Regnase-1 and Roquin Regulate a Common Element in Inflammatory mRNAs by Spatiotemporally Distinct Mechanisms.

Regnase-1 and Roquin are RNA binding proteins essential for degradation of inflammation-related mRNAs and maintenance of immune homeostasis. However, their mechanistic relationship has yet to be clarified. Here, we show that, although Regnase-1 and Roquin regulate an overlapping set of mRNAs via a common stem-loop structure, they function in distinct subcellular locations: ribosome/endoplasmic reticulum and processing-body/stress granules, respectively. Moreover, Regnase-1 specifically cleaves and degrades translationally active mRNAs and requires the helicase activity of UPF1, similar to the decay mechanisms of nonsense mRNAs. In contrast, Roquin controls translationally inactive mRNAs, independent of UPF1. Defects in both Regnase-1 and Roquin lead to large increases in their target mRNAs, although Regnase-1 tends to control the early phase of inflammation when mRNAs are more actively translated. Our findings reveal that differential regulation of mRNAs by Regnase-1 and Roquin depends on their translation status and enables elaborate control of inflammation.

A variety of dicer substrates in human and C. elegans.

The endoribonuclease Dicer is known for its central role in the biogenesis of eukaryotic small RNAs/microRNAs. Despite its importance, Dicer target transcripts have not been directly mapped. Here, we apply biochemical methods to human cells and C. elegans and identify thousands of Dicer-binding sites. We find known and hundreds of additional miRNAs with high sensitivity and specificity. We also report structural RNAs, promoter RNAs, and mitochondrial transcripts as Dicer targets. Interestingly, most Dicer-binding sites reside on mRNAs/lncRNAs and are not significantly processed into small RNAs. These passive sites typically harbor small, Dicer-bound hairpins within intact transcripts and generally stabilize target expression. We show that passive sites can sequester Dicer and reduce microRNA expression. mRNAs with passive sites were in human and worm significantly associated with processing-body/granule function. Together, we provide the first transcriptome-wide map of Dicer targets and suggest conserved binding modes and functions outside of the miRNA pathway.

Nucleome programming is required for the foundation of totipotency in mammalian germline development.

Germ cells are unique in engendering totipotency, yet the mechanisms underlying this capacity remain elusive. Here, we perform comprehensive and in-depth nucleome analysis of mouse germ-cell development in vitro, encompassing pluripotent precursors, primordial germ cells (PGCs) before and after epigenetic reprogramming, and spermatogonia/spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs). Although epigenetic reprogramming, including genome-wide DNA de-methylation, creates broadly open chromatin with abundant enhancer-like signatures, the augmented chromatin insulation safeguards transcriptional fidelity. These insulatory constraints are then erased en masse for spermatogonial development. Notably, despite distinguishing epigenetic programming, including global DNA re-methylation, the PGCs-to-spermatogonia/SSCs development entails further euchromatization. This accompanies substantial erasure of lamina-associated domains, generating spermatogonia/SSCs with a minimal peripheral attachment of chromatin except for pericentromeres-an architecture conserved in primates. Accordingly, faulty nucleome maturation, including persistent insulation and improper euchromatization, leads to impaired spermatogenic potential. Given that PGCs after epigenetic reprogramming serve as oogenic progenitors as well, our findings elucidate a principle for the nucleome programming that creates gametogenic progenitors in both sexes, defining a basis for nuclear totipotency.

Regulation of lymphoid-myeloid lineage bias through regnase-1/3-mediated control of Nfkbiz.

ABSTRACT: Regulation of lineage biases in hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) is pivotal for balanced hematopoietic output. However, little is known about the mechanism behind lineage choice in HSPCs. Here, we show that messenger RNA (mRNA) decay factors regnase-1 (Reg1; Zc3h12a) and regnase-3 (Reg3; Zc3h12c) are essential for determining lymphoid fate and restricting myeloid differentiation in HSPCs. Loss of Reg1 and Reg3 resulted in severe impairment of lymphopoiesis and a mild increase in myelopoiesis in the bone marrow. Single-cell RNA sequencing analysis revealed that Reg1 and Reg3 regulate lineage directions in HSPCs via the control of a set of myeloid-related genes. Reg1- and Reg3-mediated control of mRNA encoding Nfkbiz, a transcriptional and epigenetic regulator, was essential for balancing lymphoid/myeloid lineage output in HSPCs in vivo. Furthermore, single-cell assay for transposase-accessible chromatin sequencing analysis revealed that Reg1 and Reg3 control the epigenetic landscape on myeloid-related gene loci in early stage HSPCs via Nfkbiz. Consistently, an antisense oligonucleotide designed to inhibit Reg1- and Reg3-mediated Nfkbiz mRNA degradation primed hematopoietic stem cells toward myeloid lineages by enhancing Nfkbiz expression. Collectively, the collaboration between posttranscriptional control and chromatin remodeling by the Reg1/Reg3-Nfkbiz axis governs HSPC lineage biases, ultimately dictating the fate of lymphoid vs myeloid differentiation.

