Yury O. Chernoff

Gene prediction in novel fungal genomes using an ab initio algorithm with unsupervised training

We describe a new ab initio algorithm, GeneMark-ES version 2, that identifies protein-coding genes in fungal genomes. The algorithm does not require a predetermined training set to estimate parameters of the underlying hidden Markov model (HMM). Instead, the anonymous genomic sequence in question is used as an input for iterative unsupervised training. The algorithm extends our previously developed method tested on genomes of Arabidopsis thaliana, Caenorhabditis elegans, and Drosophila melanogaster. To better reflect features of fungal gene organization, we enhanced the intron submodel to accommodate sequences with and without branch point sites. This design enables the algorithm to work equally well for species with the kinds of variations in splicing mechanisms seen in the fungal phyla Ascomycota, Basidiomycota, and Zygomycota. Upon self-training, the intron submodel switches on in several steps to reach its full complexity. We demonstrate that the algorithm accuracy, both at the exon and the whole gene level, is favorably compared to the accuracy of gene finders that employ supervised training. Application of the new method to known fungal genomes indicates substantial improvement over existing annotations. By eliminating the effort necessary to build comprehensive training sets, the new algorithm can streamline and accelerate the process of annotation in a large number of fungal genome sequencing projects.

Huntingtin toxicity in yeast model depends on polyglutamine aggregation mediated by a prion-like protein Rnq1

The cause of Huntingtons disease is expansion of polyglutamine (polyQ) domain in huntingtin, which makes this protein both neurotoxic and aggregation prone. Here we developed the first yeast model, which establishes a direct link between aggregation of expanded polyQ domain and its cytotoxicity. Our data indicated that deficiencies in molecular chaperones Sis1 and Hsp104 inhibited seeding of polyQ aggregates, whereas ssa1, ssa2, and ydj1–151 mutations inhibited expansion of aggregates. The latter three mutants strongly suppressed the polyQ toxicity. Spontaneous mutants with suppressed aggregation appeared with high frequency, and in all of them the toxicity was relieved. Aggregation defects in these mutants and in sis1–85 were not complemented in the cross to the hsp104 mutant, demonstrating an unusual type of inheritance. Since Hsp104 is required for prion maintenance in yeast, this suggested a role for prions in polyQ aggregation and toxicity. We screened a set of deletions of nonessential genes coding for known prions and related proteins and found that deletion of the RNQ1 gene specifically suppressed aggregation and toxicity of polyQ. Curing of the prion form of Rnq1 from wild-type cells dramatically suppressed both aggregation and toxicity of polyQ. We concluded that aggregation of polyQ is critical for its toxicity and that Rnq1 in its prion conformation plays an essential role in polyQ aggregation leading to the toxicity.

Multicopy SUP35 gene induces de-novo appearance of psi-like factors in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Previously, we have shown that plasmid-mediated multiplication of Saccharomyces cerevisiae wild-type SUP35 gene leads to omnipotent suppression and is incompatible with psi-factor, which is an endogenous extrachromosomal suppressor. Here, we describe a frequent de-novo appearance of psi-like factors in mitotic progeny of yeast transformants containing multicopy SUP35 gene.

Antagonistic Interactions between Yeast Chaperones Hsp104 and Hsp70 in Prion Curing

ABSTRACT The maintenance of [PSI], a prion-like form of the yeast release factor Sup35, requires a specific concentration of the chaperone protein Hsp104: either deletion or overexpression of Hsp104 will cure cells of [PSI]. A major puzzle of these studies was that overexpression of Hsp104 alone, from a heterologous promoter, cures cells of [PSI] very efficiently, yet the natural induction of Hsp104 with heat shock, stationary-phase growth, or sporulation does not. These observations pointed to a mechanism for protecting the genetic information carried by the [PSI] element from vicissitudes of the environment. Here, we show that simultaneous overexpression of Ssa1, a protein of the Hsp70 family, protects [PSI] from curing by overexpression of Hsp104. Ssa1 protein belongs to the Ssa subfamily, members of which are normally induced with Hsp104 during heat shock, stationary-phase growth, and sporulation. At the molecular level, excess Ssa1 prevents a shift of Sup35 protein from the insoluble (prion) to the soluble (cellular) state in the presence of excess Hsp104. Overexpression of Ssa1 also increases nonsense suppression by [PSI] when Hsp104 is expressed at its normal level. In contrast,hsp104 deletion strains lose [PSI] even in the presence of overproduced Ssa1. Overproduction of the unrelated chaperone protein Hsp82 (Hsp90) neither cured [PSI] nor antagonized the [PSI]-curing effect of overproduced Hsp104. Our results suggest it is the interplay between Hsp104 and Hsp70 that allows the maintenance of [PSI] under natural growth conditions.

