannebaum, Peter Baumann
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2015)
Article
Cell Biology
Chi-Kang Tseng, Hui-Fang Wang, Allison M. Burns, Morgan R. Schroeder, Martina Gaspari, Peter Baumann
Article
Biology
Evan P. Hass, David C. Zappulla
Article
Developmental Biology
Aracely A. Newton, Robert R. Schnittker, Zulin Yu, Sarah S. Munday, Diana P. Baumann, William B. Neaves, Peter Baumann
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Hongwen Chen, Jing Xue, Dmitri Churikov, Evan P. Hass, Shaohua Shi, Laramie D. Lemon, Pierre Luciano, Alison A. Bertuch, David C. Zappulla, Vincent Geli, Jian Wu, Ming Lei
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Diego J. Paez-Moscoso, Lili Pan, Rutendo F. Sigauke, Morgan R. Schroeder, Wen Tang, Peter Baumann
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2018)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Melissa A. Mefford, Qundeel Rafiq, David C. Zappulla
Editorial Material
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Elena Smekalova, Peter Baumann
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Rachel O. Niederer, David C. Zappulla
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Rachel O. Niederer, Nickolas Papadopoulos, David C. Zappulla
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2016)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Chi-Kang Tseng, Hui-Fang Wang, Morgan R. Schroeder, Peter Baumann
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2018)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Melissa A. Mefford, Evan P. Hass, David C. Zappulla
MOLECULAR AND CELLULAR BIOLOGY
(2020)