Two ovarian candidate enhancers, identified by time series enhancer RNA analyses, harbor rare genetic variations identified in ovarian insufficiency.

The genetic regulation of ovarian development remains largely unclear. Indeed, in most cases of impaired ovarian development-such as 46,XX disorders of sex development (DSD) without SRY, and premature ovarian insufficiency (POI)-the genetic causes have not been identified, and the vast majority of disease-associated sequence variants could lie within non-coding regulatory sequences. In this study, we aimed to identify enhancers of five ovarian genes known to play key roles in early ovarian development, basing our analysis on the expression of enhancer derived transcripts (eRNAs), which are considered to characterize active enhancers. Temporal expression profile changes in mouse WT1-positive ovarian cells were obtained from cap analysis of gene expression at E13.5, E16.5 and P0. We compared the chronological expression profiles of ovarian-specific eRNA with expression profiles for each of the ovarian-specific genes, yielding two candidate sequences for enhancers of Wnt4 and Rspo1. Both sequences are conserved between mouse and human, and we confirmed their enhancer activities using transient expression assays in murine granulosa cells. Furthermore, by sequencing the region in patients with impaired ovarian development in 24 patients, such as POI, gonadal dysgenesis and 46,XX DSD, we identified rare single nucleotide variants in both sequences. Our results demonstrate that combined analysis of the temporal expression profiles of eRNA and mRNA of target genes presents a powerful tool for locating cis-element enhancers, and a means of identifying disease-associated sequence variants that lie within non-coding regulatory sequences, thus advancing an important unmet need in forward human genetics.

The Lupus Autoantigen La Prevents Mis-channeling of tRNA Fragments into the Human MicroRNA Pathway.

The Lupus autoantigen La is an RNA-binding protein that stabilizes RNA polymerase III (Pol III) transcripts and supports RNA folding and has in addition been implicated in the mammalian microRNA (miRNA) pathway. Here, we have analyzed effects of La depletion on Argonaute (Ago)-bound small RNAs in human cells. We find that in the absence of La, distinct tRNA fragments are loaded into Ago proteins. Thus, La functions as gatekeeper ensuring correct tRNA maturation and protecting the miRNA pathway from potentially functional tRNA fragments. However, one specific isoleucin pre-tRNA produces both a functional tRNA and a miRNA even when La is present. We demonstrate that the fully complementary 5' leader and 3' trailer of the pre-tRNA-Ile form a double-stranded RNA molecule that has low affinity to La. Instead, Exportin-5 (Xpo5) recognizes it as miRNA precursor and transports it into the cytoplasm for Dicer processing and Ago loading.

Tertiary Lymphoid Tissues Are Microenvironments with Intensive Interactions between Immune Cells and Proinflammatory Parenchymal Cells in Aged Kidneys.

SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT: Ectopic lymphoid structures called tertiary lymphoid tissues (TLTs) develop in several kidney diseases and are associated with poor renal prognosis. However, the mechanisms underlying TLT expansion and their effect on renal regeneration remain unclear. The authors report that single-nucleus RNA sequencing and validation experiments demonstrate that TLTs potentially amplify inflammation in aged injured kidneys. Lymphocytes within TLTs promote proinflammatory phenotypes of the surrounding proximal tubules and fibroblasts within the TLTs via proinflammatory cytokine production. These proinflammatory parenchymal cells then interact with immune cells by chemokine or cytokine production. Such cell-cell interactions potentially increase inflammation, expand TLTs, and exacerbate kidney injury. These findings help illuminate renal TLT pathology and suggest potential therapeutic targets. BACKGROUND: Ectopic lymphoid structures called tertiary lymphoid tissues (TLTs) develop in several kidney diseases and are associated with poor renal prognosis. However, the mechanisms that expand TLTs and underlie exacerbation of kidney injury remain unclear. METHODS: We performed single-nucleus RNA sequencing (snRNA-seq) on aged mouse kidneys with TLTs after ischemia-reperfusion injury. The results were validated using immunostaining, in situ hybridization of murine and human kidneys, and in vitro experiments. RESULTS: Using snRNA-seq, we identified proinflammatory and profibrotic Vcam1+ injured proximal tubules (PTs) with NF κ B and IFN-inducible transcription factor activation. VCAM1 + PTs were preferentially localized around TLTs and drove inflammation and fibrosis via the production of multiple chemokines or cytokines. Lymphocytes within TLTs expressed Tnf and Ifng at high levels, which synergistically upregulated VCAM1 and chemokine expression in cultured PT cells. In addition, snRNA-seq also identified proinflammatory and profibrotic fibroblasts, which resided within and outside TLTs, respectively. Proinflammatory fibroblasts exhibited STAT1 activation and various chemokine or cytokine production, including CXCL9/CXCL10 and B cell-activating factor, contributing to lymphocyte recruitment and survival. IFN γ upregulated the expression of these molecules in cultured fibroblasts in a STAT1-dependent manner, indicating potential bidirectional interactions between IFN γ -producing CXCR3 + T cells and proinflammatory fibroblasts within TLTs. The cellular and molecular components described in this study were confirmed in human kidneys with TLTs. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that TLTs potentially amplify inflammation by providing a microenvironment that allows intense interactions between renal parenchymal and immune cells. These interactions may serve as novel therapeutic targets in kidney diseases involving TLT formation.

HTLV-1 bZIP factor impairs DNA mismatch repair system.

Adult T-cell leukemia (ATL) is a peripheral T-cell malignancy caused by human T-cell leukemia virus type 1 (HTLV-1). Microsatellite instability (MSI) has been observed in ATL cells. Although MSI results from impaired mismatch repair (MMR) pathway, no null mutations in the genes encoding MMR factors are detectable in ATL cells. Thus, it is unclear whether or not impairment of MMR causes the MSI in ATL cells. HTLV-1 bZIP factor (HBZ) protein interacts with numerous host transcription factors and significantly contributes to disease pathogenesis and progression. Here we investigated the effect of HBZ on MMR in normal cells. The ectopic expression of HBZ in MMR-proficient cells induced MSI, and also suppressed the expression of several MMR factors. We then hypothesized that the HBZ compromises MMR by interfering with a transcription factor, nuclear respiratory factor 1 (NRF-1), and identified the consensus NRF-1 binding site at the promoter of the gene encoding MutS homologue 2 (MSH2), an essential MMR factor. The luciferase reporter assay revealed that NRF-1 overexpression enhanced MSH2 promoter activity, while co-expression of HBZ reversed this enhancement. These results supported the idea that HBZ suppresses the transcription of MSH2 by inhibiting NRF-1. Our data demonstrate that HBZ causes impaired MMR, and may imply a novel oncogenesis driven by HTLV-1.

CAGE-seq reveals that HIV-1 latent infection does not trigger unique cellular responses in a Jurkat T cell model.

The cure for HIV-1 is currently stalled by our inability to specifically identify and target latently infected cells. HIV-1 viral RNA/DNA or viral proteins are recognized by cellular mechanisms and induce interferon responses in virus producing cells, but changes in latently infected cells remain unknown. HIVGKO contains a GFP reporter under the HIV-1 promoter and an mKO2 reporter under the internal EF1α promoter. This viral construct enables direct identification of HIV-1 both productively and latently infected cells. In this study we aim to identify specific cellular transcriptional responses triggered by HIV-1 entry and integration using Cap Analysis of Gene Expression (CAGE).We deep sequenced CAGE tags in uninfected, latently and productively infected cells and compared their differentially expressed transcription start site (TSS) profiles. Virus producing cells had differentially expressed TSSs related to T-cell activation and apoptosis when compared to uninfected cells or latently infected cells. Surprisingly, latently infected cells had only 33 differentially expressed TSSs compared to uninfected cells. Among these, SPP1 and APOE were down-regulated in latently infected cells. SPP1 or APOE knockdown in Jurkat T cells increased susceptibility to HIVGKO infection, suggesting that they have anti-viral properties. Components of the PI3K/mTOR pathway, MLST8, 4EBP and RPS6, were significant TSSs in productively infected cells, and S6K phosphorylation was increased compared to latently infected cells, suggesting that mTOR pathway activity plays a role in establishing the latent reservoir. These findings indicate that HIV-1 entry and integration do not trigger unique transcriptional responses when infection becomes latent.Importance: Latent HIV-1 infection is established as early as the first viral exposure and remains the most important barrier in obtaining the cure for HIV-1 infection. Here, we used CAGE to compare the transcriptional landscape of latently infected cells with that of non-infected or productively infected cells. We found that latently infected cells and non-infected cells show quite similar transcriptional profiles. Our data suggest that T-cells cannot recognize incoming viral components nor the integrated HIV-1 genome when infection remains latent. These findings should guide future research into widening our approaches to identify and target latent HIV-1 infected cells.

