Project description:Archaea are ubiquitous prokaryotes with a wide range of habitats, important roles in ecology, biotechnology and potentially even human health. Despite that, our understanding of archaeal cell biology is still rather limited, partially because the application of systems biology approaches is lacking behind the other domains of life. Here we introduce/announce the Archaeal Proteome Project (ArcPP), a community effort that aims for the comprehensive analysis of archaeal proteomes. Starting with the model archaeon Haloferax volcanii, we have re-analyzed more than 2 TB of MS result files (>20 Mio. spectra) using state-of-the-art bioinformatic tools, increasing peptide spectrum matches and leading to the secure identification of >3000 proteins. This dataset is part of the Archaeal Proteome Project dataset
Project description:Archaea, together with Bacteria, represent the two main divisions of life on Earth, with many of the defining characteristics of the more complex eukaryotes tracing their origin to evolutionary innovations first made in their archaeal ancestors. One of the most notable such features is nucleosomal chromatin, although archaeal histones and chromatin differ significantly from those of eukaryotes. Despite increased interest in archaeal histones in recent years, the properties of archaeal chromatin have been little studied using genomic tools. Here, we adapt the ATAC-seq assay to the archaeal context and use it to map the accessible landscape of the genome of the euryarchaeote Haloferax volcanii. We integrate the resulting datasets with genome-wide maps of active transcription and single-stranded DNA (ssDNA), and find that while H. volcanii promoters exist in a preferentially accessible state, modulation of transcriptional activity is not associated with changes in promoter accessibility, unlike the typical situation in eukaryotes. Applying orthogonal single-molecule footprinting methods, we quantify the absolute levels of physical protection of H. volcanii, and find that archaeal nucleosomal chromatin is at its baseline comparably to slightly more open than that of eukaryotes. We also evaluate the degree of coordination of transcription within archaeal operons and make the unexpected observation that some CRISPR arrays are associated with highly prevalent ssDNA structures. These results provide a foundation for the future functional studies of archaeal chromatin.
Project description:1Sheng Yushou Center of Cell Biology and Immunology, Department of Genetics and Developmental Biology, School of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, China. 2Laboratory of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY 10065, USA. 3Systems Biology Center, National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA. 4CCTS Bioinformatic Program, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY 10065, USA. 5State Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering & Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Contemporary Anthropology, Collaborative Innovation Center of Genetics and Development, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200438, China
Project description:Chemical communication is crucial in ecosystems with complex microbial assemblages. However, due to archaeal cultivation challenges, our understanding of the structure diversity and function of secondary metabolites (SMs) within archaeal communities is limited compared to the extensively studied and well-documented bacterial counterparts. Our comprehensive investigation into the biosynthetic potential of archaea, combined with metabolic analyses and the first report of heterologous expression in archaea, has unveiled the previously unexplored biosynthetic capabilities and chemical diversity of archaeal ribosomally synthesized and post-translationally modified peptide (RiPP). We have identified twenty-four new lanthipeptides of RiPPs exhibiting unique chemical characteristics, including a novel subfamily featuring an unexplored type with diamino-dicarboxylic (DADC) termini, largely expanding the chemical landscape of archaeal SMs. This sheds light on the chemical novelty of archaeal metabolites and emphasizes their potential as an untapped resource for natural product discovery. Additionally, archaeal lanthipeptides demonstrate specific antagonistic activity against haloarchaea, mediating the unique biotic interaction in the halophilic niche. Furthermore, they showcased a unique ecological role in enhancing the host's motility by inducing the rod-shaped cell morphology and upregulating the archaellum gene flgA1, facilitating the archaeal interaction with abiotic environments. These discoveries broaden our understanding of archaeal chemical language and provide promising prospects for future exploration of SM-mediated interaction.
Project description:N4-acetylcytidine (ac4C) is an ancient and highly conserved RNA modification, present on tRNA, rRNA and recently investigated in eukaryotic mRNA. We report ac4C-seq, a chemical genomic method for single-nucleotide resolution, transcriptome-wide quantitative mapping of ac4C. While we did not find detectable ac4C sites in human and yeast mRNAs, ac4C was induced via ectopic overexpression of eukaryotic acetyltransferase complexes, invariably at a conserved sequence motif. In contrast, cross-evolutionary profiling reveals unprecedented levels of ac4C across hundreds of residues in rRNA, tRNA, ncRNA and mRNA from hyperthermophilic archaea. Ac4C is dramatically induced in response to temperature, and acetyltransferase-deficient archaeal strains exhibit temperature-dependent growth defects. Cryo-EM visualization of WT and acetyltransferase-deficient archaeal ribosomes furnishes structural insights into the temperature-dependent distribution of ac4C and its potential thermoadaptive role. Our studies quantitatively define the ac4C landscape, providing a technical and conceptual foundation for unravelling this modification’s role in biology and disease.
