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Cytoplasmic dynein-mediated assembly of pericentrin and gamma tubulin onto centrosomes.

Centrosome assembly is important for mitotic spindle formation and if defective may contribute to genomic instability in cancer. Here we show that in somatic cells centrosome assembly of two proteins involved in microtubule nucleation, pericentrin and gamma tubulin, is inhibited in the absence of microtubules. A more potent inhibitory effect on centrosome assembly of these proteins is observed after specific disruption of the microtubule motor cytoplasmic dynein by microinjection of dynein antibodies or by overexpression of the dynamitin subunit of the dynein binding complex dynactin. Consistent with these observations is the ability of pericentrin to cosediment with taxol-stabilized microtubules in a dynein- and dynactin-dependent manner. Centrosomes in cells with reduced levels of pericentrin and gamma tubulin have a diminished capacity to nucleate microtubules. In living cells expressing a green fluorescent protein-pericentrin fusion protein, green fluorescent protein particles containing endogenous pericentrin and gamma tubulin move along microtubules at speeds of dynein and dock at centrosomes. In Xenopus extracts where gamma tubulin assembly onto centrioles can occur without microtubules, we find that assembly is enhanced in the presence of microtubules and inhibited by dynein antibodies. From these studies we conclude that pericentrin and gamma tubulin are novel dynein cargoes that can be transported to centrosomes on microtubules and whose assembly contributes to microtubule nucleation.

Animals↗

Sgt1p and Skp1p modulate the assembly and turnover of CBF3 complexes required for proper kinetochore function.

Kinetochores are composed of a large number of protein complexes that must be properly assembled on DNA to attach chromosomes to the mitotic spindle and to coordinate their segregation with the advance of the cell cycle. CBF3 is an inner kinetochore complex in the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae that nucleates the recruitment of all other kinetochore proteins to centromeric DNA. Skp1p and Sgt1p act through the core CBF3 subunit, Ctf13p, and are required for CBF3 to associate with centromeric DNA. To investigate the contribution of Skp1p and Sgt1p to CBF3 function, we have used a combination of in vitro binding assays and a unique protocol for synchronizing the assembly of kinetochores in cells. We have found that the interaction between Skp1p and Sgt1p is critical for the assembly of CBF3 complexes. CBF3 assembly is not restricted during the cell cycle and occurs in discrete steps; Skp1p and Sgt1p contribute to a final, rate-limiting step in assembly, the binding of the core CBF3 subunit Ctf13p to Ndc10p. The assembly of CBF3 is opposed by its turnover and disruption of this balance compromises kinetochore function without affecting kinetochore formation on centromeric DNA.

Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing↗

Cell context-specific effects of the beta-tubulin glycylation domain on assembly and size of microtubular organelles.

Tubulin glycylation is a posttranslational modification found in cells with cilia or flagella. The ciliate Tetrahymena has glycylation on ciliary and cortical microtubules. We showed previously that mutating three glycylation sites on beta-tubulin produces immotile 9 + 0 axonemes and inhibits cytokinesis. Here, we use an inducible glycylation domain mutation and epitope tagging to evaluate the potential of glycylation-deficient tubulin for assembly and maintenance of microtubular systems. In axonemes, the major defects, including lack of the central pair, occurred during assembly, and newly made cilia were abnormally short. The glycylation domain also was required for maintenance of the length of already assembled cilia. In contrast to the aberrant assembly of cilia, several types of cortical organelles showed an abnormally high number of microtubules in the same mutant cells. Thus, the consequences of deficiency in tubulin glycylation are organelle type specific and lead to either insufficient assembly (cilia) or excessive assembly (basal bodies and cortical microtubules). We suggest that the diverse functions of the beta-tubulin glycylation domain are executed by spatially restricted microtubule-associated proteins.

Animals↗

Nm23H2 facilitates coat protein complex II assembly and endoplasmic reticulum export in mammalian cells.

