Zaremberg, V. | Search bioRxiv

bioRxiv2022

SIR telomere silencing depends on nuclear envelope lipids and modulates sensitivity to a lysolipid drug

The nuclear envelope (NE) is important in maintaining genome organization. The role of lipids in the communication between the NE and telomere silencing was investigated, including how changes in lipid composition impact gene expression and overall nuclear architecture. For this purpose, yeast cells were treated with the non-metabolizable lysophosphatidylcholine analog edelfosine, known to accumulate at the perinuclear endoplasmic reticulum. Edelfosine treatment induced NE deformation and disrupted telomere clustering but not anchoring. In addition, the association of Sir4 at telomeres measured by ChIP decreased. RNA-seq analysis showed altered expression of Sir-dependent genes located at sub-telomeric (0-10 kb) regions, which was consistent with Sir4 dispersion. Transcriptomic analysis revealed that two lipid metabolic circuits were activated in response to edelfosine, one mediated by the membrane sensing transcription factors, Spt23/Mga2, and the other by a transcriptional repressor, Opi1. Activation of these combined transcriptional programs resulted in higher levels of unsaturated fatty acids and the formation of nuclear lipid droplets. Interestingly, cells lacking Sir proteins displayed resistance to unsaturated fatty acids and edelfosine, and this phenotype was connected to Rap1. GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT O_FIG O_LINKSMALLFIG WIDTH=200 HEIGHT=65 SRC="FIGDIR/small/499406v3_ufig1.gif" ALT="Figure 1"> View larger version (20K): org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@a46borg.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@2a7f44org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@95ceforg.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@b4678c_HPS_FORMAT_FIGEXP M_FIG C_FIG SummaryThe nuclear envelope (NE) is important for nuclear organization. This study shows that changes in NE lipid composition from lysolipid treatment decreases Sir4 association with telomeres, their clustering at NE, and triggers lipid-specific transcriptional circuits regulated by membrane-sensing factors.

molecular biology↗

bioRxiv2021

Systematic analysis of membrane contact sites in Saccharomyces cerevisiae uncovers modulators of cellular lipid distribution

Actively maintained close appositions, or contact sites, between organelle membranes, enable the efficient transfer of biomolecules between the various cellular compartments. Several such sites have been described together with their tethering machinery. Despite these advances we are still far from a comprehensive understanding of the function and regulation of most contact sites. To systematically characterize the proteome of contact sites and support the discovery of new tethers and functional molecules, we established a high throughput screening approach in Saccharomyces cerevisiae based on co-localization imaging. We imaged split fluorescence reporters for six different contact sites, two of which have never been studied before, on the background of 1165 strains expressing a mCherry-tagged yeast protein that have a cellular punctate distribution (a hallmark of contact sites). By scoring both co-localization events and effects on reporter size and abundance, we discovered over 100 new potential contact site residents and effectors in yeast. Focusing on several of the newly identified residents, we identified one set of hits as previously unrecognized homologs to Vps13 and Atg2. These proteins share their lipid transport domain, thus expanding this family of lipid transporters. Analysis of another candidate, Ypr097w, which we now call Lec1 (Lipid-droplet Ergosterol Cortex 1), revealed that this previously uncharacterized protein dynamically shifts between lipid droplets and the cell cortex, and plays a role in regulation of ergosterol distribution in the cell.

cell biology↗