Project description:Since their discovery, archaea have not only proven a fascinating domain in their own right, but also helped us understand the evolution and function of molecular components they share with bacteria or eukaryotes. Archaeal histones are homologous to their eukaryotic counterparts, but operate in a less constrained bacterial-like cellular environment and their role in transcription and genome function remains obscure. In order to understand how archaeal histones affect transcriptional processes, we induced expression of the two histones from the archaeon Methanothermus fervidus in a naive bacterial system (E. coli) that has not evolved to integrate this kind of proteins. We show, using a series of MNase digestion experiments, that these histones bind the bacterial genome and wrap DNA in vivo in a pattern consistent with a previously proposed multimerisation model, in a similar pattern observed natively. We correlate genome-wide occupancy maps and gene expression profiles in different phases of growth to show that – although expression of archaeal histones triggers morphological changes in E. coli – there appears to only be an indirect effect on transcription. Since their discovery, archaea have not only proven a fascinating domain in their own right, but also helped us understand the evolution and function of molecular components they share with bacteria or eukaryotes. Archaeal histones are homologous to their eukaryotic counterparts, but operate in a less constrained bacterial-like cellular environment and their role in transcription and genome function remains obscure. In order to understand how archaeal histones affect transcriptional processes, we induced expression of the two histones from the archaeon Methanothermus fervidus in a naive bacterial system (E. coli) that has not evolved to integrate this kind of proteins. We show, using a series of MNase digestion experiments, that these histones bind the bacterial genome and wrap DNA in vivo in a pattern consistent with a previously proposed multimerisation model, in a similar pattern observed natively. We correlate genome-wide occupancy maps and gene expression profiles in different phases of growth to show that – although expression of archaeal histones triggers morphological changes in E. coli – there appears to only be an indirect effect on transcription.
Project description:Since their discovery, archaea have not only proven a fascinating domain in their own right, but also helped us understand the evolution and function of molecular components they share with bacteria or eukaryotes. Archaeal histones are homologous to their eukaryotic counterparts, but operate in a less constrained bacterial-like cellular environment and their role in transcription and genome function remains obscure. In order to understand how archaeal histones affect transcriptional processes, we induced expression of the two histones from the archaeon Methanothermus fervidus in a naive bacterial system (E. coli) that has not evolved to integrate this kind of proteins. We show, using a series of MNase digestion experiments, that these histones bind the bacterial genome and wrap DNA in vivo in a pattern consistent with a previously proposed multimerisation model, in a similar pattern observed natively. We correlate genome-wide occupancy maps and gene expression profiles in different phases of growth to show that – although expression of archaeal histones triggers morphological changes in E. coli – there appears to only be an indirect effect on transcription. Since their discovery, archaea have not only proven a fascinating domain in their own right, but also helped us understand the evolution and function of molecular components they share with bacteria or eukaryotes. Archaeal histones are homologous to their eukaryotic counterparts, but operate in a less constrained bacterial-like cellular environment and their role in transcription and genome function remains obscure. In order to understand how archaeal histones affect transcriptional processes, we induced expression of the two histones from the archaeon Methanothermus fervidus in a naive bacterial system (E. coli) that has not evolved to integrate this kind of proteins. We show, using a series of MNase digestion experiments, that these histones bind the bacterial genome and wrap DNA in vivo in a pattern consistent with a previously proposed multimerisation model, in a similar pattern observed natively. We correlate genome-wide occupancy maps and gene expression profiles in different phases of growth to show that – although expression of archaeal histones triggers morphological changes in E. coli – there appears to only be an indirect effect on transcription.
Project description:Fibrolamellar hepatocellular carcinoma (FL-HCC) is a rare variant of HCC that most frequently affects young adults. Because of its rarity and an absence of preclinical models, the molecular biology of FL-HCC remains unclear. Our objective was to analyze chromosomal alterations and dysregulated gene expression in tumor specimens collected at a single center during two decades of experience with FL-HCC.