High-throughput single-cell DNA sequencing of acute myeloid leukemia tumors with droplet microfluidics.

To enable the characterization of genetic heterogeneity in tumor cell populations, we developed a novel microfluidic approach that barcodes amplified genomic DNA from thousands of individual cancer cells confined to droplets. The barcodes are then used to reassemble the genetic profiles of cells from next-generation sequencing data. By using this approach, we sequenced longitudinally collected acute myeloid leukemia (AML) tumor populations from two patients and genotyped up to 62 disease relevant loci across more than 16,000 individual cells. Targeted single-cell sequencing was able to sensitively identify cells harboring pathogenic mutations during complete remission and uncovered complex clonal evolution within AML tumors that was not observable with bulk sequencing. We anticipate that this approach will make feasible the routine analysis of AML heterogeneity, leading to improved stratification and therapy selection for the disease.

Genetics of single-cell protein abundance variation in large yeast populations.

Variation among individuals arises in part from differences in DNA sequences, but the genetic basis for variation in most traits, including common diseases, remains only partly understood. Many DNA variants influence phenotypes by altering the expression level of one or several genes. The effects of such variants can be detected as expression quantitative trait loci (eQTL). Traditional eQTL mapping requires large-scale genotype and gene expression data for each individual in the study sample, which limits sample sizes to hundreds of individuals in both humans and model organisms and reduces statistical power. Consequently, many eQTL are probably missed, especially those with smaller effects. Furthermore, most studies use messenger RNA rather than protein abundance as the measure of gene expression. Studies that have used mass-spectrometry proteomics reported unexpected differences between eQTL and protein QTL (pQTL) for the same genes, but these studies have been even more limited in scope. Here we introduce a powerful method for identifying genetic loci that influence protein expression in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. We measure single-cell protein abundance through the use of green fluorescent protein tags in very large populations of genetically variable cells, and use pooled sequencing to compare allele frequencies across the genome in thousands of individuals with high versus low protein abundance. We applied this method to 160 genes and detected many more loci per gene than previous studies. We also observed closer correspondence between loci that influence protein abundance and loci that influence mRNA abundance of a given gene. Most loci that we detected were clustered in 'hotspots' that influence multiple proteins, and some hotspots were found to influence more than half of the proteins that we examined. The variants that underlie these hotspots have profound effects on the gene regulatory network and provide insights into genetic variation in cell physiology between yeast strains.

Genetic mapping of MAPK-mediated complex traits Across S. cerevisiae.

Signaling pathways enable cells to sense and respond to their environment. Many cellular signaling strategies are conserved from fungi to humans, yet their activity and phenotypic consequences can vary extensively among individuals within a species. A systematic assessment of the impact of naturally occurring genetic variation on signaling pathways remains to be conducted. In S. cerevisiae, both response and resistance to stressors that activate signaling pathways differ between diverse isolates. Here, we present a quantitative trait locus (QTL) mapping approach that enables us to identify genetic variants underlying such phenotypic differences across the genetic and phenotypic diversity of S. cerevisiae. Using a Round-robin cross between twelve diverse strains, we identified QTL that influence phenotypes critically dependent on MAPK signaling cascades. Genetic variants under these QTL fall within MAPK signaling networks themselves as well as other interconnected signaling pathways. Finally, we demonstrate how the mapping results from multiple strain background can be leveraged to narrow the search space of causal genetic variants.

Functional screening in human HSPCs identifies optimized protein-based enhancers of Homology Directed Repair.

Homology Directed Repair (HDR) enables precise genome editing, but the implementation of HDR-based therapies is hindered by limited efficiency in comparison to methods that exploit alternative DNA repair routes, such as Non-Homologous End Joining (NHEJ). In this study, we develop a functional, pooled screening platform to identify protein-based reagents that improve HDR in human hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs). We leverage this screening platform to explore sequence diversity at the binding interface of the NHEJ inhibitor i53 and its target, 53BP1, identifying optimized variants that enable new intermolecular bonds and robustly increase HDR. We show that these variants specifically reduce insertion-deletion outcomes without increasing off-target editing, synergize with a DNAPK inhibitor molecule, and can be applied at manufacturing scale to increase the fraction of cells bearing repaired alleles. This screening platform can enable the discovery of future gene editing reagents that improve HDR outcomes.