The cytosolic coat protein complex II (COPII) mediates vesicle formation from the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and is essential for ER-to-Golgi trafficking. The minimal machinery for COPII assembly is well established. However, additional factors may regulate the process in mammalian cells. Here, a morphological COPII assembly assay using purified COPII proteins and digitonin-permeabilized cells has been applied to demonstrate a role for a novel component of the COPII assembly pathway. The factor was purified and identified by mass spectrometry as Nm23H2, one of eight isoforms of nucleoside diphosphate kinase in mammalian cells. Importantly, recombinant Nm23H2, as well as a catalytically inactive version, promoted COPII assembly in vitro, suggesting a noncatalytic role for Nm23H2. Consistent with a function for Nm23H2 in ER export, Nm23H2 localized to a reticular network that also stained for the ER marker calnexin. Finally, an in vivo role for Nm23H2 in COPII assembly was confirmed by isoform-specific knockdown of Nm23H2 by using short interfering RNA. Knockdown of Nm23H2, but not its most closely related isoform Nm23H1, resulted in diminished COPII assembly at steady state and reduced kinetics of ER export. These results strongly suggest a previously unappreciated role for Nm23H2 in mammalian ER export.

Animals↗

The karyopherin Kap95 regulates nuclear pore complex assembly into intact nuclear envelopes in vivo.

Nuclear pore complex (NPC) assembly in interphase cells requires that new NPCs insert into an intact nuclear envelope (NE). Our previous work identified the Ran GTPase as an essential component in this process. We proposed that Ran is required for targeting assembly factors to the cytoplasmic NE face via a novel, vesicular intermediate. Although the molecular target was not identified, Ran is known to function by modulating protein interactions for karyopherin (Kap) beta family members. Here we characterize loss-of-function Saccharomyces cerevisiae mutants in KAP95 with blocks in NPC assembly. Similar to defects in Ran cycle mutants, nuclear pore proteins are no longer localized properly to the NE in kap95 mutants. Also like Ran cycle mutants, the kap95-E126K mutant displayed enhanced lethality with nic96 and nup170 mutants. Thus, Kap95 and Ran are likely functioning at the same stage in assembly. However, although Ran cycle mutants accumulate small cytoplasmic vesicles, cells depleted of Kap95 accumulated long stretches of cytoplasmic membranes and had highly distorted NEs. We conclude that Kap95 serves as a key regulator of NPC assembly into intact NEs. Furthermore, both Kap95 and Ran may provide spatial cues necessary for targeting of vesicular intermediates in de novo NPC assembly.

Alleles↗

Comparative genome assembly.

One of the most complex and computationally intensive tasks of genome sequence analysis is genome assembly. Even today, few centres have the resources, in both software and hardware, to assemble a genome from the thousands or millions of individual sequences generated in a whole-genome shotgun sequencing project. With the rapid growth in the number of sequenced genomes has come an increase in the number of organisms for which two or more closely related species have been sequenced. This has created the possibility of building a comparative genome assembly algorithm, which can assemble a newly sequenced genome by mapping it onto a reference genome. We describe here a novel algorithm for comparative genome assembly that can accurately assemble a typical bacterial genome in less than four minutes on a standard desktop computer. The software is available as part of the open-source AMOS project.

Algorithms↗

Mapler: a pipeline for assessing assembly quality in taxonomically rich metagenomes sequenced with HiFi reads.

SUMMARY: Metagenome assembly seeks to reconstruct the most high-quality genomes from sequencing data of microbial ecosystems. Despite technological advancements that facilitate assembly, such as Hi-Fi long reads, the process remains challenging in complex environmental samples consisting of hundreds to thousands of populations. Mapler is a metagenome assembly and evaluation pipeline with a focus on evaluating the quality of Hi-Fi long read metagenome assemblies. It incorporates several state-of-the-art metrics, as well as novel metrics assessing the diversity that remains uncaptured by the assembly process. Mapler facilitates the comparison of assembly strategies and helps identify methodological bottlenecks that hinder genome reconstruction. AVAILABILITY AND IMPLEMENTATION: Mapler is open source and publicly available under the AGPL-3.0 licence at https://github.com/Nimauric/Mapler. Source code is implemented in Python and Bash as a Snakemake pipeline. A snapshot of the code is available on Software Heritage at swh:1:snp:df4f5f02e22ebbab285ec14af58d4d88436ee5d6. Raw data and results are available at https://entrepot.recherche.data.gouv.fr/dataset.xhtml?persistentId=doi:10.57745/2SA8AB.

Metagenome↗

Cell-free synthesis and assembly of connexins into functional gap junction membrane channels.

