Article
Microbiology
Zhaolan Ding, Teresa M. Lamb, Ahmad Boukhris, Rachel Porter, Deborah Bell-Pedersen
Summary: In the model fungus Neurospora crassa, the circadian clock regulates rhythmic protein synthesis by controlling the phosphorylation and dephosphorylation of a conserved translation initiation factor, eIF2 alpha. This temporal coordination of phosphorylation and dephosphorylation events allows for the partitioning of translation to the night, which helps coordinate energy metabolism with protein synthesis and cellular growth.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Daniela Marzoll, Fidel E. Serrano, Axel C. R. Diernfellner, Michael Brunner
Summary: The anchoring of casein kinase 1a (CK1a) to frequency (FRQ) is crucial for the timing of the circadian clock in Neurospora. This study identified two regions, p1 and p2, in CK1a that are necessary for the anchoring to FRQ. Mutation in either p1 or p2 impairs the hyperphosphorylation of FRQ, with p2 mutation leading to non-viability. The findings suggest that p1 and potentially p2 serve as an interface for interaction with FRQ, allowing access to multiple phosphorylation sites on FRQ while still being anchored.
Article
Microbiology
Huan Ma, Luyao Li, Jie Yan, Yin Zhang, Xiaohong Ma, Yunzhen Li, Yu Yuan, Xiaolin Yang, Ling Yang, Jinhu Guo
Summary: This paper explores the influences and mechanisms of extreme light/dark cycles on the circadian clock and conidiation rhythms. The study demonstrates that the growth and production of microconidia are crucial for adaptation to short LD cycles. Mathematical modeling and experiments show that the expression of the core clock protein FREQUENCY is regulated by LD cycles, and conidial rhythmicity can resonate with different LD conditions. Additionally, unknown blue light photoreceptor(s) and the circadian clock may play a role in promoting conidiation rhythms that resonate with the environment.
Article
Genetics & Heredity
Felipe Munoz-Guzman, Valeria Caballero, Luis F. Larrondo
Summary: Eukaryotic circadian oscillators typically operate through a negative feedback loop, with additional transcriptional regulators influencing the expression of core clock components. A study on Neurospora crassa identified a set of 23 transcription factors that, when absent, resulted in significant changes in circadian period. While the exact mechanisms of these regulators remain unclear, they demonstrate the broad impact of light and clock-regulated transcription factors on modulating the circadian clock.
G3-GENES GENOMES GENETICS
(2021)
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Hang Zhao, Di Xu, Tian Tian, Fanying Kong, Ke Lin, Shuo Gan, Haisen Zhang, Gang Li
Summary: ELF3 and ELF4 are key negative regulators in plant circadian clock control, forming complexes to repress the transcription of multiple clock-related genes, affecting growth and flowering. They are also involved in thermomorphogenesis and shade responses, and form complexes with other proteins for transcriptional repression.
Article
Microbiology
Darshana Baruah, Christy Noche K. Marak, Avishek Roy, Dibakar Gohain, Ajeet Kumar, Pallavi Das, Katherine A. Borkovich, Ranjan Tamuli
Summary: Multiple calcium signaling genes regulate the circadian period length by modulating the expression of frequency and white collar-1 genes in Neurospora crassa. The circadian clock exhibits standard temperature compensation in most mutants, but partial loss of temperature compensation was observed in plc-1 and ncs-1 mutants. The expression level of frq and wc-1 genes are influenced by multiple Ca2+ signaling genes, which are critical for maintaining the normal circadian period length in N. crassa.
FEMS MICROBIOLOGY LETTERS
(2023)
Article
Microbiology
Lingaonan He, Zeyu Duan, Muqun Yu, Shaohua Qi, Ying Wang, Huiqiang Lou, Qun He
Summary: Clearing reactive oxygen species is crucial for the survival of aerobic organisms. This study reveals that the HDA-2-containing complex activates the transcription of the cat-3 gene in the model filamentous fungus Neurospora crassa by facilitating preinitiation complex assembly.
Article
Microbiology
Yue Hu, Xiaolan Liu, Qiaojia Lu, Yulin Yang, Qun He, Yi Liu, Xiao Liu
Summary: Temperature compensation in circadian clocks involves a stable interaction between clock proteins and CK1, leading to regulated phosphorylation rather than protein stability. In Neurospora, the loss of temperature compensation or overcompensation phenotypes is due to temperature-dependent alterations in the FRQ-CK1 interaction, revealing a key biochemical process underlying circadian temperature compensation. Understanding this mechanism provides insight into period length determination in Neurospora and potentially in other eukaryotic clocks.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Akihiko Sakamoto, Yusuke Terui, Takeshi Uemura, Kazuei Igarashi, Keiko Kashiwagi
Summary: Polyamines stimulate the synthesis of specific proteins at the level of translation, impacting the circadian rhythm. When polyamines are reduced, the circadian period lengthens and the synthesis of BMAL1 and REV-ERB alpha is significantly reduced. By enhancing ribosomal shunting, polyamines promote the synthesis of these proteins within the circadian clock.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2021)
Review
Plant Sciences
Carolin Delker, Marcel Quint, Philip A. Wigge
Summary: Plants have the ability to adjust their morphology and development in response to environmental stimuli, a phenomenon known as phenotypic plasticity. In Arabidopsis thaliana, the morphological response to elevated temperatures, termed thermomorphogenesis, is largely regulated by the transcription factor PIF4, which is in turn influenced by various thermosensing mechanisms and modulators. Recent advances have identified factors that affect PIF4 expression and activity, and have shed light on organ- and tissue-specific regulation of thermomorphogenesis.