Prion induction involves an ancient system for the sequestration of aggregated proteins and heritable changes in prion fragmentation.

When the translation termination factor Sup35 adopts the prion state, [PSI(+)], the read-through of stop codons increases, uncovering hidden genetic variation and giving rise to new, often beneficial, phenotypes. Evidence suggests that prion induction involves a process of maturation, but this has never been studied in detail. To do so, we used a visually tractable prion model consisting of the Sup35 prion domain fused to GFP (PrD-GFP) and overexpressed it to achieve induction in many cells simultaneously. PrD-GFP first assembled into Rings as previously described. Rings propagated for many generations before the protein transitioned into a Dot structure. Dots transmitted the [PSI(+)] phenotype through mating and meiosis, but Rings did not. Surprisingly, the underlying amyloid conformation of PrD-GFP was identical in Rings and Dots. However, by electron microscopy, Rings consisted of very long uninterrupted bundles of fibers, whereas Dot fibers were highly fragmented. Both forms were deposited at the IPOD, a biologically ancient compartment for the deposition of irreversibly aggregated proteins that we propose is the site of de novo prion induction. We find that oxidatively damaged proteins are also localized there, helping to explain how proteotoxic stresses increase the rate of prion induction. Curing PrD-GFP prions, by inhibiting Hsp104's fragmentation activity, reversed the induction process: Dot cells produced Rings before PrD-GFP reverted to the soluble state. Thus, formation of the genetically transmissible prion state is a two-step process that involves an ancient system for the asymmetric inheritance of damaged proteins and heritable changes in the extent of prion fragmentation.

Chaperone-dependent amyloid assembly protects cells from prion toxicity.

Protein conformational diseases are associated with the aberrant accumulation of amyloid protein aggregates, but whether amyloid formation is cytotoxic or protective is unclear. To address this issue, we investigated a normally benign amyloid formed by the yeast prion [RNQ(+)]. Surprisingly, modest overexpression of Rnq1 protein was deadly, but only when preexisting Rnq1 was in the [RNQ(+)] prion conformation. Molecular chaperones protect against protein aggregation diseases and are generally believed to do so by solubilizing their substrates. The Hsp40 chaperone, Sis1, suppressed Rnq1 proteotoxicity, but instead of blocking Rnq1 protein aggregation, it stimulated conversion of soluble Rnq1 to [RNQ(+)] amyloid. Furthermore, interference with Sis1-mediated [RNQ(+)] amyloid formation exacerbated Rnq1 toxicity. These and other data establish that even subtle changes in the folding homeostasis of an amyloidogenic protein can create a severe proteotoxic gain-of-function phenotype and that chaperone-mediated amyloid assembly can be cytoprotective. The possible relevance of these findings to other phenomena, including prion-driven neurodegenerative diseases and heterokaryon incompatibility in fungi, is discussed.

Rare variants contribute disproportionately to quantitative trait variation in yeast.

How variants with different frequencies contribute to trait variation is a central question in genetics. We use a unique model system to disentangle the contributions of common and rare variants to quantitative traits. We generated ~14,000 progeny from crosses among 16 diverse yeast strains and identified thousands of quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for 38 traits. We combined our results with sequencing data for 1011 yeast isolates to show that rare variants make a disproportionate contribution to trait variation. Evolutionary analyses revealed that this contribution is driven by rare variants that arose recently, and that negative selection has shaped the relationship between variant frequency and effect size. We leveraged the structure of the crosses to resolve hundreds of QTLs to single genes. These results refine our understanding of trait variation at the population level and suggest that studies of rare variants are a fertile ground for discovery of genetic effects.

Genetic interactions contribute less than additive effects to quantitative trait variation in yeast.

Genetic mapping studies of quantitative traits typically focus on detecting loci that contribute additively to trait variation. Genetic interactions are often proposed as a contributing factor to trait variation, but the relative contribution of interactions to trait variation is a subject of debate. Here we use a very large cross between two yeast strains to accurately estimate the fraction of phenotypic variance due to pairwise QTL-QTL interactions for 20 quantitative traits. We find that this fraction is 9% on average, substantially less than the contribution of additive QTL (43%). Statistically significant QTL-QTL pairs typically have small individual effect sizes, but collectively explain 40% of the pairwise interaction variance. We show that pairwise interaction variance is largely explained by pairs of loci at least one of which has a significant additive effect. These results refine our understanding of the genetic architecture of quantitative traits and help guide future mapping studies.