Prions in yeast.

The concept of a prion as an infectious self-propagating protein isoform was initially proposed to explain certain mammalian diseases. It is now clear that yeast also has heritable elements transmitted via protein. Indeed, the “protein only” model of prion transmission was first proven using a yeast prion. Typically, known prions are ordered cross-β aggregates (amyloids). Recently, there has been an explosion in the number of recognized prions in yeast. Yeast continues to lead the way in understanding cellular control of prion propagation, prion structure, mechanisms of de novo prion formation, specificity of prion transmission, and the biological roles of prions. This review summarizes what has been learned from yeast prions.

Evidence for a Protein Mutator in Yeast: Role of the Hsp70-Related Chaperone Ssb in Formation, Stability, and Toxicity of the [PSI] Prion

ABSTRACT Propagation of the yeast protein-based non-Mendelian element [PSI], a prion-like form of the release factor Sup35, was shown to be regulated by the interplay between chaperone proteins Hsp104 and Hsp70. While overproduction of Hsp104 protein cures cells of [PSI], overproduction of the Ssa1 protein of the Hsp70 family protects [PSI] from the curing effect of Hsp104. Here we demonstrate that another protein of the Hsp70 family, Ssb, previously implicated in nascent polypeptide folding and protein turnover, exhibits effects on [PSI] which are opposite those of Ssa. Ssb overproduction increases, while Ssb depletion decreases, [PSI] curing by the overproduced Hsp104. Both spontaneous [PSI] formation and [PSI] induction by overproduction of the homologous or heterologous Sup35 protein are increased significantly in the strain lacking Ssb. This is the first example when inactivation of an unrelated cellular protein facilitates prion formation. Ssb is therefore playing a role in protein-based inheritance, which is analogous to the role played by the products of mutator genes in nucleic acid-based inheritance. Ssb depletion also decreases toxicity of the overproduced Sup35 and causes extreme sensitivity to the [PSI]-curing chemical agent guanidine hydrochloride. Our data demonstrate that various members of the yeast Hsp70 family have diverged from each other in regard to their roles in prion propagation and suggest that Ssb could serve as a proofreading component of the enzymatic system, which prevents formation of prion aggregates.

Mechanism of Prion Loss after Hsp104 Inactivation in Yeast

ABSTRACT In vivo propagation of [PSI+], an aggregation-prone prion isoform of the yeast release factor Sup35 (eRF3), has previously been shown to require intermediate levels of the chaperone protein Hsp104. Here we perform a detailed study on the mechanism of prion loss after Hsp104 inactivation. Complete or partial inactivation of Hsp104 was achieved by the following approaches: deleting the HSP104 gene; modifying theHSP104 promoter that results in low level of its expression; and overexpressing the dominant-negative ATPase-inactive mutant HSP104 allele. In contrast to guanidine-HCl, an agent blocking prion proliferation, Hsp104 inactivation induced relatively rapid loss of [PSI +] and another candidate yeast prion, [PIN +]. Thus, the previously hypothesized mechanism of prion dilution in cell divisions due to the blocking of prion proliferation is not sufficient to explain the effect of Hsp104 inactivation. The [PSI +] response to increased levels of another chaperone, Hsp70-Ssa, depends on whether the Hsp104 activity is increased or decreased. A decrease of Hsp104 levels or activity is accompanied by a decrease in the number of Sup35PSI+aggregates and an increase in their size. This eventually leads to accumulation of huge agglomerates, apparently possessing reduced prion forming capability and representing dead ends of the prion replication cycle. Thus, our data confirm that the primary function of Hsp104 in prion propagation is to disassemble prion aggregates and generate the small prion seeds that initiate new rounds of prion propagation (possibly assisted by Hsp70-Ssa).

