Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Liudmila Popova, Prabakaran Nagarajan, Callie M. Lovejoy, Benjamin D. Sunkel, Miranda L. Gardner, Meng Wang, Michael A. Freitas, Benjamin Z. Stanton, Mark R. Parthun
Summary: In this study, it was found that the loss of HAT1 during replication resulted in inaccessibility of specific heterochromatin regions, which make up a significant portion of the genome. Additionally, HAT1 was shown to have a global repression effect on H3 K9 me3 levels and overlap with a subset of Lamin-Associated Domains.
NUCLEIC ACIDS RESEARCH
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Qiutao Xu, Yaping Yue, Biao Liu, Zhengting Chen, Xuan Ma, Jing Wang, Yu Zhao, Dao-Xiu Zhou
Summary: This study reveals the mechanism of local acetyl-CoA production for histone acetylation and its link to cell division in rice. The interaction between HAT1 and ACLA2 promotes histone lysine acetylation in specific genomic regions, contributing to gene expression and endosperm cell division.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2023)
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Celine Duc, Christophe Thiriet
Summary: The review focuses on the remodeling of chromatin during DNA replication in the S-phase, including the eviction of nucleosomes and the assembly of newly synthesized histones. The recycling of parental histones and the nuclear import of histones are also discussed in relation to epigenetic inheritance.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Denitsa Yaneva, Justin L. Sparks, Maximilian Donsbach, Shubo Zhao, Pedro Weickert, Rachel Bezalel-Buch, Julian Stingele, Johannes C. Walter
Summary: Endogenous and exogenous agents generate DNA-protein crosslinks (DPCs), whose replication-dependent degradation by the SPRTN protease suppresses aging and liver cancer. In this study, it is found that the helicase FANCJ plays a role in DPC repair by binding to ssDNA downstream of the DPC and using its ATPase activity to unfold the protein adduct, enabling cleavage of the adduct and facilitating translesion DNA synthesis past DPCs that cannot be degraded. These findings highlight the importance of helicase-mediated protein unfolding in DPC repair.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Zhenhui Zhong, Yafei Wang, Ming Wang, Fan Yang, Quentin Angelo Thomas, Yan Xue, Yaxin Zhang, Wanlu Liu, Yasaman Jami-Alahmadi, Linhao Xu, Suhua Feng, Sebastian Marquardt, James A. Wohlschlegel, Israel Ausin, Steven E. Jacobsen
Summary: Histone chaperones and chromatin remodelers control nucleosome dynamics. The Arabidopsis ASF1 chaperone primarily supplies histone variants to the HIRA complex to ensure proper epigenetic gene regulation. Mutation of ASF1 genes in Arabidopsis results in decreased chromatin density, ectopic H3.1 occupancy at H3.3-enriched loci, increased Pol II transcriptional initiation, defects in gene body CG DNA methylation and histone modification distribution. Ectopic targeting of ASF1 causes excessive histone deposition, less accessible chromatin, and gene silencing.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2022)
Article
Cell Biology
Tycho E. T. Mevissen, Anisa Prasad, Johannes C. Walter
Summary: TRIM21 is a cytosolic antibody receptor and E3 ubiquitin ligase that promotes destruction of pathogens. It has been found that TRIM21 forms a self-anchored K63 ubiquitin chain on its N terminus upon binding to antibodies, leading to the degradation of TRIM21, antibody, and target protein. In Xenopus egg extracts, the addition of antibody and TRIM21 efficiently promotes the degradation of endogenous target proteins, making cell-free Trim-Away a powerful tool to study protein function.
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Nicole J. Francis, Djamouna Sihou
Summary: Histone chaperone activities play a crucial role in maintaining the position of parental histones during DNA replication. The coordination between DNA replication and replisome-associated histone chaperone activities is essential for the inheritance of histones and their post-translational modifications. Disruption of this coordination may lead to random redistribution of histones by alternative chaperones.
TRENDS IN BIOCHEMICAL SCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Biology
Kyu Joon Lee, Ziyin Li
Summary: This study identifies the CRK2-CYC13 complex as an S-phase regulator in T. brucei and reveals its role in regulating DNA replication through promoting the assembly of the Cdc45-Mcm2-7-GINS complex. The findings suggest that T. brucei may utilize unique mechanisms for DNA replication compared to other organisms, as it lacks many conserved DNA replication factors.
