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Updated: Jun 1, 2026

Generation and Purification of Human INO80 Chromatin Remodeling Complexes and Subcomplexes
Published on: October 23, 2014
Transcription factor NF-Y complex interacts with chromatin remodeling complexes SWI/SNF and RSC to coordinately
Kexuan Ma1,2, Mengxue Li1, Haiyi Yuan1
1National Glycoengineering Research Center, Shandong University, Qingdao, 266237, China.
None:
The NF-Y (HAP2/3/5 or CCAAT-binding factor) complex is an evolutionarily conserved heterotrimeric transcription factor (TF) that binds the CCAAT box in ∼30% of eukaryotic promoters. While NF-Y alters chromatin structure, its mechanisms remain enigmatic. In Penicillium oxalicum and Trichoderma reesei, near-complete chromatin remodeling complexes (CRCs) SWI/SNF and RSC were captured using NF-Y subunits as bait. Resolution of the structural compositions of SWI/SNF and RSC in both fungi revealed four novel filamentous-fungi-specific subunits: SWI/SNF-specific Fif1/Fif2 and RSC-specific Fif3/Fif4. These subunits distinguish filamentous fungal SWI/SNF and RSC from their counterparts in unicellular yeast and multicellular metazoans. SWI/SNF subunits (Snf19/Sol1/Fif1) and RSC subunits (Rsc7/Fif3) serve as direct targets for NF-Y-CRC interaction. Functional studies of the P. oxalicum NF-Y subunits PoNF-YB and PoNF-YC, along with the SWI/SNF-specific PoFif1 and the RSC-specific PoFif3, revealed their overlapping yet distinct roles in fungal growth, development, and cell wall-degrading enzyme production. The chromatin occupancy of PoFif1 and PoFif3 at certain target promoters is PoNF-Y-dependent. These findings suggest a model in which NF-Y interacts with the CRCs to coordinately regulate these growth, developmental, and metabolic processes. This model may explain how a canonical TF exhibits "pseudo-chromatin remodeler" activity: through its engagement with authentic CRCs, namely, SWI/SNF and RSC.
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