Vasconcelos, E. | Search bioRxiv

bioRxiv2023

Deacetylation by sirtuins is important for Aspergillus fumigatus pathogenesis and virulence

Protein acetylation is a crucial post-translational modification that controls gene expression and a variety of biological processes. Sirtuins, a prominent class of NAD+-dependent lysine deacetylases, serve as key regulators of protein acetylation and gene expression in eukaryotes. In this study, six single knockout strains of fungal pathogen Aspergillus fumigatus were constructed, in addition to a strain lacking all predicted sirtuins (SIRTKO). Phenotypic assays suggest that sirtuins are involved in cell wall integrity, secondary metabolite production, thermotolerance, and virulence. AfsirE deletion resulted in attenuation of virulence, as demonstrated in murine and Galleria infection models. The absence of AfSirE leads to altered acetylation status of proteins, including histones and non-histones, resulting in significant changes in the expression of genes associated with secondary metabolism, cell wall biosynthesis, and virulence factors. These findings encourage testing sirtuin inhibitors as potential therapeutic strategies to combat A. fumigatus infections or in combination therapy with available antifungals.

microbiology↗

bioRxiv2022

Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus induces specialised ribosomes to efficiently translate viral lytic mRNAs

Historically, ribosomes have been viewed as unchanged homogeneous macromolecular machines with no intrinsic regulatory capacity for mRNA translation. However, an emerging concept is that heterogeneity of ribosomal composition exists, which can exert a regulatory function or specificity in translational control. This is supported by recent discoveries identifying compositionally distinct specialised ribosomes that actively regulate mRNA translation. Viruses lack their own translational machinery and impose a high translational demand on the host cell during replication. Here we explore the possibility that Kaposis sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) can manipulate host ribosome biogenesis during infection to produce specialised ribosomes which preferentially translate viral transcripts. Quantitative proteomic analysis has identified changes in the stoichiometry and composition of precursor ribosomal complexes during the switch from latent to lytic KSHV replication. Intriguingly, we demonstrate the enhanced association of ribosomal biogenesis factors BUD23 and NOC4L, and a previously uncharacterised KSHV lytic protein, ORF11, with small ribosomal subunit precursor complexes during lytic KSHV infection. Notably, BUD23 depletion resulted in significantly reduced viral gene expression and progression through the lytic cascade, culminating in a dramatic reduction of infectious virion production. Importantly, ribosome profiling demonstrated that BUD23 is essential for the reduced association of ribosomes with KSHV uORFs in late lytic genes, required for the efficient translation of the main open reading frame. Together our results provide new mechanistic insights into KSHV-mediated manipulation of cellular ribosome composition inducing a population of specialised ribosomes to facilitate efficient translation of viral mRNAs.

microbiology↗