Article
Gastroenterology & Hepatology
Dieudonne Buh Kum, Hannah Vanrusselt, Abel Acosta Sanchez, Valerio Taverniti, Eloi R. Verrier, Thomas F. Baumert, Cheng Liu, Jerome Deval, Nikky Corthout, Sebastian Munck, Leonid Beigelman, Lawrence M. Blatt, Julian A. Symons, Pierre Raboisson, Andreas Jekle, Sandrine Vendeville, Yannick Debing
Summary: This study uncovers a novel mechanism of action for CAM-As in the treatment of chronic hepatitis B, where HBc aggregation induces cell death, leading to hepatocyte proliferation and loss of covalently closed circular DNA or its equivalent, possibly assisted by an induced innate immune response.
Article
Genetics & Heredity
Yulong Li, Alexander J. Hartemink, David M. MacAlpine
Summary: This study investigated the dynamic changes in chromatin organization at and surrounding replication origins in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. It found that the downstream repositioning of the origin-proximal +1 nucleosome and an increase in protected DNA fragments spanning the ARS consensus sequence are indicative of pre-RC assembly. The strongest correlation between chromatin occupancy at the ACS and origin efficiency occurred in early S phase, consistent with the rate-limiting formation of the CMG complex being a determinant of origin activity. Nucleosome disruption and disorganization were observed emanating from replication origins and traveling with the elongating replication forks in S phase, reflecting the disassembly and assembly of chromatin ahead of and behind the replication fork.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Jonathan Markert, Keda Zhou, Karolin Luger
Summary: The study demonstrates that SMARCAD1 is capable of transferring the entire histone octamer from one DNA segment to another in an ATP-dependent manner, as well as de novo nucleosome assembly from histone octamer due to its ability to simultaneously bind all histones. The low-resolution cryo-electron microscopy structure of SMARCAD1 in complex with a nucleosome reveals a unique engagement of its adenosine triphosphatase domains with the substrate, providing mechanistic insights into nucleosome disassembly and reassembly induced by SMARCAD1.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Ksenia Smurova, Michela Damizia, Carmela Irene, Stefania Stancari, Giovanna Berto, Giulia Perticari, Maria Giuseppina Iacovella, Ilaria D'Ambrosio, Maria Giubettini, Reginald Philippe, Chiara Baggio, Elisabetta Callegaro, Andrea Casagranda, Alessandro Corsini, Vincenzo Gentile Polese, Anna Ricci, Erik Dassi, Peter De Wulf
Summary: Kinetochores assemble on centromeres via histone H3 variant CENP-A and low levels of centromere transcripts (cenRNAs). The authors show that the protein kinase Rio1 is involved in this process by limiting the production of cenRNAs through reducing RNAPII accessibility and promoting their degradation.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Amogh Gopinathan Nair, Nick Rabas, Sara Lejon, Caleb Homiski, Michael J. Osborne, Normand Cyr, Aleksandr Sverzhinsky, Thomas Melendy, John M. Pascal, Ernest D. Laue, Katherine L. B. Borden, James G. Omichinski, Alain Verreault
Summary: The eukaryotic DNA replication fork is a complex hub of enzymes, many of which bind to proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) to perform their functions. This study reveals that Chromatin Assembly Factor 1 (CAF-1) binds to PCNA in a unique manner dependent on a cation-pi interaction. The mutation of a key residue disrupts the binding ability of CAF-1 to PCNA and the assembly of chromatin. Additionally, it is found that a subunit of CAF-1 binds to DNA through a very long α-helix with a PCNA interaction peptide at the C-terminus, which is evolutionarily conserved among various species. These findings contribute to our understanding of the complex regulation between PCNA and its binding enzymes.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Tanay Thakar, Ashna Dhoonmoon, Joshua Straka, Emily M. Schleicher, Claudia M. Nicolae, George-Lucian Moldovan
Summary: This study reveals that lagging strand ssDNA gaps interfere with nucleosome assembly and drive replication fork degradation in BRCA-deficient cells. Correcting PCNA unloading defects and activating a compensatory histone deposition pathway can restore fork stability in BRCA-deficient cells.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2022)
Article
Biology
Hsiang-Chen Chou, Kuhulika Bhalla, Osama El Demerdesh, Olaf Klingbeil, Kaarina Hanington, Sergey Aganezov, Peter Andrews, Habeeb Alsudani, Kenneth Chang, Christopher R. Vakoc, Michael C. Schatz, W. Richard McCombie, Bruce Stillman
Summary: Each subunit of ORC and CDC6 is essential in human cells, with their deficiency leading to difficulties in DNA replication initiation and cell division cycle progression, as well as abnormal nuclear and cell morphology.