The Biological General Repository for Interaction Datasets (BioGRID) database (http://www.thebiogrid.org) was developed to house and distribute collections of protein and genetic interactions from major model organism species. BioGRID currently contains over 198 000 interactions from six different species, as derived from both high-throughput studies and conventional focused studies. Through comprehensive curation efforts, BioGRID now includes a virtually complete set of interactions reported to date in the primary literature for both the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae and the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe. A number of new features have been added to the BioGRID including an improved user interface to display interactions based on different attributes, a mirror site and a dedicated interaction management system to coordinate curation across different locations. The BioGRID provides interaction data with monthly updates to Saccharomyces Genome Database, Flybase and Entrez Gene. Source code for the BioGRID and the linked Osprey network visualization system is now freely available without restriction.

The mechanism of activation of the Alternative Lengthening of Telomeres (ALT) pathway of mammalian chromosome end maintenance has remained an unresolved issue. We have discovered that co-depletion of the histone chaperones ASF1a and ASF1b in human cells induced all hallmarks of ALT in both primary and cancer cells. These included the formation of ALT associated PML bodies (APBs), extra-chromosomal telomeric DNA species an elevated frequency of telomeric sister chromatid exchanges (t-SCE) events and inter-telomeric exchange of an integrated tag. The induction of ALT characteristics in this setting led to the simultaneous suppression of telomerase. We identified that ALT induction is positively regulated by RAD17 and BLM, while negatively regulated by EXO1 and DNA2. The induction of ALT phenotypes as a consequence of ASF1 depletion strongly support the hypothesis that ALT is a consequence of a histone management dysfunction.

SummaryGene expression is controlled at multiple layers, and cells may integrate different regulatory steps for coherent production of proper protein levels. We applied various microarray-based approaches to determine key gene-expression intermediates in exponentially growing fission yeast, providing genome-wide data for translational profiles, mRNA steady-state levels, polyadenylation profiles, start-codon sequence context, mRNA half-lives, and RNA polymerase II occupancy. We uncovered widespread and unexpected relationships between distinct aspects of gene expression. Translation and polyadenylation are aligned on a global scale with both the lengths and levels of mRNAs: efficiently translated mRNAs have longer poly(A) tails and are shorter, more stable, and more efficiently transcribed on average. Transcription and translation may be independently but congruently optimized to streamline protein production. These rich data sets, all acquired under a standardized condition, reveal a substantial coordination between regulatory layers and provide a basis for a systems-level understanding of multilayered gene-expression programs.

Genome engineering has been greatly enhanced by the availability of Cas9 endonuclease that can be targeted to almost any genomic locus using so called guide RNAs (gRNAs). However, the introduction of foreign DNA sequences to tag an endogenous gene is still cumbersome as it requires the synthesis or cloning of homology templates. Here we present a strategy that enables the tagging of endogenous loci using one generic donor plasmid. It contains the tag of interest flanked by two gRNA recognition sites that allow excision of the tag from the plasmid. Co-transfection of cells with Cas9, a gRNA specifying the genomic locus of interest, the donor plasmid and a cassette-specific gRNA triggers the insertion of the tag by a homology-independent mechanism. The strategy is efficient and delivers clones that display a predictable integration pattern. As showcases we generated NanoLuc luciferase- and TurboGFP-tagged reporter cell lines.

SUMMARY Nuclear pore complexes (NPCs) are built from ~30 different proteins called nucleoporins. Previous studies have shown that several Nups exhibit cell-type-specific expression and that mutations in NPC components result in tissue-specific diseases. Here we show that a specific change in NPC composition is required for both myogenic and neuronal differentiation. The transmembrane nucleoporin Nup210 is absent in proliferating myoblasts and embryonic stem (ES) cells but becomes expressed and incorporated into NPCs during cell differentiation. Preventing Nup210 production by RNAi blocks myogenesis and the differentiation of ES cells into neuroprogenitors. We found that the addition of Nup210 to NPCs does not affect nuclear transport but is required for the induction of genes that are essential for cell differentiation. Our results identify a single change in NPC composition as an essential step in cell differentiation and establish a role for Nup210 in gene expression regulation and cell fate determination.

Protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A) is an essential intracellular serine/threonine phosphatase containing a catalytic subunit that possesses the potential to dephosphorylate promiscuously tyrosine-phosphorylated substrates in vitro. How PP2A acquires its intracellular specificity and activity for serine/threonine-phosphorylated substrates is unknown. Here we report a novel and phylogenetically conserved mechanism to generate active phospho-serine/threonine-specific PP2A in vivo. Phosphotyrosyl phosphatase activator (PTPA), a protein of so far unknown intracellular function, is required for the biogenesis of active and specific PP2A. Deletion of the yeast PTPA homologs generated a PP2A catalytic subunit with a conformation different from the wild-type enzyme, as indicated by its altered substrate specificity, reduced protein stability, and metal dependence. Complementation and RNA-interference experiments showed that PTPA fulfills an essential function conserved from yeast to man. Protein phosphorylation is a posttranslational modification, mostly reversible, that is used in cells for the regulation of multiple processes. Analyses of eukaryotic genomes reveal that the genes coding for protein kinases, the enzymes catalyzing the phosphorylation reaction, outnumber by two-to threefold genes for protein phosphatases, the enzymes catalyzing dephosphorylation (Zolnierowicz 2000). Protein phosphatases counterbalance the activity of the large number of substrate-specific kinases by the combinatorial assembly of holoenzymes with different substrate specificity. Holoenzymes of a certain protein phosphatase family consist of a common catalytic subunit associated with different regulatory subunits that determine substrate targeting and modulate catalytic activity. Hence, the catalytic subunits of the major protein phosphatase families are produced in abundance. For instance, the catalytic subunit (C subunit) of protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A), comprises, dependent on the cell type, 0.3%-1% of total cellular protein (Virshup 2000).Based on its specificity for phosphorylated serine/ threonine residues, the PP2A C subunit belongs to the family of eukaryotic protein-serine/threonine phosphatases (PSTPs). PSTPs possess a catalytic core structure that is distinct from the core of protein tyrosine phosphatases (PTPs) and dual specificity phosphatases (DSPs). In consequence of the structural differences, the different protein phosphatase families use distinct catalytic mechanisms for the hydrolysis of the phosphoester bond. In contrast to PTPs (and the DSP subfamily) PSTPs are metallo-phosphoesterases that require metals in the active site for catalysis and for their structural integrity. When isolated from eukaryotic sources, the PSTP family members protein phosphatase 1 (PP1) and PP2A ("native" PP1 or PP2A) do not require the addition of metal ions for their activity. However, PP1 and PP2A convert into metal-dependent enzymes during long-term storage or on treatment with the phosphatase inhibitors ATP, pyrophosphate (PPi), or NaF (Burche...

Poly(A)-binding proteins (PABPs) are important to eukaryotic gene expression. In the nucleus, the PABP PABPN1 is thought to function in polyadenylation of pre-mRNAs. Deletion of fission yeast pab2, the homolog of mammalian PABPN1, results in transcripts with markedly longer poly(A) tails, but the nature of the hyperadenylated transcripts and the mechanism that leads to RNA hyperadenylation remain unclear. Here we report that Pab2 functions in the synthesis of noncoding RNAs, contrary to the notion that PABPs function exclusively on protein-coding mRNAs. Accordingly, the absence of Pab2 leads to the accumulation of polyadenylated small nucleolar RNAs (snoRNAs). Our findings suggest that Pab2 promotes poly(A) tail trimming from pre-snoRNAs by recruiting the nuclear exosome. This work unveils a function for the nuclear PABP in snoRNA synthesis and provides insights into exosome recruitment to polyadenylated RNAs.

BackgroundGene expression is controlled globally and at multiple levels in response to environmental stress, but the relationships among these dynamic regulatory changes are not clear. Here we analyzed global regulation during different stress conditions in fission yeast, Schizosaccharomyces pombe, combining dynamic genome-wide data on mRNA, translation, and protein profiles.ResultsWe observed a strong overall concordance between changes in mRNAs and co-directional changes in translation, for both induced and repressed genes, in response to three conditions: oxidative stress, heat shock, and DNA damage. However, approximately 200 genes each under oxidative and heat stress conditions showed discordant regulation with respect to mRNA and translation profiles, with genes and patterns of regulation being stress-specific. For oxidative stress, we also measured dynamic profiles for 2,147 proteins, comprising 43% of the proteome. The mRNAs induced during oxidative stress strongly correlated with increased protein expression, while repressed mRNAs did not relate to the corresponding protein profiles. Overall changes in relative protein expression correlated better with changes in mRNA expression than with changes in translational efficiency.ConclusionsThese data highlight a global coordination and fine-tuning of gene regulation during stress that mostly acts in the same direction at the levels of transcription and translation. In the oxidative stress condition analyzed, transcription dominates translation to control protein abundance. The concordant regulation of transcription and translation leads to the expected adjustment in protein expression only for up-regulated mRNAs. These patterns of control might reflect the need to balance protein production for stress survival given a limited translational capacity.