CURRENT OPINION IN PLANT BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Ruijie Wang, Manabu Arioka
Summary: Neurospora crassa has multiple xylanases and xylosidases, whose expression is induced by xylan. Deletion of certain enzymes leads to impaired growth on xylan and biomass media, while disruption of specific enzymes results in enhanced xylanase activity in biomass medium. This suggests that xylooligosaccharides released by these enzymes not only serve as carbon sources for N. crassa growth, but also act as inducers for enzyme expression in vivo.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL MACROMOLECULES
(2021)
Letter
Plant Sciences
James Ronald, Anthony J. Wilkinson, Seth J. Davis
Summary: The sub-nuclear localization of EARLY FLOWERING3 gene responds to changes in ambient temperature.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Fernando Martin Baidanoff, Laura Lucia Trebucq, Santiago Andres Plano, Phillip Eaton, Diego Andres Golombek, Juan Jose Chiesa
Summary: This study investigated the oxidation of cysteine thiols in the circadian protein period 2 (PER2) in HEK-293T cells. The results showed that cysteine oxidation can alter the stability and form of PER2. These findings reveal the importance of cysteine oxidation in the redox regulation of the molecular circadian clock.
Article
Plant Sciences
Shijia Zhang, Huili Liu, Li Yuan, Xiaojing Li, Lingbao Wang, Xiaodong Xu, Qiguang Xie
Summary: The study identified that CCA1 alpha and CCA1 beta protein variants respond to light and temperature cues, with higher temperatures promoting CCA1 beta protein production. The levels of CCA1 proteins peak in the morning and the detection of CCA1 beta is dependent on specific conditions at 22 degrees Celsius.
PLANT CELL REPORTS
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
German Murcia, Cristina Nieto, Romina Sellaro, Salome Prat, Jorge J. Casal
Summary: Hypocotyl growth in Arabidopsis thaliana during the night is not only influenced by the current temperature, but also by preceding daytime temperatures, indicating a short-term memory of previous conditions. Transcriptional regulator ELF3 and factors PIF4 and HY5 play crucial roles in this temperature-dependent growth response.
Article
Genetics & Heredity
Rigzin Dekhang, Cheng Wu, Kristina M. Smith, Teresa M. Lamb, Matthew Peterson, Erin L. Bredeweg, Oneida Ibarra, Jillian M. Emerson, Nirmala Karunarathna, Anna Lyubetskaya, Elham Azizi, Jennifer M. Hurley, Jay C. Dunlap, James E. Galagan, Michael Freitag, Matthew S. Sachs, Deborah Bell-Pedersen
G3-GENES GENOMES GENETICS
(2017)
Article
Biology
Michael E. Hughes, Katherine C. Abruzzi, Ravi Allada, Ron Anafi, Alaaddin Bulak Arpat, Gad Asher, Pierre Baldi, Charissa de Bekker, Deborah Bell-Pedersen, Justin Blau, Steve Brown, M. Fernanda Ceriani, Zheng Chen, Joanna C. Chiu, Juergen Cox, Alexander M. Crowell, Jason P. DeBruyne, Derk-Jan Dijk, Luciano DiTacchio, Francis J. Doyle, Giles E. Duffield, Jay C. Dunlap, Kristin Eckel-Mahan, Karyn A. Esser, Garret A. FitzGerald, Daniel B. Forger, Lauren J. Francey, Ying-Hui Fu, Frederic Gachon, David Gatfield, Paul de Goede, Susan S. Golden, Carla Green, John Harer, Stacey Harmer, Jeff Haspel, Michael H. Hastings, Hanspeter Herzel, Erik D. Herzog, Christy Hoffmann, Christian Hong, Jacob J. Hughey, Jennifer M. Hurley, Horacio O. de la Iglesia, Carl Johnson, Steve A. Kay, Nobuya Koike, Karl Kornacker, Achim Kramer, Katja Lamia, Tanya Leise, Scott A. Lewis, Jiajia Li, Xiaodong Li, Andrew C. Liu, Jennifer J. Loros, Tami A. Martino, Jerome S. Menet, Martha Merrow, Andrew J. Millar, Todd Mockler, Felix Naef, Emi Nagoshi, Michael N. Nitabach, Maria Olmedo, Dmitri A. Nusinow, Louis J. Ptacek, David Rand, Akhilesh B. Reddy, Maria S. Robles, Till Roenneberg, Michael Rosbash, Marc D. Ruben, Samuel S. C. Rund, Aziz Sancar, Paolo Sassone-Corsi, Amita Sehgal, Scott Sherrill-Mix, Debra J. Skene, Kai-Florian Storch, Joseph S. Takahashi, Hiroki R. Ueda, Han Wang, Charles Weitz, Pal O. Westermark, Herman Wijnen, Ying Xu, Gang Wu, Seung-Hee Yoo, Michael Young, Eric Erquan Zhang, Tomasz Zielinski, John B. Hogenesch
JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL RHYTHMS
(2017)
Article
Microbiology
Ivaylo P. Ivanov, Jiajie Wei, Stephen Z. Caster, Kristina M. Smith, Audrey M. Michel, Ying Zhang, Andrew E. Firth, Michael Freitag, Jay C. Dunlap, Deborah Bell-Pedersen, John F. Atkins, Matthew S. Sachs
Article
Oncology