Abnormal proteins can form aggresome in yeast: aggresome-targeting signals and components of the machinery

In mammalian cells, abnormal proteins that escape proteasome‐dependent degradation form small aggregates that can be transported into a centrosome‐associated structure, called an aggresome. Here we demonstrate that in yeast a single aggregate formed by the huntingtin exon 1 with an expanded polyglutamine domain (103QP) represents a bona fide aggresome that colocalizes with the spindle pole body (the yeast centrosome) in a microtubule‐dependent fashion. Since a polypeptide lacking the proline‐rich region (P‐region) of huntingtin (103Q) cannot form aggresomes, this domain serves as an aggresome‐targeting signal. Coexpression of 103Q with 25QP, a soluble polypeptide that also carries the P‐region, led to the recruitment of 103Q to the aggresome via formation of hetero‐oligomers, indicating the aggresome targeting in trans. To identify additional factors involved in aggresome formation and targeting, we purified 103QP aggresomes and 103Q aggregates and identified the associated proteins using mass spectrometry. Among the aggresome‐associated proteins we identified, Cdc48 (VCP/p97) and its cofactors, Ufd1 and Nlp4, were shown genetically to be essential for aggresome formation. The 14‐3‐3 protein, Bmh1, was also found to be critical for aggresome targeting. Its interaction with the huntingtin fragment and its role in aggresome formation required the huntingtin N‐terminal N17 domain, adjacent to the polyQ domain. Accordingly, the huntingtin N17 domain, along with the P‐region, plays a role in aggresome targeting. We also present direct genetic evidence for the protective role of aggresomes by demonstrating genetically that aggresome targeting of polyglutamine polypep‐tides relieves their toxicity.—Wang, Y., Meriin, A. B., Zaarur, N., Romanova, N. V., Chernoff, Y. O., Costello, C. E., Sherman, M. Y. Abnormal proteins can form aggresome in yeast: aggresome‐targeting signals and components of the machinery. FASEB J. 23, 451‐463 (2009)

Modulation of Prion Formation, Aggregation, and Toxicity by the Actin Cytoskeleton in Yeast

ABSTRACT Self-perpetuating protein aggregates transmit prion diseases in mammals and heritable traits in yeast. De novo prion formation can be induced by transient overproduction of the corresponding prion-forming protein or its prion domain. Here, we demonstrate that the yeast prion protein Sup35 interacts with various proteins of the actin cortical cytoskeleton that are involved in endocytosis. Sup35-derived aggregates, generated in the process of prion induction, are associated with the components of the endocytic/vacuolar pathway. Mutational alterations of the cortical actin cytoskeleton decrease aggregation of overproduced Sup35 and de novo prion induction and increase prion-related toxicity in yeast. Deletion of the gene coding for the actin assembly protein Sla2 is lethal in cells containing the prion isoforms of both Sup35 and Rnq1 proteins simultaneously. Our data are consistent with a model in which cytoskeletal structures provide a scaffold for generation of large aggregates, resembling mammalian aggresomes. These aggregates promote prion formation. Moreover, it appears that the actin cytoskeleton also plays a certain role in counteracting the toxicity of the overproduced potentially aggregating proteins.

Analysis of prion factors in yeast

Publisher Summary This chapter presents an analysis of prion factors in yeast. Prions are unique proteins that can adopt two or more distinctly different conformational states in vivo . The chapter reviews the principal techniques used for genetic, cell biological, and biochemical characterization of yeast prions. It focuses on [ PSI +]; however, [ URE3 ] and composite prions are also discussed for comparison. Many approaches are available to identify and study prion proteins in yeast. These include (1) approaches based on phenotypic changes, such as nonsense suppression or growth, (2) approaches based on genetic criteria, such as non-Mendelian (cytoplasmic) inheritance, curing by certain stress-inducing agents and by chaperone alterations, and induction de novo by the overproduction of the protein determinant, and (3) approaches based on biochemical criteria, such as aggregation and proteinase resistance in vivo and in vitro . Because no approach is sufficient to establish prion-like behavior, a collection of various approaches should be used.