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APOBEC3G hypermutates genomic DNA and inhibits Ty1 retrotransposition in yeast.

ABSTRACT: Human cells harbor a variety of factors that function to block the proliferation of foreign nucleic acid. The APOBEC3G enzyme inhibits the replication of retroviruses by deaminating nascent retroviral cDNA cytosines to uracils, lesions that can result in lethal levels of hypermutation. Here, we demonstrate that APOBEC3G is capable of deaminating genomic cytosines in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. APOBEC3G expression caused a 20-fold increase in frequency of mutation to canavanine-resistance, which was further elevated in a uracil DNA glycosylase-deficient background. All APOBEC3G-induced base substitution mutations mapped to the nuclear CAN1 gene and were exclusively C/G --> T/A transition mutations within a 5'-CC consensus. The APOBEC3G preferred sites were found on both strands of the DNA duplex, but were otherwise located in hotspots nearly identical to those found previously in retroviral cDNA. This unique genetic system further enabled us to show that expression of APOBEC3G or its homolog APOBEC3F was able to inhibit the mobility of the retrotransposon Ty1 by a mechanism that involves the deamination of cDNA cytosines. Thus, these data expand the range of likely APOBEC3 targets to include nuclear DNA and endogenous retroelements, which have pathological and physiological implications, respectively. We postulate that the APOBEC3-dependent innate cellular defense constitutes a tightly regulated arm of a conserved mobile nucleic acid restriction mechanism that is poised to limit internal as well as external assaults.

SUBMITTER: Schumacher AJ

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1172225 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:UnlabelledSaccharomyces cerevisiae and Saccharomyces paradoxus lack the conserved RNA interference pathway and utilize a novel form of copy number control (CNC) to inhibit Ty1 retrotransposition. Although noncoding transcripts have been implicated in CNC, here we present evidence that a truncated form of the Gag capsid protein (p22) or its processed form (p18) is necessary and sufficient for CNC and likely encoded by Ty1 internal transcripts. Coexpression of p22/p18 and Ty1 decreases mobility more than 30,000-fold. p22/p18 cofractionates with Ty1 virus-like particles (VLPs) and affects VLP yield, protein composition, and morphology. Although p22/p18 and Gag colocalize in the cytoplasm, p22/p18 disrupts sites used for VLP assembly. Glutathione S-transferase (GST) affinity pulldowns also suggest that p18 and Gag interact. Therefore, this intrinsic Gag-like restriction factor confers CNC by interfering with VLP assembly and function and expands the strategies used to limit retroelement propagation.ImportanceRetrotransposons dominate the chromosomal landscape in many eukaryotes, can cause mutations by insertion or genome rearrangement, and are evolutionarily related to retroviruses such as HIV. Thus, understanding factors that limit transposition and retroviral replication is fundamentally important. The present work describes a retrotransposon-encoded restriction protein derived from the capsid gene of the yeast Ty1 element that disrupts virus-like particle assembly in a dose-dependent manner. This form of copy number control acts as a molecular rheostat, allowing high levels of retrotransposition when few Ty1 elements are present and inhibiting transposition as copy number increases. Thus, yeast and Ty1 have coevolved a form of copy number control that is beneficial to both "host and parasite." To our knowledge, this is the first Gag-like retrotransposon restriction factor described in the literature and expands the ways in which restriction proteins modulate retroelement replication.

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APOBEC3G hypermutates genomic DNA and inhibits Ty1 retrotransposition in yeast.

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