Project description:Although combinatorial regulation is a common feature in gene regulatory networks, how it evolves and affects network structure and function is not well understood. In S. cerevisiae, the phosphate starvation (PHO) responsive transcription factors Pho4 and Pho2 are required for gene induction and survival during phosphate starvation. In the related human commensal C. glabrata, Pho4 is required but Pho2 is dispensable for survival in phosphate starvation and is only partially required for inducing PHO genes. Phylogenetic survey suggests that reduced dependence on Pho2 evolved in C. glabrata and closely related species. In S. cerevisiae, less Pho2-dependent Pho4 orthologs induce more genes. In C. glabrata, its Pho4 binds to more locations and induces three times as many genes as Pho4 in S. cerevisiae does. Our work shows how evolution of combinatorial regulation allows for rapid expansion of a gene regulatory network's targets, possibly extending its physiological functions.
Project description:In S. cerevisiae, the phosphate starvation (PHO) responsive transcription factors Pho4 and Pho2 are jointly required for induction of phosphate response genes and survival in phosphate starvation conditions. In the related human commensal and pathogen C. glabrata, Pho4 is required but Pho2 is dispensable for survival in phosphate-limited conditions and is only partially required for inducing the phosphate response genes. This reduced dependence on Pho2 evolved in C. glabrata and closely related species. Pho4 orthologs that are less dependent on Pho2 induce more genes when introduced into the S. cerevisiae background, and Pho4 in C. glabrata both binds to more sites and induces more genes with expanded functional roles compared to Pho4 in S. cerevisiae. We used RNA-seq to profile the transcriptome of wild type and mutants of Pho4 / Pho2, or Pho4 ortholog swap in S. cerevisiae, to identify genes induced by Pho4 or its orthologs in S. cerevisiae background.
Project description:In S. cerevisiae, the phosphate starvation (PHO) responsive transcription factors Pho4 and Pho2 are jointly required for induction of phosphate response genes and survival in phosphate starvation conditions. In the related human commensal and pathogen C. glabrata, Pho4 is required but Pho2 is dispensable for survival in phosphate-limited conditions and is only partially required for inducing the phosphate response genes. This reduced dependence on Pho2 evolved in C. glabrata and closely related species. Pho4 orthologs that are less dependent on Pho2 induce more genes when introduced into the S. cerevisiae background, and Pho4 in C. glabrata both binds to more sites and induces more genes with expanded functional roles compared to Pho4 in S. cerevisiae. We used Biotin-assisted Chromatin-ImmunoPrecipitation followed by high-throughput sequencing (BioChIP-seq) to identify the binding locations of Pho4 from both S. cerevisiae and C. glabrata in the S. cerevisiae background lacking the negative regulator Pho80, and either with or without Pho2.
Project description:In S. cerevisiae, the phosphate starvation (PHO) responsive transcription factors Pho4 and Pho2 are jointly required for induction of phosphate response genes and survival in phosphate starvation conditions. In the related human commensal and pathogen C. glabrata, Pho4 is required but Pho2 is dispensable for survival in phosphate-limited conditions and is only partially required for inducing the phosphate response genes. This reduced dependence on Pho2 evolved in C. glabrata and closely related species. Pho4 orthologs that are less dependent on Pho2 induce more genes when introduced into the S. cerevisiae background, and Pho4 in C. glabrata both binds to more sites and induces more genes with expanded functional roles compared to Pho4 in S. cerevisiae. We used Chromatin-ImmunoPrecipitation with exonucleas followed by high-throughput sequencing (BioChIP-seq) to identify the binding locations of Pho4 from both S. cerevisiae and C. glabrata in the S. cerevisiae background lacking the negative regulator Pho80, and either with or without Pho2.
Project description:In S. cerevisiae, the phosphate starvation (PHO) responsive transcription factors Pho4 and Pho2 are jointly required for induction of phosphate response genes and survival in phosphate starvation conditions. In the related human commensal and pathogen C. glabrata, Pho4 is required but Pho2 is dispensable for survival in phosphate-limited conditions and is only partially required for inducing the phosphate response genes. This reduced dependence on Pho2 evolved in C. glabrata and closely related species. Pho4 orthologs that are less dependent on Pho2 induce more genes when introduced into the S. cerevisiae background, and Pho4 in C. glabrata both binds to more sites and induces more genes with expanded functional roles compared to Pho4 in S. cerevisiae. We used RNA-seq to profile the transcriptome of wild type and mutants of Pho4 / Pho2 in C. glabrata, to identify genes induced by Pho4.
