Editorial Material
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Janardan N. Gavade, Ben E. Black
Summary: A new study reveals that the efficiency of new centromere formation is dictated by subnuclear location.
Article
Genetics & Heredity
Hyoju Ban, Wenqi Sun, Yu-Hang Chen, Yong Chen, Fei Li
Summary: This study reveals the important role of the RNA-binding protein Dri1 in the assembly of heterochromatin through its interaction with the RNAi pathway and histone deacetylases (HDACs). Dri1 is involved in recruiting proteins essential for heterochromatin formation and maintenance, highlighting its significance in regulating gene expression and genome stability.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Maria Isabel Navarro-Mendoza, Carlos Perez-Arques, Joseph Heitman
Summary: Chromatin modifications, specifically H3K9 methylation, play a crucial role in repressing transcription in early-diverging fungi. RNA interference (RNAi) and heterochromatin formation are independent regulatory mechanisms in Mucor, contributing to genome stability and defense.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(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
Cell Biology
Kazuki Tsukii, Shinya Takahata, Yota Murakami
Summary: H2A.Z plays multiple roles in fission yeast heterochromatin, suppressing heterochromatic non-coding RNA transcription and facilitating RNAi-independent heterochromatin assembly by antagonizing H3K9me demethylation activity.
Article
Cell Biology
Kyle Brown, Pin Yu Chew, Steven Ingersoll, Jorge R. Espinosa, Anne Aguirre, Axel Espinoza, Joey Wen, Kalkidan Astatike, Tatiana G. Kutateladze, Rosana Collepardo-Guevara, Xiaojun Ren
Summary: This study reveals the assembly and regulation mechanism of Polycomb repressive complex 1 (PRC1). The findings demonstrate that the formation and dynamic properties of PRC1 condensates are sensitively regulated by their composition and stoichiometry.
Article
Plant Sciences
Jothipriya Ramakrishnan Chandra, Manikandan Kalidass, Dmitri Demidov, Siarhei A. Dabravolski, Inna Lermontova
Summary: Centromeres are chromosomal domains that regulate the proper segregation of chromosomes during cell division by forming kinetochore protein complexes. Although their function remains conserved, their DNA sequences exhibit high variability, even among closely related species. The loading of centromeric histone H3 (CENH3) onto centromeres is epigenetically determined, and it depends on factors involved in centromere licensing, chaperones, and transcription of centromeric repeats. In this review, the variability of centromeric sequences and the regulation of their transcription through RNA Pol II and RNAi machinery are discussed, suggesting that the interaction between proteins involved in CENH3 loading, kinetochore assembly, centromeric DNA, and transcripts play a role in centromere and possibly neocentromere formation in a sequence-independent manner.
Article
Genetics & Heredity
Danny E. Miller, Ana P. Dorador, Kelley Van Vaerenberghe, Angela Li, Emily K. Grantham, Stefan Cerbin, Celeste Cummings, Marilyn Barragan, Rhonda R. Egidy, Allison R. Scott, Kate E. Hall, Anoja Perera, William D. Gilliland, R. Scott Hawley, Justin P. Blumenstiel
Summary: Transposable elements (TEs) are selfish genetic elements that can cause harmful mutations. Systems of genome immunity based on small RNA have evolved to limit the movement of TEs, but the rules by which TE insertions cause gene silencing are not well understood. This article describes a phenomenon in which a TE insertion rescues the silencing of a gene caused by another TE insertion, revealing a mode of TE interaction via small RNA silencing that may be important for understanding how TEs exert their effects on gene expression.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Weifang Wu, Toni McHugh, David A. Kelly, Alison L. Pidoux, Robin C. Allshire
Summary: The establishment of centromere-specific CENP-A chromatin is influenced by epigenetic and genetic processes. The nuclear spatial organization plays a key role in determining centromere identity.
Article
Plant Sciences
Claudia Schvartzman, Pablo Fresia, Sara Murchio, Maria Valentina Mujica, Marco Dalla-Rizza
Summary: This study reports the functional RNAi in the red-banded stink bug and the significant effect of silencing essential genes on adult viability. The findings suggest that RNAi could be an interesting approach for the development of red-banded stink bug control strategies.
FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Cell Biology
Tianyu Wu, Simon I. R. Lane, Stephanie L. Morgan, Feng Tang, Keith T. Jones
Summary: Repetitive sequences of DNA in centromeric regions are transcriptionally active during mitosis, playing a specific role in maintaining the structural integrity of centromeres in female meiosis I compared with mitosis, thus contributing to high aneuploidy rates observed in female meiosis.
JOURNAL OF CELL BIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Plant Sciences
Mingliang He, Cheng Zhang, Liuyang Chu, Sheliang Wang, Lei Shi, Fangsen Xu
Summary: The study identified the roles of BnaA2.NIP5;1 and BnaA3.NIP5;1 in low-B tolerance in rapeseed, showing that they are crucial for normal growth under low-B conditions by impacting boron uptake, root elongation, and seed production. This research provides novel insights into gene function diversification and offers potential applications for other polyploid crops.
PLANT CELL AND ENVIRONMENT
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Nitobe London, Bethan Medina-Pritchard, Christos Spanos, Juri Rappsilber, A. Arockia Jeyaprakash, Robin C. Allshire
Summary: During G2, fission yeast centromeres cluster at SPBs, where Mis18C also localizes. It is shown that SPBs concentrate Mis18C near centromeres through direct binding to Sad1. This centromere-independent Mis18-SPB recruitment mechanism regulates the assembly of CENP-ACnp1 chromatin at centromeres.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Ryo Maeda, Makoto Tachibana
Summary: This study demonstrates that HP1 not only recognizes and spreads the epigenetic mark H3K9me2/3, but also plays a role in heterochromatin organization by regulating the protein stability of H3K9 methyltransferases and demethylases.
Review
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Snigdha Ghosh, Snehanjana Patra, Sarmistha Ray
Summary: Recent research reports have shown that plant pests and pathogens have greatly reduced crop yield, leading to increased reliance on commercial pesticides and fungicides. However, the increased usage of these chemicals has negative effects on the environment. To address this issue, various techniques such as nanobioconjugates and RNA(i) have been implemented, with a more eco-friendly approach being spray induced gene silencing (SIGS). This review examines the combination of SIGS and nanobioconjugates for improved crop protection against different plant hosts and their pathogens, and highlights the importance of nanotechnological advancements in developing updated techniques.