Several different gap junction channel subunit isotypes, known as connexins, were synthesized in a cell-free translation system supplemented with microsomal membranes to study the mechanisms involved in gap junction channel assembly. Previous results indicated that the connexins were synthesized as membrane proteins with their relevant transmembrane topology. An integrated biochemical and biophysical analysis indicated that the connexins assembled specifically with other connexin subunits. No interactions were detected between connexin subunits and other co-translated transmembrane proteins. The connexins that were integrated into microsomal vesicles assembled into homo- and hetero-oligomeric structures with hydrodynamic properties of a 9S particle, consistent with the properties reported for hexameric gap junction connexons derived from gap junctions in vivo. Further, cell-free assembled homo-oligomeric connexons composed of beta1 or beta2 connexin were reconstituted into synthetic lipid bilayers. Single channel conductances were recorded from these bilayers that were similar to those measured for these connexons produced in vivo. Thus, this is the first direct evidence that the synthesis and assembly of a gap junction connexon can take place in microsomal membranes. Finally, the cell-free system has been used to investigate the properties of alpha1, beta1 and beta2 connexin to assemble into hetero-oligomers. Evidence has been obtained for a selective interaction between individual connexin isotypes and that a signal determining the potential hetero-oligomeric combinations of connexin isotypes may be located in the N-terminal sequence of the connexins.

Cell-Free System↗

Carboxy-terminal domain mediates assembly of the voltage-gated rat ether-à-go-go potassium channel.

The specific assembly of subunits to oligomers is an important prerequisite for producing functional potassium channels. We have studied the assembly of voltage-gated rat ether-à-go-go (r-eag) potassium channels with two complementary assays. In protein overlay binding experiments it was shown that a 41-amino-acid domain, close to the r-eag subunit carboxy-terminus, is important for r-eag subunit interaction. In an in vitro expression system it was demonstrated that r-eag subunits lacking this assembly domain cannot form functional potassium channels. Also, a approximately 10-fold molar excess of the r-eag carboxy-terminus inhibited in co-expression experiments the formation of functional r-eag channels. When the r-eag carboxy-terminal assembly domain had been mutated, the dominant-negative effect of the r-eag carboxy-terminus on r-eag channel expression was abolished. The results demonstrate that a carboxy-terminal assembly domain is essential for functional r-eag potassium channel expression, in contrast to the one of Shaker-related potassium channels, which is directed by an amino-terminal assembly domain.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Incorporation of the nuclear pore basket protein nup153 into nuclear pore structures is dependent upon lamina assembly: evidence from cell-free extracts of Xenopus eggs.

In cell-free extracts of Xenopus eggs that support the assembly of replication-competent nuclei, we found that lamin B(3) specifically associates with four polypeptides (termed SLAPs, soluble lamin associated proteins). Here, one SLAP is identified as the nuclear pore complex protein Nup153, one member of the F/GXFG motif-containing nucleoporins. In vitro translated Nup153 and lamin B(3) co-immunoprecipitate, and lamin B(3) interacts specifically with the C-terminal domain of Nup153. During nuclear envelope assembly, other F/GXFG-containing nucleoporins are incorporated into the nuclear envelope preceding lamina assembly. Incorporation of Nup153 occurs at the same time as lamina assembly. When lamina assembly is prevented using the dominant-negative mutant XlaminB delta 2+, Nup153 does not appear at the nuclear envelope, while other F/GXFG-containing nucleoporins and Nup93 are recruited normally. When the lamina of pre-assembled nuclei is disrupted using the same dominant-negative mutant, the distribution of other nucleoporins is unaffected. However, Nup153 recruitment at the nuclear envelope is lost. Our results indicate that both the recruitment and maintenance of Nup153 at the pore are dependent upon the integrity of the lamina.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

MinCD-dependent regulation of the polarity of SpoIIIE assembly and DNA transfer.

During Bacillus subtilis sporulation, the SpoIIIE DNA translocase moves a trapped chromosome across the sporulation septum into the forespore. The direction of DNA translocation is controlled by the specific assembly of SpoIIIE in the mother cell and subsequent export of DNA into the forespore. We present evidence that the MinCD heterodimer, which spatially regulates cell division during vegetative growth, serves as a forespore-specific inhibitor of SpoIIIE assembly. The deletion of minCD increases the ability of forespore-expressed SpoIIIE to assemble and translocate DNA, and causes otherwise wild-type cells to reverse the direction of DNA transfer, producing anucleate forespores. We propose that two distinct mechanisms ensure the specific assembly of SpoIIIE in the mother cell, the partitioning of more SpoIIIE molecules into the larger mother cell by asymmetric cell division and the MinCD-dependent repression of SpoIIIE assembly in the forespore. Our results suggest that the ability of MinCD to sense positional information is utilized during sporulation to regulate protein assembly differentially on the two faces of the sporulation septum.

