Project description:The essential yet toxic nature of Cu ions in living cells requires exquisite control of Cu homeostasis. The fungal pathogen C. neoformans regulates Cu homeostasis for survival during a complex host colonization process. During pulmonary infection host innate immune cells use Cu in an attempt to toxify C. neoformans, which responds by activating expression of Cu detoxifying proteins. However, during brain colonization expression of the fungal Cu import machinery is activated and required for virulence. To achieve the genetic plasticity required for adaptation to a continuum of distinct Cu environments within the host, C. neoformans utilizes the Cu-responsive transcription factor, Cuf1. Cuf1 is unique as it senses and responds to both high and low Cu environments, activating different sets of genes dependent on environmental Cu status. Cells lacking Cuf1 are compromised for colonization of the lungs and brain, highlighting Cuf1 as an important virulence factor. A genome-wide assessment of the Cuf1 binding sites in the genome of C. neoformans driven by Cu status identified novel genes required for adaptation to high and low Cu environments. These genes and their regulation provide new insights with respect to adaptive responses to changes in host Cu availability and could reveal new targets for therapeutic intervention in cryptococcosis.
Project description:Copper (Cu) regulates hypoxia-inducible factor-1 (HIF-1) transcription activity by affecting the selectivity of HIF-1α targeting to the promoters of the affected genes. Here, we made an effort to provide a comprehensive understanding of Cu regulation of the selectivity of HIF-1α targeting across genome. We used tetraethylenepentamine (TEPA), a Cu selective chelator, to reduce Cu content in the cells. In hypoxia, we conducted chromatin immunoprecipitation combined with massively parallel DNA sequencing (ChIP-seq) to globally map the binding sites of HIF-1α, Pol Ⅱ (RNA polymeraseⅡ) and histone H3K27ac. We also performed RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq) in EA.hy926 cells under hypoxia (1% O2) with or without Cu depression to determine the profile of mRNA expression. Our analyses identified 3197 HIF-1α binding sites under hypoxia. Cu depression by TEPA reduced 1820 binding sites from the 3197, but induced additional 274 new binding sites. We analyzed these binding sites in the promoter and putative enhancer regions, coupled with their mRNA expression profiles, and found 281 Cu-dependent and 10 Cu-independent HIF-1α target genes. We found that the core bases “GGAA” and “TTCC” constituted the critical motifs for the binding sites of Cu-dependent genes. This study thus revealed that Cu, by affecting the binding of HIF-1α to the critical motifs in the promoter and putative enhancer regions of HIF-1 regulated genes, leads to the selectivity of HIF-1 regulated expression of Cu-dependent genes.
Project description:Background: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of single-stranded non-coding small RNAs (sRNAs) that are 20-24 nucleotides (nt) in length. Extensive studies have indicated that miRNAs play important roles in plant growth, development, and stress responses. With more copper (Cu) and copper-containing compounds used as bactericides and fungicides in viticulture, Cu stress has become one of the serious environmental problems that affect plant growth and development. In order to uncover the hidden response mechanisms of Cu stress, many Cu-responsive miRNAs have been detected in several plant species. However, there have been few reports about the grapevine miRNAs in response to Cu. Results: Here, two small RNA libraries were constructed from Cu-treated and water-treated (control) leaves of 'Summer Black' grapevine. Following high-throughput sequencing and filtering, 158 known vvi-miRNAs and 98 novel vvi-miRNAs were identified in the two libraries. Among these, 24 could only be detected in the treatment, and 63 were only detected in the control. Additionally, 100 known vvi-miRNAs were found to be clearly responsive to Cu, among which 96 were down-regulated and four were up-regulated; 47 novel vvi-miRNAs were found to be clearly responsive to Cu, among which 35 were down-regulated and 12 were up-regulated. Subsequently, expression patterns of a set of Cu-responsive vvi-miRNAs were validated by quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR). There existed some consistency in expression levels of Cu-responsive vvi-miRNAs between high-throughput sequencing and qRT-PCR assays. In addition, 92 putative targets for 79 known vvi-miRNAs and 51 putative targets for 22 novel vvi-miRNAs were predicted, and most of the targets are involved in multiple biological processes including transcriptional regulation and response to biotic and abiotic stresses. Conclusions: In this study, 147 Cu-responsive vvi-miRNAs were identified using high-throughput sequencing, and their target genes were predicted, which will be helpful to understanding the molecular mechanisms of miRNAs in response to Cu stress. Furthermore, this work can also provide a foundation for further study of the networks of miRNAs involved in grapevine plant growth and breeding some Cu-tolerant grapevine cultivars.
