In eukaryotic cells a molecular chaperone network associates with translating ribosomes, assisting the maturation of emerging nascent polypeptides. Hsp70 is perhaps the major eukaryotic ribosome-associated chaperone and the first reported to bind cotranslationally to nascent chains. However, little is known about the underlying principles, and function of this interaction. Here, we use a sensitive and global approach to define the cotranslational substrate specificity of the yeast Hsp70 SSB. We find that SSB binds to a subset of nascent polypeptides whose intrinsic properties and slow translation rates hinder efficient cotranslational folding. The SSB-ribosome cycle and substrate recognition is modulated by its ribosome-bound co-chaperone RAC. Deletion of SSB leads to widespread aggregation of newly synthesized polypeptides. Thus, cotranslationally acting Hsp70 meets the challenge of folding the eukaryotic proteome by stabilizing its longer, more slowly translated, and aggregation prone nascent polypeptides.

Microalgae are regarded as promising organisms to develop innovative concepts based on their photosynthetic capacity that offers more sustainable production than heterotrophic hosts. However, to realize their potential as green cell factories, a major challenge is to make microalgae easier to engineer. A promising approach for rapid and predictable genetic manipulation is to use standardized synthetic biology tools and workflows. To this end we have developed a Modular Cloning toolkit for the green microalga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. It is based on Golden Gate cloning with standard syntax, and comprises 119 openly distributed genetic parts, most of which have been functionally validated in several strains. It contains promoters, UTRs, terminators, tags, reporters, antibiotic resistance genes, and introns cloned in various positions to allow maximum modularity. The toolkit enables rapid building of engineered cells for both fundamental research and algal biotechnology. This work will make Chlamydomonas the next chassis for sustainable synthetic biology.

Cells face a constant challenge as they produce new proteins. The newly synthesized polypeptides must be folded properly to avoid aggregation. If proteins do misfold, they must be cleared to ensure a functional and healthy proteome. Recent work is revealing the complex mechanisms that work cotranslationally to ensure protein quality control during biogenesis at the ribosome. Indeed, the ribosome is emerging as a central hub in coordinating these processes, particularly in sensing the nature of the nascent protein chain, recruiting protein folding and translocation components, and integrating mRNA and nascent chain quality control. The tiered and complementary nature of these decision-making processes confers robustness and fidelity to protein homeostasis during protein synthesis.

SummaryThe vesicle-inducing protein in plastids (VIPP1) is essential for the biogenesis of thylakoid membranes in cyanobacteria and plants. VIPP1 and its bacterial ancestor PspA form large homo-oligomeric rings of >1 MDa. We recently demonstrated that VIPP1 interacts with the chloroplast J-domain co-chaperone CDJ2 and its chaperone partner HSP70B, and hypothesized that the chaperones might be involved in the assembly and/or disassembly of VIPP1 oligomers. To test this hypothesis, we analysed the composition of VIPP1/chaperone complexes in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii cell extracts and monitored effects of the chaperones on VIPP1 assembly states in vitro. We found that CGE1, the chloroplast GrpE homologue, is also part of complexes with HSP70B, CDJ2 and VIPP1. We observed that CDJ2-VIPP1 accumulated as low-and high-molecular-weight complexes in ATP-depleted cell extracts, but as intermediate-size complexes in extracts supplemented with ATP. This was consistent with a role for the chaperones in VIPP1 assembly and disassembly. Using purified proteins, we could demonstrate that the chaperones indeed facilitated both the assembly and disassembly of VIPP1 oligomers. Electron microscopy studies revealed that, in contrast to PspA, VIPP1 rings assembled into rod-shaped supercomplexes that were morphologically similar to microtubule-like structures observed earlier in various plastid types. VIPP1 rods, too, were disassembled by the chaperones, and chaperone-mediated rod disassembly also occurred when VIPP1 lacked an approximately 30-aa C-terminal extension present in VIPP1 homologues but absent in PspA. By regulating the assembly state of VIPP1, the chloroplast HSP70 chaperone system may play an important role in the maintenance/biogenesis of thylakoid membranes.

