Biology subjects

Shashkova, S.

Publications and source records attributed to Shashkova, S..

10 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2025

The molecular architecture of the aquaglyceroporin gating system in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Aquaglyceroporins have been extensively studied in multiple systems. However, the molecular architecture and hence the precise mechanisms of action remain unknow. The yeast aquaglyceroporin Fps1 plays the main role in controlling cellular turgor. It is regulated by the two Rgc proteins which activate the Fps1 channel. To date, the molecular architecture and dynamics of the Fps1-Rgc gating system is unknown. We employed dual-coloured super-resolution millisecond fluorescence microscopy with a single-molecule sensitivity, to track Fps1 and Rgc2 in real time. Unlike previously believed, our data shows that Rgc2 mainly operates as a homodimer. At the same time, Rgc1, the seemingly redundant regulatory ortholog of Rgc2, has a clear effect on the architecture, colocalisation behaviour and molecular dynamics of the Fps1 and Rgc2 together. Moreover, Rgc1 seems to promote Rgc2 stability in response to hydrogen peroxide stress. Together, our results provide novel insights into the mechanism behind aquaglyceroporins regulation. ImportanceThe components of the Fps1 aquaglyceroporin gating system is conserved in Fungi and present in both bakers yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae as well as common pathogenic included in the WHO fungal priority pathogens list: Candida albicans, Candida glabrata, Aspergillus fumigatus, Pichia kudriavzevii. For instance, in C. glabrata, the orthologs of both Fps1 and Rgc2 are involved in key pathogenic processes related to acetate tolerance, phagocytosis by macrophages, resistance to antifungal agents and overall drug uptake and efflux. As the Fps1 gating system is not present in metazoans, it constitutes an attractive drug target for antifungal agents. Thus, understanding the architecture and the finer mechanisms of the Fps1 pore regulation is a stepping stone in development of effective antifungal treatment and targeted antifungal drugs.

molecular biology↗

bioRxiv2021

PEPSDI: Scalable and flexible inference framework for stochastic dynamic single-cell models

Mathematical modelling is an invaluable tool to describe dynamic cellular processes and to rationalise cell-to-cell variability within the population. This requires statistical methods to infer unknown model parameters from dynamic, multi-individual data accounting for heterogeneity caused by both intrinsic and extrinsic noise. Here we present PEPSDI, a scalable and flexible framework for Bayesian inference in state-space mixed-effects stochastic dynamic single-cell models. Unlike previous frameworks, PEPSDI imposes a few modelling assumptions when inferring unknown model parameters from time-lapse data. Specifically, it can infer model parameters when intrinsic noise is modelled by either exact or approximate stochastic simulators, and when extrinsic noise is modelled by either time-varying, or time-constant parameters that vary between cells. This allowed us to identify hexokinase activity as a source of extrinsic noise, and to deduce that sugar availability dictates cell-to-cell variability in the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae SNF1 nutrient sensing pathway.

systems biology↗

bioRxiv2021

Comparison of endogenously expressed fluorescent protein fusions behaviour for protein quality control and cellular aging research

The yeast Hsp104 protein disaggregase is often used as a reporter for misfolded or damaged protein aggregates and protein quality control and ageing research. Observing endogenously expressed Hsp104 fusions with fluorescent proteins is a popular approach to follow post stress protein aggregation, inclusion formation and disaggregation. Overall, such protein fusions used in molecular and microbiology research are often sparsely characterised. To address this issue, we performed a comparative assessment of Hsp104 fluorescent fusions function and behaviour. We provide experimental evidence that molecular behaviour may not only be altered by introducing a fluorescent protein tag but also varies depending on the fluorophore within the fusion. Although our findings are especially applicable to protein quality control and ageing research in yeast, similar effects and points may play a role in other eukaryotic systems.

molecular biology↗

bioRxiv2020

Molecular crowding in single eukaryotic cells: using cell environment biosensing and single-molecule optical microscopy to probe dependence on ionic strength, glucose conditions, and copy number

The physical and chemical environment inside cells is of fundamental importance to all life but has traditionally been difficult to determine on a subcellular basis. Here we combine cutting-edge genomically integrated FRET biosensing to readout localized molecular crowding in single live yeast cells. Confocal microscopy allows us to build subcellular crowding heatmaps using ratiometric FRET, while whole-cell analysis demonstrates crowding is reduced when yeast is grown in elevated glucose concentrations. Simulations indicate that the cell membrane is largely inaccessible to these sensors and that cytosolic crowding is broadly uniform across each cell over a timescale of seconds. Millisecond single-molecule optical microscopy was used to track molecules and obtain brightness estimates that enabled calculation of crowding sensor copy numbers. The quantification of diffusing molecule trajectories paves the way for correlating subcellular processes and the physicochemical environment of cells under stress.