Expression of matrix metalloproteinase-3 and -10 is up-regulated in the periodontal tissues of aged mice.

OBJECTIVE: The present study was designed to investigate the whole transcriptome of periodontal tissues of both young and aged mice to identify the characteristic up-regulation of protease genes with aging and to localize their translated protein products in the periodontal tissues. BACKGROUND: The metzincin protease superfamily is composed of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), a disintegrin and metalloproteinases, and a disintegrin and metalloproteinases with thrombospondin motifs. Up-regulation of these extracellular matrix-degrading proteases has been implicated in senescence of tissues and organs, including the skin. However, few studies have investigated the expression profiles of these proteases and potential involvement in aging of periodontal tissues. METHODS: Periodontal tissues with the surrounding mandibular bones were collected from 50- and 10-week-old mice. Total RNA was extracted from the periodontal tissue and analyzed by cap analysis of gene expression (CAGE) to identify differentially expressed genes encoding the metzincin proteases. Furthermore, quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was performed to validate the CAGE results, and the phenotypic expression of proteases involved in aging was localized via immunohistochemical analysis. RESULTS: The CAGE results showed that the expression levels of MMP-3, -10, and -12 were up-regulated at 50 weeks. Subsequent qRT-PCR analysis showed that the gene expression levels of MMP-3 and -10 were significantly increased with age. MMP-10 immunoreactivity was localized exclusively in the cementum and alveolar bone adjacent to the periodontal ligament and was stronger and broader in aged mice than young mice. MMP-3 immunoreactivity was localized in the periodontal ligaments at both 10 and 50 weeks. CONCLUSION: In the present study, we demonstrated that the expression of MMP-3 and -10 increased with aging and identified their characteristic localizations in aged periodontal tissues.

APOBEC3B is preferentially expressed at the G2/M phase of cell cycle.

APOBEC3B (A3B) is a cytosine deaminase that converts cytosine to uracil in single-stranded DNA. Cytosine-to-thymine and cytosine-to-guanine base substitution mutations in trinucleotide motifs (APOBEC mutational signatures) were found in various cancers including lymphoid hematological malignancies such as multiple myeloma and A3B has been shown to be an enzymatic source of mutations in those cancers. Although the importance of A3B is being increasingly recognized, it is unclear how A3B expression is regulated in cancer cells as well as normal cells. To answer these fundamental questions, we analyzed 1276 primary myeloma cells using single-cell RNA-sequencing (scRNA-seq) and found that A3B was preferentially expressed at the G2/M phase, in sharp contrast to the expression patterns of other APOBEC3 genes. Consistently, we demonstrated that A3B protein was preferentially expressed at the G2/M phase in myeloma cells by cell sorting. We also demonstrated that normal blood cells expressing A3B were also enriched in G2/M-phase cells by analyzing scRNA-seq data from 86,493 normal bone marrow mononuclear cells. Furthermore, we revealed that A3B was expressed mainly in plasma cells, CD10+ B cells and erythroid cells, but not in granulocyte-macrophage progenitors. A3B expression profiling in normal blood cells may contribute to understanding the defense mechanism of A3B against viruses, and partially explain the bias of APOBEC mutational signatures in lymphoid but not myeloid malignancies. This study identified the cells and cellular phase in which A3B is highly expressed, which may help reveal the mechanisms behind carcinogenesis and cancer heterogeneity, as well as the biological functions of A3B in normal blood cells.

Codon bias confers stability to human mRNAs.

Codon bias has been implicated as one of the major factors contributing to mRNA stability in several model organisms. However, the molecular mechanisms of codon bias on mRNA stability remain unclear in humans. Here, we show that human cells possess a mechanism to modulate RNA stability through a unique codon bias. Bioinformatics analysis showed that codons could be clustered into two distinct groups-codons with G or C at the third base position (GC3) and codons with either A or T at the third base position (AT3): the former stabilizing while the latter destabilizing mRNA. Quantification of codon bias showed that increased GC3-content entails proportionately higher GC-content. Through bioinformatics, ribosome profiling, and in vitro analysis, we show that decoupling the effects of codon bias reveals two modes of mRNA regulation, one GC3- and one GC-content dependent. Employing an immunoprecipitation-based strategy, we identify ILF2 and ILF3 as RNA-binding proteins that differentially regulate global mRNA abundances based on codon bias. Our results demonstrate that codon bias is a two-pronged system that governs mRNA abundance.