Project description:6 pairs of OLK tissues and normal oral mucusal (NOM) tissues were obtained to detect circRNAs expression.The profile data showed that 366 circRNAs were significantly dysregulated in the OLK tissues, including 65 upregulated and 301 downregulated circRNA transcripts.There are 28 circRNAs were discovered firstly. 7 out of 10 selected circRNAs were further validated using Qrt-PCR
Project description:Copper (Cu) is an essential trace element for diverse biological reactions such as respiration, neurotransmitter synthesis, oxidative stress and transcriptional regulation. If Cu homeostasis is disrupted, several pathological conditions can develop, leading to alterations of neuronal, cognitive, and muscular development. Known Cu+-binding transcription factors in mammalian cells are Atox1, Mtf1 and Sp1. We identified Crip2 as a novel Cu+-responsive transcriptional regulator that is required for the differentiation of primary myoblasts derived from mouse satellite cells. Functional characterization of CRISPR/Cas9-mediated deletion of Crip2 showed that myoblasts fail to differentiate and manifest a decrease in expression of the differentiation markers Myogenin and Myosin heavy chain. RNA-seq and CUT&RUN analysis were performed to understand the effect on Crip2 in the regulation of gene expression in proliferating and differentiating primary myoblasts stimulated with Cu.
Project description:Transcriptional profiling of Paracoccus denitrificans PD1222 wild type grown to mid-exponential phase in minimal media with either 13 uM (Cu-H) or 0.5 uM (Cu-L) Cu regimes. The goal was to define the effects of Cu-limitation on denitrification genes Two growth conditions, three biological replicates of each condition. Each sample hybridised in a two-channel hybridization against Paracoccus denitrificans genomic DNA as the comparator/reference, which also acted as a control for spot quality. Cu-concentration 13 uM (Cu-H) versus 0.5 uM Cu (Cu-L) in anaerobic growth conditions.
Project description:Iron (Fe) and copper (Cu) are essential metal micronutrients that are necessary for many redox reactions. The uptake of these metals is tightly regulated in plants. Some redox processes can alternatively use Fe-containing proteins or Cu-containing proteins, depending on nutritional status. Copper deficiency can rescue a Cucumis melo Fe uptake deficient mutant, and Fe deficiency can result in increased accumulation of Cu. However, the system responsible for Fe-deficiency-regulated Cu-uptake is unknown. To understand the genes and gene networks associated with Fe-deficiency regulated Cu uptake and Fe-Cu cross-talk, we conducted transcriptomic profiling of roots and rosettes of spl7 (a Cu uptake deficient mutant in arabidopsis) and Col-0 (WT) grown under Fe, Cu and simultaneous Fe and Cu deficiency conditions.
Project description:The essential yet toxic nature of Cu ions in living cells requires exquisite control of Cu homeostasis. The fungal pathogen C. neoformans regulates Cu homeostasis for survival during a complex host colonization process. During pulmonary infection host innate immune cells use Cu in an attempt to toxify C. neoformans, which responds by activating expression of Cu detoxifying proteins. However, during brain colonization expression of the fungal Cu import machinery is activated and required for virulence. To achieve the genetic plasticity required for adaptation to a continuum of distinct Cu environments within the host, C. neoformans utilizes the Cu-responsive transcription factor, Cuf1. Cuf1 is unique as it senses and responds to both high and low Cu environments, activating different sets of genes dependent on environmental Cu status. Cells lacking Cuf1 are compromised for colonization of the lungs and brain, highlighting Cuf1 as an important virulence factor. In this study, we provide a genome-wide assessment of the Cuf1-dependent transcription changes driven by Cu status identified novel genes required for adaptation to high and low Cu environments. These genes and their regulation provide new insights with respect to adaptive responses to changes in host Cu availability and could reveal new targets for therapeutic intervention in cryptococcosis.
Project description:Transcriptional profiling of Paracoccus denitrificans PD1222 wild type grown to mid-exponential phase in minimal media with either 13 uM (Cu-H) or 0.5 uM (Cu-L) Cu regimes. The goal was to define the effects of Cu-limitation on denitrification genes
Project description:Copper (Cu) plays an essential role in cellular metabolism and limits phytoplankton growth and production in parts of the open sea. Whole transcriptome analysis provides a powerful tool to explore gene expression profiles and cellular metabolic pathways regulated by Cu. In this study, we identified Cu-regulated genes by profiling the transcriptomes of an oceanic diatom, Thalassiosira oceanica 1005, adapted to survive in a Cu-limited and Cu-replete environment. The results provide insights to the mechanisms of adaptation and acclimation of T. oceanica to low Cu environments.