J-domain cochaperones confer functional specificity to their heat shock protein (HSP)70 partner by recruiting it to specific substrate proteins. To gain insight into the functions of plastidic HSP70s, we searched in Chlamydomonas databases for expressed sequence tags that potentially encode chloroplast-targeted J-domain cochaperones. Two such cDNAs were found: the encoded J-domain proteins were named chloroplast DnaJ homolog 1 and 2 (CDJ1 and CDJ2). CDJ2 was shown to interact with a ϳ28-kDa protein that by mass spectrometry was identified as the vesicle-inducing protein in plastids 1 (VIPP1). In fractionation experiments, CDJ2 was detected almost exclusively in the stroma, whereas VIPP1 was found in low-density membranes, thylakoids, and in the stroma. Coimmunoprecipitation and mass spectrometry analyses identified stromal HSP70B as the major protein interacting with soluble VIPP1, and, as confirmed by cross-linking data, as chaperone partner of CDJ2. In blue native-PAGE of soluble cell extracts, CDJ2 and VIPP1 comigrated in complexes of Ͼ Ͼ669, ϳ150, and perhaps ϳ300 kDa. Our data suggest that CDJ2, presumably via coiled-coil interactions, binds to VIPP1 and presents it to HSP70B in the ATP state. Our findings and the previously reported requirement of VIPP1 for the biogenesis of thylakoid membranes point to a role for the HSP70B/CDJ2 chaperone pair in this process. INTRODUCTIONChaperones of the heat shock protein (Hsp)70 family belong to the most conserved proteins known. Except for some Archaea, Hsp70s are found in all known organisms and are present in every compartment of the eukaryotic cell (Bukau and Horwich, 1998). Principally, Hsp70s consist of an Nterminal ATPase domain and a C-terminal substrate-binding domain. ATP hydrolysis at the ATPase domain regulates substrate binding and release. Substrate proteins recognized by Hsp70 expose hydrophobic regions, a characteristic feature not only of nonnative proteins, but also of native Hsp70 substrates. Binding of Hsp70 to hydrophobic regions prevents the formation of aggregates. In addition, the intrinsic secondary amide peptide bond cis-trans isomerase activity recently detected for DnaK (the Hsp70 of Escherichia coli) may introduce conformational changes to bound substrates that eventually allow nonnative proteins to reconvert to the native state (Schiene-Fischer et al., 2002). Thus, Hsp70s play a major role in the folding of nascent chains and in the renaturation of nonnative proteins that have accumulated during stress situations such as heat shock (Frydman, 2001). However, they also are involved in many highly specialized functions such as the regulation of the general stress response (Tomoyasu et al., 1998), the uncoating of clathrincoated vesicles (Ungewickell et al., 1995), or the translocation of proteins across membranes (Kang et al., 1990).Specificity of Hsp70 function is mediated largely by its cochaperones, of which the J-domain cochaperones represent an important class. J-domain cochaperones contain a highly conserved J-domain that is responsibl...

Summary Heat Shock Transcription Factor 1 (HSF1) is an evolutionarily conserved transcription factor that protects cells from protein misfolding-induced stress and apoptosis. The mechanisms by which cytosolic protein misfolding leads to HSF1 activation have not been elucidated. Here we demonstrate that HSF1 is directly regulated by TRiC/CCT, a central ATP-dependent chaperonin complex that folds cytosolic proteins. A small molecule activator of HSF1, HSF1A, protects cells from stress-induced apoptosis, binds TRiC subunits in vivo and in vitro and inhibits TRiC activity without perturbation of ATP hydrolysis. Genetic inactivation or depletion of the TRiC complex results in human HSF1 activation and HSF1A inhibits the direct interaction between purified TRiC and HSF1 in vitro. These results demonstrate a direct regulatory interaction between the cytosolic chaperone machine and a critical transcription factor that protects cells from proteo-toxicity, providing a mechanistic basis for signaling perturbations in protein folding to a stress-protective transcription factor.

CRISPR/Cas has become the state-of-the-art technology for genetic manipulation in diverse organisms, enabling targeted genetic changes to be performed with unprecedented efficiency. Here we report on the first establishment of robust CRISPR/Cas editing in the important necrotrophic plant pathogen Botrytis cinerea based on the introduction of optimized Cas9-sgRNA ribonucleoprotein complexes (RNPs) into protoplasts. Editing yields were further improved by development of a novel strategy that combines RNP delivery with cotransformation of transiently stable vectors containing telomeres, which allowed temporary selection and convenient screening for marker-free editing events. We demonstrate that this approach provides superior editing rates compared to existing CRISPR/Cas-based methods in filamentous fungi, including the model plant pathogen Magnaporthe oryzae. Genome sequencing of edited strains revealed very few additional mutations and no evidence for RNP-mediated off-targeting. The high performance of telomere vector-mediated editing was demonstrated by random mutagenesis of codon 272 of the sdhB gene, a major determinant of resistance to succinate dehydrogenase inhibitor (SDHI) fungicides by in bulk replacement of the codon 272 with codons encoding all 20 amino acids. All exchanges were found at similar frequencies in the absence of selection but SDHI selection allowed the identification of novel amino acid substitutions which conferred differential resistance levels towards different SDHI fungicides. The increased efficiency and easy handling of RNPbased cotransformation is expected to accelerate molecular research in B. cinerea and other fungi.

We report on the molecular and biochemical characterization of HEAT SHOCK PROTEIN 90C (HSP90C), one of the three Hsp90 chaperones encoded by the Chlamydomonas reinhardtii genome. Fractionation experiments indicate that HSP90C is a plastidic protein. In the chloroplast, HSP90C was localized to the soluble stroma fraction, but also to thylakoids and lowdensity membranes containing inner envelopes. HSP90C is expressed under basal conditions and is strongly induced by heat shock and moderately by light. In soluble cell extracts, HSP90C was mainly found to organize into dimers, but also into complexes of high molecular mass. Also, heterologously expressed HSP90C was mainly found in dimers, but tetramers and fewer monomers were detected, as well. HSP90C exhibits a weak ATPase activity with a K m for ATP of approximately 48 mM and a k cat of approximately 0.71 min 21 . This activity was inhibited by the Hsp90-specific inhibitor radicicol. In coimmunoprecipitation experiments, we found that HSP90C interacts with several proteins, among them plastidic HSP70B. The cellular concentration of HSP70B was found to be 2.9 times higher than that of HSP90C, giving a 4.8:1 stoichiometry of HSP70B monomers to HSP90C dimers. The strong inducibility of HSP90C by heat shock implies a role of the chaperone in stress management. Furthermore, its interaction with HSP70B suggests that, similar to their relatives in cytosol and the endoplasmic reticulum, both chaperones might constitute the core of a multichaperone complex involved in the maturation of specific client proteins, e.g. components of signal transduction pathways.