The mRNA-bound proteome and its global occupancy profile on protein-coding transcripts.

Protein-RNA interactions are fundamental to core biological processes, such as mRNA splicing, localization, degradation, and translation. We developed a photoreactive nucleotide-enhanced UV crosslinking and oligo(dT) purification approach to identify the mRNA-bound proteome using quantitative proteomics and to display the protein occupancy on mRNA transcripts by next-generation sequencing. Application to a human embryonic kidney cell line identified close to 800 proteins. To our knowledge, nearly one-third were not previously annotated as RNA binding, and about 15% were not predictable by computational methods to interact with RNA. Protein occupancy profiling provides a transcriptome-wide catalog of potential cis-regulatory regions on mammalian mRNAs and showed that large stretches in 3' UTRs can be contacted by the mRNA-bound proteome, with numerous putative binding sites in regions harboring disease-associated nucleotide polymorphisms. Our observations indicate the presence of a large number of mRNA binders with diverse molecular functions participating in combinatorial posttranscriptional gene-expression networks.

Enhanced Identification of Transcriptional Enhancers Provides Mechanistic Insights into Diseases.

Enhancers are distal cis-regulatory DNA elements that increase the expression of target genes. Various experimental and computational approaches including chromatin signature profiling have been developed to predict enhancers on a genome-wide scale, although each method has its advantages and disadvantages. Here we overview an emerging method to identify transcribed enhancers at exceedingly high nucleotide resolution based on enhancer RNA transcripts captured by Cap Analysis of Gene Expression (CAGE) technology. We further argue that disease-causative regulatory mutations at enhancers are increasingly recognized, emphasizing the importance of enhancer identification in functional and clinical genomics including, but not limited to, genome-wide association studies (GWASs) and cancer genomics studies.

HTLV-1 contains a high CG dinucleotide content and is susceptible to the host antiviral protein ZAP.

BACKGROUND: Human T cell leukaemia virus type 1 (HTLV-1) is a retrovirus associated with human diseases such as adult T-cell leukaemia/lymphoma and HTLV-1 associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis. In contrast to another human retrovirus, human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1), HTLV-1 persists in the host not via vigorous virus production but mainly via proliferation and/or long-term survival in the form of silent proviruses in infected host cells. As a result, HTLV-1-infected cells rarely produce virus particles in vivo even without anti-retroviral treatment. That should be an advantage for the virus to escape from the host immune surveillance by minimizing the expression of viral antigens in host cells. However, why HIV-1 and HTLV-1 behave so differently during natural infection is not fully understood. RESULTS: We performed cap analysis of gene expression (CAGE) using total RNAs and nascent, chromatin-associated, RNAs in the nucleus and found that HTLV-1 RNAs were processed post-transcriptionally in infected cells. RNA processing was evident for the sense viral transcripts but not the anti-sense ones. We also found a higher proportion of CG di-nucleotides in proviral sequences of HTLV-1-infected cells, when compared to the HIV-1 genomic sequence. It has been reported recently that CG dinucleotide content of viral sequence is associated with susceptibility to the antiviral ZC3HAV1 (ZAP), suggesting the involvement of this protein in the regulation of HTLV-1 transcripts. To analyse the effect of ZAP on HTLV-1 transcripts, we over-expressed it in HTLV-1-infected cells. We found there was a dose-dependent reduction in virus production with ZAP expression. We further knocked down endogenous ZAP with two independent targeting siRNAs and observed a significant increase in virus production in the culture supernatant. Other delta-type retroviruses such as simian T-cell leukaemia virus and bovine leukaemia virus, also contain high CG-dinucleotide contents in their viral genomes, suggesting that ZAP-mediated suppression of viral transcripts might be a common feature of delta-type retroviruses, which cause minimal viremia in their natural hosts. CONCLUSIONS: The post-transcriptional regulatory mechanism involving ZAP might allow HTLV-1 to maintain a delicate balance required for prolonged survival in infected individuals.

Genomic Instability of iPSCs and Challenges in Their Clinical Applications.