An intrinsically disordered yeast prion arrests the cell cycle by sequestering a spindle pole body component.

Intrinsically disordered proteins play causative roles in many human diseases. Their overexpression is toxic in many organisms, but the causes of toxicity are opaque. In this paper, we exploit yeast technologies to determine the root of toxicity for one such protein, the yeast prion Rnq1. This protein is profoundly toxic when overexpressed but only in cells carrying the endogenous Rnq1 protein in its [RNQ(+)] prion (amyloid) conformation. Surprisingly, toxicity was not caused by general proteotoxic stress. Rather, it involved a highly specific mitotic arrest mediated by the Mad2 cell cycle checkpoint. Monopolar spindles accumulated as a result of defective duplication of the yeast centrosome (spindle pole body [SPB]). This arose from selective Rnq1-mediated sequestration of the core SPB component Spc42 in the insoluble protein deposit (IPOD). Rnq1 does not normally participate in spindle pole dynamics, but it does assemble at the IPOD when aggregated. Our work illustrates how the promiscuous interactions of an intrinsically disordered protein can produce highly specific cellular toxicities through illicit, yet highly specific, interactions with the proteome.

Functional links between Aß toxicity, endocytic trafficking, and Alzheimer's disease risk factors in yeast.

Aß (beta-amyloid peptide) is an important contributor to Alzheimer's disease (AD). We modeled Aß toxicity in yeast by directing the peptide to the secretory pathway. A genome-wide screen for toxicity modifiers identified the yeast homolog of phosphatidylinositol binding clathrin assembly protein (PICALM) and other endocytic factors connected to AD whose relationship to Aß was previously unknown. The factors identified in yeast modified Aß toxicity in glutamatergic neurons of Caenorhabditis elegans and in primary rat cortical neurons. In yeast, Aß impaired the endocytic trafficking of a plasma membrane receptor, which was ameliorated by endocytic pathway factors identified in the yeast screen. Thus, links between Aß, endocytosis, and human AD risk factors can be ascertained with yeast as a model system.

Amyloid deposits: protection against toxic protein species?

Neurodegenerative diseases ranging from Alzheimer disease and polyglutamine diseases to transmissible spongiform encephalopathies are associated with the aggregation and accumulation of misfolded proteins. In several cases the intracellular and extracellular protein deposits contain a fibrillar protein species called amyloid. However while amyloid deposits are hallmarks of numerous neurodegenerative diseases, their actual role in disease progression remains unclear. Especially perplexing is the often poor correlation between these deposits and other markers of neurodegeneration. As a result the question remains whether amyloid deposits are the disease-causing species, the consequence of cellular disease pathology or even the result of a protective cellular response to misfolded protein species. Here we highlight studies that suggest that accumulation and sequestration of misfolded protein in amyloid inclusion bodies and plaques can serve a protective function. Furthermore, we discuss how exceeding the cellular capacity for protective deposition of misfolded proteins may contribute to the formation of toxic protein species.

Caenorhabditis elegans functional orthologue of human protein h-mucolipin-1 is required for lysosome biogenesis.

Mucolipidosis type IV (MLIV) is an autosomal recessive lysosomal storage disease characterized by severe psychomotor retardation, achlorhydria, and ophthalmological abnormalities. Cells from several tissues in MLIV patients accumulate large vacuoles that are presumed to be lysosomes, but whose exact nature remains to be determined. Other defects include the deterioration of neuronal integrity in the retina and the cerebellum. MCOLN1, the gene mutated in MLIV patients, encodes a protein called h-mucolipin-1 that has six predicted transmembrane domains and functions as a Ca(2+)-permeable channel that is modulated by changes in Ca2+ concentration. CUP-5 is the Caenorhabditis elegans functional orthologue of h-mucolipin-1. Mutations in cup-5 result in the accumulation of large vacuoles in several cells, in increased cell death, and in embryonic lethality. We demonstrate here that CUP-5 functions in the biogenesis of lysosomes originating from hybrid organelles. We also show that at least two h-mucolipin family members rescue cup-5 mutant endocytic defects, indicating that there may be functional redundancy among the human proteins. Finally, we propose a model that relates the lysosome biogenesis defect in the absence of CUP-5/h-mucolipin-1 to cellular phenotypes in worms and in humans.