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Microscopy of Fission Yeast Sexual Lifecycle
07:47

Microscopy of Fission Yeast Sexual Lifecycle

Published on: March 9, 2016

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Ubiquitination-dependent control of sexual differentiation in fission yeast

Fabrizio Simonetti1,2, Tito Candelli1,2, Sebastien Leon3

  • 1Institut Jacques Monod, Team "Metabolism and Function of RNA in the Nucleus", CNRS, UMR7592, Université Paris-Diderot, Sorbonne Paris Cité, Paris, France.

Elife
|August 26, 2017
PubMed

Insights

The Ccr4-Not complex subunit Mot2 ubiquitinates Mei2, preserving Mmi1 activity and suppressing meiotic gene expression in fission yeast during vegetative growth.

Area of Science:

  • Molecular Biology
  • Cell Biology
  • Genetics

Background:

  • Meiosis-specific transcripts are degraded in vegetative fission yeast by Mmi1 and the nuclear exosome.
  • Mei2 inactivates Mmi1 upon starvation, enabling meiotic gene expression.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the role of the Ccr4-Not complex subunit Mot2 in regulating meiotic gene expression during vegetative growth in fission yeast.

Main Methods:

  • Biochemical assays to study protein-protein interactions.
  • Ubiquitination assays to assess Mei2 modification.
  • Analysis of meiotic transcript levels in wild-type and mutant strains.

Main Results:

  • Mot2 associates with Mmi1 and promotes the suppression of meiotic transcripts in mitotic cells.
  • Mot2 directs the ubiquitination of Mei2, preserving Mmi1 activity.
  • Mot2's role is regulatory, limiting Mei2 accumulation or function, not constitutive turnover.

Conclusions:

  • Mmi1 recruits the Ccr4-Not complex (including Mot2) to ubiquitinate and inhibit Mei2.
  • This mechanism ensures stable repression of the meiotic program during vegetative growth.
  • Mot2 plays a crucial regulatory role in the Mmi1-Mei2 axis.
Keywords:
Ccr4-Not complexRNA degradationS. pombeYTH-family RNA-binding protein Mmi1chromosomesfission yeast sexual differentiationgenesmeiosis inducer Mei2protein ubiquitination

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