Project description:Generalized transduction is pivotal in bacterial evolution but lacks comprehensive understanding regarding the facilitating features and variations among phages. We addressed this gap by sequencing and comparing the transducing particle content of three different Salmonella Typhimurium phages (i.e. Det7, ES18 and P22) that share a headful packaging mechanism that is typically initiated from a cognate pac site within the phage chromosome. This revealed substantial disparities in both the extent and content of transducing particles among these phages. While Det7 outperformed ES18 in terms of relative number of transducing particles, both phages contrasted with P22 in terms of content. In fact, we found evidence for the presence of conserved P22 pac-like sequences in the host chromosome that direct tremendously increased packaging and transduction frequencies of downstream regions by P22. More specifically, a ca. 561 kb host region between oppositely oriented pac-like sequences in the purF and minE loci was identified as highly packaged and transduced during both P22 prophage induction and lytic infection. Our findings underscore the evolution of phage transducing capacity towards attenuation, promiscuity or directionality, and suggest that pac-like sequences in the host chromosome could become selected as sites directing high frequency of transduction.
Project description:Availability of food is often a limiting factor in nature. Periods of food abundance are followed by times of famine, often in unpredictable patterns. Reliable information about the environment is a critical ingredient of successful survival strategy. One way to improve accuracy is to integrate information communicated by other organisms. To test whether such exchange of information may play a role in determining starvation survival strategies, we studied starvation of L1 larvae in C. elegans and other Caenorhabditis species. We found that some species in genus Caenorhabditis, including C. elegans, survive longer when starved at higher densities, while for others survival is independent of the density. The density effect is mediated by chemical signal(s) that worms release during starvation. This starvation survival signal is independent of ascarosides, a class of small molecules widely used in chemical communication of C. elegans and other nematodes.
Project description:MED1 often serves as a surrogate of the general transcription coactivator complex Mediator for identifying active enhancers. MED1 is required for phenotypic conversion of fibroblasts to adipocytes in vitro but its role in adipose development and expansion in vivo has not been reported. Here we show that MED1 is not generally required for transcription during adipogenesis in culture and that MED1 is dispensable for adipose development in mice. Instead, MED1 is required for postnatal adipose expansion and the induction of fatty acid and triglyceride synthesis genes after pups switch diet from high-fat maternal milk to carbohydrate-based chow. During adipogenesis, MED1 is dispensable for induction of lineage-determining transcription factors (TFs) PPARγ and C/EBPα but is required for lipid accumulation in the late phase of differentiation. Mechanistically, MED1 controls the induction of lipogenesis genes by facilitating lipogenic TF ChREBP- and SREBP1a-dependent recruitment of Mediator to active enhancers. Together, our findings identify a cell- and gene-specific regulatory role of MED1 as a lipogenesis coactivator required for postnatal adipose expansion.
Project description:Cetaceans possess brains that rank among the largest to have ever evolved, either in terms of absolute mass or relative to body size. Cetaceans have evolved these huge brains under relatively unique environmental conditions, making them a fascinating case study to investigate the constraints and selection pressures that shape how brains evolve. Indeed, cetaceans have some unusual neuroanatomical features, including a thin but highly folded cerebrum with low cortical neuron density, as well as many structural adaptations associated with acoustic communication. Previous reports also suggest that at least some cetaceans have an expanded cerebellum, a brain structure with wide-ranging functions in adaptive filtering of sensory information, the control of motor actions, and cognition. Here, we report that, relative to the size of the rest of the brain, both the cerebrum and cerebellum are dramatically enlarged in cetaceans and show evidence of co-evolution, a pattern of brain evolution that is convergent with primates. However, we also highlight several branches where cortico-cerebellar co-evolution may be partially decoupled, suggesting these structures can respond to independent selection pressures. Across cetaceans, we find no evidence of a simple linear relationship between either cerebrum and cerebellum size and the complexity of social ecology or acoustic communication, but do find evidence that their expansion may be associated with dietary breadth. In addition, our results suggest that major increases in both cerebrum and cerebellum size occurred early in cetacean evolution, prior to the origin of the major extant clades, and predate the evolution of echolocation.