Adenosine Triphosphatases↗

Clathrin self-assembly involves coordinated weak interactions favorable for cellular regulation.

The clathrin triskelion self-assembles into a polyhedral coat surrounding membrane vesicles that sort receptor cargo to the endocytic pathway. A triskelion comprises three clathrin heavy chains joined at their C-termini, extending into proximal and distal leg segments ending in a globular N-terminal domain. In the clathrin coat, leg segments entwine into parallel and anti-parallel interactions. Here we define the contributions of segmental interactions to the clathrin assembly reaction and measure the strength of their interactions. Proximal and distal leg segments were found to lack sufficient affinity to form stable homo- or heterodimers under assembly conditions. However, chimeric constructs of proximal or distal leg segments, trimerized by replacement of the clathrin trimerization domain with that of the invariant chain protein, were able to self-assemble in reversible reactions. Thus clathrin assembly occurs because weak leg segment affinities are coordinated through trimerization, sharing a dependence on multiple weak interactions with other biopolymers. Such polymerization is sensitive to small environmental changes and is therefore compatible with cellular regulation of assembly, disassembly and curvature during formation of clathrin-coated vesicles.

Animals↗

Human mitochondrial complex I assembles through the combination of evolutionary conserved modules: a framework to interpret complex I deficiencies.

With 46 subunits, human mitochondrial complex I is the largest enzyme of the oxidative phosphorylation system. We have studied the assembly of complex I in cultured human cells. This will provide essential information about the nature of complex I deficiencies and will enhance our understanding of mitochondrial disease mechanisms. We have found that 143B206 rho zero cells, not containing mitochondrial DNA, are still able to form complex I subcomplexes. To further address the nature of these subcomplexes, we depleted 143B osteosarcoma cells of complex I by inhibiting mitochondrial protein translation with doxycycline. After removing this drug, complex I formation resumes and assembly intermediates were observed by two-dimensional blue native electrophoresis. Analysis of the observed subcomplexes indicates that assembly of human complex I is a semi-sequential process in which different preassembled subcomplexes are joined to form a fully assembled complex. The membrane part of the complex is formed in distinct steps. The B17 subunit is part of a subcomplex to which ND1, ND6 and PSST are subsequently added. This is bound to a hydrophilic subcomplex containing the 30 and 49 kDa subunits, to which a subcomplex including the 39 kDa subunit is incorporated, and later on the 18 and 24 kDa subunits. At a later stage more subunits, including the 15 kDa, are added and holo-complex I is formed. Our results suggest that human complex I assembly resembles that of Neurospora crassa, in which a membrane arm is formed and assembled to a preformed peripheral arm, and support ideas about modular evolution.

DNA, Mitochondrial↗

Reversible inhibition of mammalian tubulin assembly in vitro and effects in Saccharomyces cerevisiae D61.M by mitomycin C.

Gaulden reported a novel and unexpected mitomycin C (MMC) effect, namely a pronounced retardation of very late prophase and loss of chromosome orientation in neuroblasts of the grasshopper Chortophaga viridifasciate. Because this effect may be due to interactions of MMC with non-DNA targets, MMC was tested for its interaction with porcine brain tubulin assembly in vitro and for the induction of chromosomal malsegregation in the diploid yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain D61.M. A reversible dose-dependent inhibition of tubulin assembly was observed. Since no biological activation system was present in the incubation mixture this inhibition seems to result from an interaction of unactivated MMC with the assembly process. The possible chemical activation of MMC by reduction with 1,4-dithioerythritol (DTE) was investigated by omission of this compound during isolation and polymerization of tubulin. The absence of DTE resulted in a strong reduction of the net tubulin assembly. Also under these conditions MMC led to a dose-dependent inhibition of the assembly, indicating that the effect of MMC on tubulin assembly is independent of a reductive chemical modification. In S. cerevisiae D61.M, MMC did not induce chromosome loss, but induced other genetic events (possibly mutations, deletions or mitotic recombination) as was detected by an increase of the total number and of the frequency of cycloheximide-resistant colonies. This effect could be observed with and without the addition of rat liver S9 as an exogenous activation system.

Animals↗

Essential features of the assembly origin of tobacco mosaic virus RNA as studied by directed mutagenesis.

