Gene amplification is a collection of processes whereby a DNA segment is reiterated to multiple copies per genome. It is important in carcinogenesis and resistance to chemotherapeutic agents, and can underlie adaptive evolution via increased expression of an amplified gene, evolution of new gene functions, and genome evolution. Though first described in the model organism Escherichia coli in the early 1960s, only scant information on the mechanism(s) of amplification in this system has been obtained, and many models for mechanism(s) were possible. More recently, some gene amplifications in E. coli were shown to be stress-inducible and to confer a selective advantage to cells under stress (adaptive amplifications), potentially accelerating evolution specifically when cells are poorly adapted to their environment. We focus on stress-induced amplification in E. coli and report several findings that indicate a novel molecular mechanism, and we suggest that most amplifications might be stress-induced, not spontaneous. First, as often hypothesized, but not shown previously, certain proteins used for DNA double-strand-break repair and homologous recombination are required for amplification. Second, in contrast with previous models in which homologous recombination between repeated sequences caused duplications that lead to amplification, the amplified DNAs are present in situ as tandem, direct repeats of 7–32 kilobases bordered by only 4 to 15 base pairs of G-rich homology, indicating an initial non-homologous recombination event. Sequences at the rearrangement junctions suggest nonhomologous recombination mechanisms that occur via template switching during DNA replication, but unlike previously described template switching events, these must occur over long distances. Third, we provide evidence that 3′-single-strand DNA ends are intermediates in the process, supporting a template-switching mechanism. Fourth, we provide evidence that lagging-strand templates are involved. Finally, we propose a novel, long-distance template-switching model for the mechanism of adaptive amplification that suggests how stress induces the amplifications. We outline its possible applicability to amplification in humans and other organisms and circumstances.
SUMMARY Hormone-gated nuclear receptors (NRs) are conserved transcriptional regulators of metabolism, reproduction and homeostasis. Here we show that C. elegans NHR-8 NR, a homolog of vertebrate Liver-X and Vitamin-D receptors, regulates nematode cholesterol balance, fatty acid desaturation, apolipoprotein production, and bile acid metabolism. Loss of nhr-8 results in a deficiency in bile acid-like steroids, called the dafachronic acids, which regulate the related DAF-12/NR, thus controlling entry into the long-lived dauer stage through cholesterol availability. Cholesterol supplementation rescues various nhr-8 phenotypes, including developmental arrest, unsaturated fatty acid deficiency, reduced fertility, and shortened lifespan. Notably, nhr-8 also interacts with daf-16/FOXO to regulate steady-state cholesterol levels, and is synthetically lethal in combination with insulin signaling mutants that promote unregulated growth. Our studies provide important insights into nuclear receptor control of cholesterol balance and metabolism, and their impact on development, reproduction, and aging in the context of larger endocrine networks.
While the gonad primarily functions in procreation, it also affects animal lifespan. Here we show that removal of the C. elegans germline triggers a switch in the regulatory state of the organism to promote longevity, co-opting components involved in larval developmental timing circuits. These include the DAF-12 steroid receptor, which upregulates members of the let-7 microRNA family, involved in L2/L3 transitions. The microRNAs target an early larval nuclear factor, lin-14, and akt-1/kinase, thereby stimulating DAF-16/FOXO signaling to extend life. These studies suggest that metazoan lifespan is coupled to the gonad through elements of a developmental timer.
The RecQ-helicase family is widespread, is highly conserved, and includes human orthologs that suppress genomic instability and cancer. In vivo, some RecQ homologs promote reduction of steady-state levels of bimolecular recombination intermediates (BRIs), which block chromosome segregation if not resolved. We find that, in vivo, E. coli RecQ can promote the opposite: the net accumulation of BRIs. We report that cells lacking Ruv and UvrD BRI-resolution and -prevention proteins die and display failed chromosome segregation attributable to accumulation of BRIs. Death and segregation failure require RecA and RecF strand exchange proteins. FISH data show that replication is completed during chromosome-segregation failure/death of ruv uvrD recA(Ts) cells. Surprisingly, RecQ (and RecJ) promotes this death. The data imply that RecQ promotes the net accumulation of BRIs in vivo, indicating a second paradigm for the in vivo effect of RecQ-like proteins. The E. coli RecQ paradigm may provide a useful model for some human RecQ homologs.
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