Generation of human-induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) from somatic cells has opened the possibility to design novel therapeutic approaches. In 2014, the first-in-human clinical trial of iPSC-based therapy was conducted. However, the transplantation for the second patient was discontinued at least in part due to genetic aberrations detected in iPSCs. Moreover, many studies have reported genetic aberrations in iPSCs with the rapid progress in genomic technologies. The presence of genomic instability raises serious safety concerns and can hamper the advancement of iPSC-based therapies. Here, we summarize our current knowledge on genomic instability of iPSCs and challenges in their clinical applications. In view of the recent expansion of stem cell therapies, it is crucial to gain deeper mechanistic insights into the genetic aberrations, ranging from chromosomal aberrations, copy number variations to point mutations. On the basis of their origin, these genetic aberrations in iPSCs can be classified as (i) preexisting mutations in parental somatic cells, (ii) reprogramming-induced mutations, and (iii) mutations that arise during in vitro culture. However, it is still unknown whether these genetic aberrations in iPSCs can be an actual risk factor for adverse effects. Intersection of the genomic data on iPSCs with the patients' clinical follow-up data will help to produce evidence-based criteria for clinical application. Furthermore, we discuss novel approaches to generate iPSCs with fewer genetic aberrations. Better understanding of iPSCs from both basic and clinical aspects will pave the way for iPSC-based therapies.

LARP4B is an AU-rich sequence associated factor that promotes mRNA accumulation and translation.

mRNAs are key molecules in gene expression and subject to diverse regulatory events. Regulation is accomplished by distinct sets of trans-acting factors that interact with mRNAs and form defined mRNA-protein complexes (mRNPs). The resulting "mRNP code" determines the fate of any given mRNA and thus controlling gene expression at the post-transcriptional level. The La-related protein 4B (LARP4B) belongs to an evolutionarily conserved family of RNA-binding proteins characterized by the presence of a La-module implicated in direct RNA binding. Biochemical experiments have shown previously direct interactions of LARP4B with factors of the translation machinery. This finding along with the observation of an association with actively translating ribosomes suggested that LARP4B is a factor contributing to the mRNP code. To gain insight into the function of LARP4B in vivo we tested its mRNA association at the transcriptome level and its impact on the proteome. PAR-CLIP analyses allowed us to identify the in vivo RNA targets of LARP4B. We show that LARP4B binds to a distinct set of cellular mRNAs by contacting their 3' UTRs. Biocomputational analysis combined with in vitro binding assays identified the LARP4B-binding motif on mRNA targets. The reduction of cellular LARP4B levels leads to a marked destabilization of its mRNA targets and consequently their reduced translation. Our data identify LARP4B as a component of the mRNP code that influences the expression of its mRNA targets by affecting their stability.

SecA defects are accompanied by dysregulation of MukB, DNA gyrase, chromosome partitioning and DNA superhelicity in Escherichia coli.

Spatial regulation of nucleoids and chromosome-partitioning proteins is important for proper chromosome partitioning in Escherichia coli. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms are unknown. In the present work, we showed that mutation or chemical perturbation of secretory A (SecA), an ATPase component of the membrane protein translocation machinery, SecY, a component of the membrane protein translocation channel and acyl carrier protein P (AcpP), which binds to SecA and MukB, a functional homologue of structural maintenance of chromosomes protein (SMC), resulted in a defect in chromosome partitioning. We further showed that SecA is essential for proper positioning of the oriC DNA region, decatenation and maintenance of superhelicity of DNA. Genetic interaction studies revealed that the topological abnormality observed in the secA mutant was due to combined inhibitory effects of defects in MukB, DNA gyrase and Topo IV, suggesting a role for the membrane protein translocation machinery in chromosome partitioning and/or structural maintenance of chromosomes.

Morphomics via next-generation electron microscopy.

The living body is composed of innumerable fine and complex structures. Although these structures have been studied in the past, a vast amount of information pertaining to them still remains unknown. When attempting to observe these ultra-structures, the use of electron microscopy (EM) has become indispensable. However, conventional EM settings are limited to a narrow tissue area, which can bias observations. Recently, new trends in EM research have emerged, enabling coverage of far broader, nano-scale fields of view for two-dimensional wide areas and three-dimensional large volumes. Moreover, cutting-edge bioimage informatics conducted via deep learning has accelerated the quantification of complex morphological bioimages. Taken together, these technological and analytical advances have led to the comprehensive acquisition and quantification of cellular morphology, which now arises as a new omics science termed 'morphomics'.