Biology subjects

Anandhakumar, J.

Publications and source records attributed to Anandhakumar, J..

3 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2018

Perturbations of transcription and gene expression-associated processes alter distribution of cell size values in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

The question of what determines whether cells are big or small has been the focus of many studies because it is thought that such determinants underpin the coupling of cell growth with cell division. In contrast, what determines the overall pattern of how cell size is distributed within a population of wild type or mutant cells has received little attention. Knowing how cell size varies around a characteristic pattern could shed light on the processes that generate such a pattern and provide a criterion to identify its genetic basis. Here, we show that cell size values of wild type Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells fit a gamma distribution, in haploid and diploid cells, and under different growth conditions. To identify genes that influence this pattern, we analyzed the cell size distributions of all single-gene deletion strains in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. We found that yeast strains which deviate the most from the gamma distribution are enriched for those lacking gene products functioning in gene expression, especially those in transcription or transcription-linked processes. We also show that cell size is increased in mutants carrying altered activity substitutions in Rpo21p/Rpb1, the largest subunit of RNA polymerase II (Pol II). Lastly, the size distribution of cells carrying extreme altered activity Pol II substitutions deviated from the expected gamma distribution. Our results are consistent with the idea that genetic defects in widely acting transcription factors or Pol II itself compromise both cell size homeostasis and how the size of individual cells is distributed in a population.

genetics↗

bioRxiv2018

Genetic and Epigenetic Determinants Establish a Continuum of Hsf1 Occupancy and Activity Across the Yeast Genome

Heat Shock Factor 1 (Hsf1) is the master transcriptional regulator of molecular chaperones and binds to the same cis-acting element - Heat Shock Element (HSE) - across the eukaryotic lineage. In budding yeast, Hsf1 drives transcription of ~20 genes essential to maintain proteostasis under basal conditions, yet its specific targets and extent of inducible binding during heat shock remain unclear. Here we combine Hsf1 ChIP-seq, nascent RNA-seq and Hsf1 nuclear depletion to quantify Hsf1 binding and transcription across the yeast genome. Hsf1 binds 74 loci during acute heat shock, 46 of which are linked to genes with strong Hsf1-dependent transcription. Most of these targets show detectable Hsf1 binding under basal conditions, but basal occupancy and heat shock-inducible binding both vary over two orders of magnitude. Notably, Hsf1s induced DNA binding leads to a disproportionate (up to 50-fold) increase in nascent transcription. While variation in basal Hsf1 occupancy poorly correlates with the strength of the HSE, promoters with high basal Hsf1 occupancy have nucleosome-depleted regions due to the presence of pioneer factors. Such accessible chromatin may be critical for Hsf1 occupancy of its genomic sites as the activator is incapable of binding HSEs embedded within a stable nucleosome in vitro. In response to heat shock, however, Hsf1 is able to gain access to nucleosomal sites and promotes chromatin remodeling with the RSC complex playing a key role. We propose that the interplay between nucleosome occupancy, HSE strength and active Hsf1 levels allows cells to precisely tune expression of the proteostasis network.

genomics↗

bioRxiv2017

Hsf1 and Hsp70 constitute a two-component feedback loop that regulates the yeast heat shock response

Models for regulation of the eukaryotic heat shock response typically invoke a negative feedback loop consisting of the transcriptional activator Hsf1 and a molecular chaperone encoded by an Hsf1 target gene. Previously, we identified Hsp70 as the chaperone responsible for Hsf1 repression in Saccharomyces cerevisiae and constructed a mathematical model based on Hsp70-mediated negative feedback that recapitulated the dynamic activity of Hsf1 during heat shock. The model was based on two assumptions: dissociation of Hsp70 activates Hsf1, and transcriptional induction of Hsp70 deactivates Hsf1. Here we validated these assumptions. First, we severed the feedback loop by uncoupling Hsp70 expression from Hsf1 regulation. As predicted by the model, Hsf1 was unable to efficiently deactivate in the absence of Hsp70 transcriptional induction. Next we mapped a discrete Hsp70 binding site on Hsf1 to a motif in the C-terminal activation domain known as conserved element 2 (CE2). Removal of CE2 resulted in increased Hsf1 activity under non-heat shock conditions and delayed deactivation kinetics. In addition, we uncovered a role for the N-terminal domain of Hsf1 in negatively regulating DNA binding. These results reveal the quantitative control mechanisms underlying the feedback loop charged with maintaining cytosolic proteostasis.

biochemistry↗