biophysics↗

bioRxiv2020

Correlative single-molecule fluorescence barcoding of gene regulation in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Most cells adapt to their environment by switching combinations of genes on and off through a complex interplay of transcription factor proteins (TFs). The mechanisms by which TFs respond to signals, move into the nucleus and find specific binding sites in target genes is still largely unknown. Single-molecule fluorescence microscopes, which can image single TFs in live cells, have begun to elucidate the problem. Here, we show that different environmental signals, in this case carbon sources, yield a unique single-molecule fluorescence pattern of foci of a key metabolic regulating transcription factor, Mig1, in the nucleus of the budding yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae. This pattern serves as a barcode of the gene regulatory state of the cells which can be correlated with cell growth characteristics and other biological function. HighlightsO_LISingle-molecule microscopy of transcription factors in live yeast C_LIO_LIBarcoding single-molecule nuclear fluorescence C_LIO_LICorrelation with cell growth characteristics C_LIO_LIGrowth in different carbon sources C_LI

biophysics↗

bioRxiv2020

Correlating single-molecule characteristics of the yeast aquaglyceroporin Fps1 with environmental perturbations directly in living cells

Membrane proteins play key roles at the interface between the cell and its environment by mediating selective import and export of molecules via plasma membrane channels. Despite a multitude of studies on transmembrane channels, understanding of their dynamics directly within living systems is limited. To address this, we correlated molecular scale information from living cells with real time changes to their microenvironment. We employed super-resolved millisecond fluorescence microscopy with a single-molecule sensitivity, to track labelled molecules of interest in real time. We use as example the aquaglyceroporin Fps1 in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae to dissect and correlate its stoichiometry and molecular turnover kinetics with various extracellular conditions. In this way we shed new light on aspects of architecture and dynamics of glycerol-permeable plasma membrane channels.

biophysics↗

bioRxiv2020

A glucose starvation response governs endocytic trafficking and eisosomal retention of surface cargoes

Eukaryotic cells adapt their metabolism to the extracellular environment. Downregulation of surface cargo proteins in response to nutrient stress reduces the burden of anabolic processes whilst elevating catabolic production in the lysosome. We use yeast to show that glucose starvation triggers a transcriptional response that simultaneously increases internalisation from the plasma membrane whilst supressing recycling from endosomes back to the surface. Nuclear export of the Mig1 transcriptional repressor in response to glucose starvation increases levels of the Yap1801/02 clathrin adaptors, which is sufficient to increase cargo internalisation. We also show Gpa1, which coordinates endosomal lipid homeostasis, is required for surface recycling of cargo. Nuclear translocation of Mig1 increases GPA2 levels and inhibits recycling, potentially by diverting Gpa1 to the surface and interfering with its endosomal role in recycling. Finally, we show glucose starvation results in transcriptional upregulation of many eisosomal factors, which serve to sequester a portion of nutrient transporters to persist the starvation period and maximise nutrient uptake upon return to replete conditions. This latter mechanism provides a physiological benefit for cells to rapidly recover from glucose starvation. Collectively, this remodelling of the surface protein landscape during glucose starvation calibrates metabolism to available nutrients.

cell biology↗

bioRxiv2019

Mapping the 3D genome through high speed single-molecule tracking of functional transcription factors in single living cells

How genomic DNA is organized within the cell nucleus is a long-standing question. We describe a single-molecule bioimaging method with super-resolution localization precision and very rapid millisecond temporal resolution, coupled to fully quantitative image analysis tools, to help to determine genome organization and dynamics using budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae as a model eukaryotic organism. We utilize astigmatism imaging, a robust technique that enables extraction of 3D position data, on genomically encoded fluorescent protein reporters that bind to DNA. Our relatively straightforward method enables snapshot reconstructions of 3D architectures of single genome conformations directly in single functional living cells.

biophysics↗

bioRxiv2017

The Yeast Mig1 Transcriptional Repressor Is Dephosphorylated By Glucose-Dependent And Independent Mechanisms

Saccharomyces cerevisiae AMPK/Snf1 regulates glucose derepression of genes required for utilization of alternative carbon sources through the transcriptional repressor Mig1. It has been suggested that the Glc7-Reg1 phosphatase dephosphorylates Mig1. Here we report that Mig1 is dephosphorylated by Glc7-Reg1 in an apparently glucose-dependent mechanism but also by a mechanism independent of glucose and Glc7-Reg1. In addition to serine/threonine phosphatases another process including tyrosine phosphorylation seems crucial for Mig1 regulation. Taken together, Mig1 dephosphorylation appears to be controlled in a complex manner, in line with the importance for rapid and sensitive regulation upon altered glucose concentrations in the growth medium.

biochemistry↗

bioRxiv2017

Transcription factor clusters regulate genes in eukaryotic cells

Transcription is regulated through binding factors to gene promoters to activate or repress expression, however, the mechanisms by which factors find targets remain unclear. Using single-molecule fluorescence microscopy, we determined in vivo stoichiometry and spatiotemporal dynamics of a GFP tagged repressor, Mig1, from a paradigm signaling pathway of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. We find the repressor operates in clusters, which upon extracellular signal detection, translocate from the cytoplasm, bind to nuclear targets and turnover. Simulations of Mig1 configuration within a 3D yeast genome model combined with a promoter-specific, fluorescent translation reporter confirmed clusters are the functional unit of gene regulation. In vitro and structural analysis on reconstituted Mig1 suggests that clusters are stabilized by depletion forces between intrinsically disordered sequences. We observed similar clusters of a co-regulatory activator from a different pathway, supporting a generalized cluster model for transcription factors that reduces promoter search times through intersegment transfer while stabilizing gene expression.

biophysics↗