The assembly origin of tobacco mosaic virus RNA contains three stable hairpin loops. Coat protein disks bind first to loop 1 (the 3' most) during virus assembly, but the whole region is coated in a concerted fashion even in conditions of limiting protein. It is shown by in vitro packaging assays using mutant assembly origin transcripts that rapid and specific assembly initiation occurs in the absence of loops 2 and 3, but is abolished on removal of loop 1. Deletion or alteration of the unpaired AAGAAGUCG sequence at the apex of loop 1 also abolishes rapid packaging; this sequence is therefore instrumental in disk binding. Alteration of this sequence to (A)9 leads to packaging at a very low rate (half time 12 hours) which is apparently non-sequence specific. Substitution of (CCG)3 evokes packaging with a half time of 3 hours, as compared to 15 seconds for the wild type assembly origin. These results suggest that the three-base G periodicity within this sequence element is an important feature in assembly nucleation.

Base Sequence↗

Assembly of correctly spaced chromatin in a nuclear extract from Xenopus laevis oocytes.

Assembly of nucleosomes on relaxed, covalently closed DNA has been studied in a nuclear extract of Xenopus laevis oocytes. Nucleosomes containing the four histones H3, H4, H2A and H2B but lacking histone H1 are readily assembled on the DNA. The pattern of micrococcal nuclease digestion shows that the nucleosomes assembled in the absence of ATP and Mg (II) are closely packed, with a periodicity of 150 base pairs (bp). In contrast, in the presence of ATP and Mg (II) the spacing of the nucleosomes is 180 bp, similar to that observed for nucleosomes assembled on DNA microinjected into oocyte nuclei. The ATP and Mg (II) requirements for the assembly of correctly spaced nucleosomes are unrelated to the activity of the ATP and Mg (II) dependent DNA topoisomerase II in the extract; addition of specific inhibitors of eukaryotic DNA topoisomerase II has no effect on the spacing of the reconstituted nucleosomes. The ATP requirement in the assembly of correctly spaced nucleosomes can be substituted by adenosine 5'-O-3'-thiotriphosphate (gamma-S-ATP) but not by adenyl-5'-yl imidodiphosphate (AMP-P-(NH)-P).

Adenosine Triphosphate↗

DNA assembly using bis-peptide nucleic acids (bisPNAs).

DNA nanostructures are ordered oligonucleotide arrangements that have applications for DNA computers, crystallography, diagnostics and material sciences. Peptide nucleic acid (PNA) is a DNA/RNA mimic that offers many advantages for hybridization, but its potential for application in the field of DNA nanotechnology has yet to be thoroughly examined. We report the synthesis and characterization of tethered PNA molecules (bisPNAs) designed to assemble two individual DNA molecules through Watson-Crick base pairing. The spacer regions linking the PNAs were varied in length and contained amino acids with different electrostatic properties. We observed that bisPNAs effectively assembled oligonucleotides that were either the exact length of the PNA or that contained overhanging regions that projected outwards. In contrast, DNA assembly was much less efficient if the oligonucleotides contained overhanging regions that projected inwards. Surprisingly, the length of the spacer region between the PNA sequences did not greatly affect the efficiency of DNA assembly. Reasons for inefficient assembly of inward projecting DNA oligonucleotides include non-sequence-specific intramolecular interactions between the overhanging region of the bisPNA and steric conflicts that complicate simultaneous binding of two inward projecting strands. These results suggest that bisPNA molecules can be used for self-assembling DNA nanostructures provided that the arrangement of the hybridizing DNA oligonucleotides does not interfere with simultaneous hybridization to the bisPNA molecule.

Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid↗

The TIGR Plant Transcript Assemblies database.

The TIGR Plant Transcript Assemblies (TA) database (http://plantta.tigr.org) uses expressed sequences collected from the NCBI GenBank Nucleotide database for the construction of transcript assemblies. The sequences collected include expressed sequence tags (ESTs) and full-length and partial cDNAs, but exclude computationally predicted gene sequences. The TA database includes all plant species for which more than 1000 EST or cDNA sequences are publicly available. The EST and cDNA sequences are first clustered based on an all-versus-all pairwise sequence comparison, followed by the generation of consensus sequences (TAs) from individual clusters. The clustering and assembly procedures use the TGICL tool, Megablast and the CAP3 assembler. The UniProt Reference Clusters (UniRef100) protein database is used as the reference database for the functional annotation of the assemblies. The transcription orientation of each TA is determined based on the orientation of the alignment with the best protein hit. The TA sequences and annotation are available via web interfaces and FTP downloads. Assemblies can be retrieved by a text-based keyword search or a sequence-based BLAST search. The current version of the TA database is Release 2 (July 17, 2006) and includes a total of 215 plant species.

DNA, Complementary↗