Charles S. Goldsmith, Sam Moon Kim, Nirmala Karunarathna, Nichole Neuendorff, L. Gerard Toussaint, David J. Earnest, Deborah Bell-Pedersen
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Cheng Wu, Ananya Dasgupta, Lunda Shen, Deborah Bell-Pedersen, Matthew S. Sachs
Correction
Oncology
Charles S. Goldsmith, Sam Moon Kim, Nirmala Karunarathna, Nichole Neuendorff, L. Gerard Toussaint, David J. Earnest, Deborah Bell-Pedersen
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Mokryun Baek, Stela Virgilio, Teresa M. Lamb, Oneida Ibarra, Juvana Moreira Andrade, Rodrigo Duarte Goncalves, Andrey Dovzhenok, Sookkyung Lim, Deborah Bell-Pedersen, Maria Celia Bertolini, Christian I. Hong
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2019)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Qian Yang, Chien-Hung Yu, Fangzhou Zhao, Yunkun Dang, Cheng Wu, Pancheng Xie, Matthew S. Sachs, Yi Liu
NUCLEIC ACIDS RESEARCH
(2019)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Shanta Karki, Kathrina Castillo, Zhaolan Ding, Olivia Kerr, Teresa M. Lamb, Cheng Wu, Matthew S. Sachs, Deborah Bell-Pedersen
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2020)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Anne-Xander van der Stel, Emily R. Gordon, Arnab Sengupta, Allyson K. Martinez, Dorota Klepacki, Thomas N. Perry, Alba Herrero del Valle, Nora Vazquez-Laslop, Matthew S. Sachs, Luis R. Cruz-Vera, C. Axel Innis
Summary: The study identifies a mechanism where the TnaC-ribosome complex captures L-Trp to initiate termination arrest, with nascent TnaC preventing release factor 2 from adopting an active conformation. The relative rates of L-Trp binding and peptidyl-tRNA cleavage determine the tryptophan sensitivity of each variant. This reveals a strategy whereby a nascent peptide assists the ribosome in detecting a small metabolite.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Lunda Shen, Zhaoming Su, Kailu Yang, Cheng Wu, Thomas Becker, Deborah Bell-Pedersen, Junjie Zhang, Matthew S. Sachs
Summary: The study elucidated the mechanism of action of CHX in inhibiting protein synthesis by arresting the ribosome in the classical PRE translocation state, without interfering with A-site reactivity.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2021)
Article
Microbiology
Matthew R. Breuer, Ananya Dasgupta, Joseph G. Vasselli, Xiaorong Lin, Brian D. Shaw, Matthew S. Sachs
Summary: The prevalence and increasing incidence of fungal infections globally is a significant worldwide health problem. Cryptococcosis, primarily caused by the pathogenic yeast Cryptococcus neoformans, is responsible for approximatelyestimated deaths annually. The scarcity of treatments and the increasing resistance to current therapeutics highlight the need for the development of antifungal agents which have novel mechanisms of action and are suitable for clinical use. Repurposing existing FDA-approved compounds as antimycotic therapeutics is a promising strategy for the rapid development of such new treatments. Sertraline (SRT), a commonly prescribed antidepressant, is a broad-spectrum antifungal agent with particular efficacy against C. neoformans. However, the effect of SRT on fungal physiology is not understood. Here, we report that SRT induces the formation of supersized lipid droplets (SLDs) in C. neoformans, and in Candida albicans, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and Aspergillus fumigatus. SLDs were not induced in C. neoformans by treatment with the antifungal fluconazole (FLC), consistent with SRT and FLC acting differently to perturb C. neoformans physiology. The formation of SLDs in response to SRT indicates that this compound alters the lipid metabolism of C. neoformans. Moreover, the SRT-induced enlargement of LDs in other fungal species may indicate a common fungal response to SRT.
Article
Microbiology
Flaviane M. Galvao-Rocha, Carlos H. L. Rocha, Maira P. Martins, Pablo R. Sanches, Tamires A. Bitencourt, Matthew S. Sachs, Nilce M. Martinez-Rossi, Antonio Rossi
Summary: SRT alters gene expression related to fungal cell wall and plasma membrane stability, energy metabolism, detoxification, and defense against oxidative stress in T. rubrum, providing potential targets for its use in treating dermatophytosis.
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Maria Stavrianakou, Ricardo Perez, Cheng Wu, Matthew S. Sachs, Rodolfo Aramayo, Mark Harlow