Inositol pyrophosphates promote MYC polyubiquitination by FBW7 to regulate cell survival.

The transcription factor MYC regulates cell survival and growth, and its level is tightly controlled in normal cells. We report that serine pyrophosphorylation - a posttranslational modification triggered by inositol pyrophosphate signaling molecules - controls MYC levels via regulated protein degradation. We find that endogenous MYC is stabilized and less polyubiquitinated in cells with reduced inositol pyrophosphates. We show that the inositol pyrophosphate 5-IP7 transfers its high-energy beta phosphate moiety to pre-phosphorylated serine residues in the central PEST domain of MYC. Loss of serine pyrophosphorylation in the PEST domain lowers the extent of MYC polyubiquitination and increases its stability. Fusion to the MYC PEST domain lowers the stability of GFP, but this effect is dependent on the extent of PEST domain pyrophosphorylation. The E3 ubiquitin ligase FBW7 can bind directly to the PEST domain of MYC, and this interaction is exclusively dependent on serine pyrophosphorylation. A stabilized, pyrophosphorylation-deficient form of MYC increases cell death during growth stress in untransformed cells. Splenocytes from mice lacking IP6K1, a kinase responsible for the synthesis of 5-IP7, have higher levels of MYC, and show increased cell proliferation in response to mitogens, compared with splenocytes from wild type mice. Thus, control of MYC stability through a novel pyro-phosphodegron provides unexpected insight into the regulation of cell survival in response to environmental cues.

The Landscape of Repetitive Elements in the Refined Genome of Chilli Anthracnose Fungus Colletotrichum truncatum.

The ascomycete fungus Colletotrichum truncatum is a major phytopathogen with a broad host range which causes anthracnose disease of chilli. The genome sequencing of this fungus led to the discovery of functional categories of genes that may play important roles in fungal pathogenicity. However, the presence of gaps in C. truncatum draft assembly prevented the accurate prediction of repetitive elements, which are the key players to determine the genome architecture and drive evolution and host adaptation. We re-sequenced its genome using single-molecule real-time (SMRT) sequencing technology to obtain a refined assembly with lesser and smaller gaps and ambiguities. This enabled us to study its genome architecture by characterising the repetitive sequences like transposable elements (TEs) and simple sequence repeats (SSRs), which constituted 4.9 and 0.38% of the assembled genome, respectively. The comparative analysis among different Colletotrichum species revealed the extensive repeat rich regions, dominated by Gypsy superfamily of long terminal repeats (LTRs), and the differential composition of SSRs in their genomes. Our study revealed a recent burst of LTR amplification in C. truncatum, C. higginsianum, and C. scovillei. TEs in C. truncatum were significantly associated with secretome, effectors and genes in secondary metabolism clusters. Some of the TE families in C. truncatum showed cytosine to thymine transitions indicative of repeat-induced point mutation (RIP). C. orbiculare and C. graminicola showed strong signatures of RIP across their genomes and "two-speed" genomes with extensive AT-rich and gene-sparse regions. Comparative genomic analyses of Colletotrichum species provided an insight into the species-specific SSR profiles. The SSRs in the coding and non-coding regions of the genome revealed the composition of trinucleotide repeat motifs in exons with potential to alter the translated protein structure through amino acid repeats. This is the first genome-wide study of TEs and SSRs in C. truncatum and their comparative analysis with six other Colletotrichum species, which would serve as a useful resource for future research to get insights into the potential role of TEs in genome expansion and evolution of Colletotrichum fungi and for development of SSR-based molecular markers for population genomic studies.

Sirtuin 7 promotes cellular survival following genomic stress by attenuation of DNA damage, SAPK activation and p53 response.

Maintaining the genomic integrity is a constant challenge in proliferating cells. Amongst various proteins involved in this process, Sirtuins play a key role in DNA damage repair mechanisms in yeast as well as mammals. In the present work we report the role of one of the least explored Sirtuin viz., SIRT7, under conditions of genomic stress when treated with doxorubicin. Knockdown of SIRT7 sensitized osteosarcoma (U2OS) cells to DNA damage induced cell death by doxorubicin. SIRT7 overexpression in NIH3T3 delayed cell cycle progression by causing delay in G1 to S transition. SIRT7 overexpressing cells when treated with low dose of doxorubicin (0.25 µM) showed delayed onset of senescence, lesser accumulation of DNA damage marker γH2AX and lowered levels of growth arrest markers viz., p53 and p21 when compared to doxorubicin treated control GFP expressing cells. Resistance to DNA damage following SIRT7 overexpression was also evident by EdU incorporation studies where cellular growth arrest was significantly delayed. When treated with higher dose of doxorubicin (>1 µM), SIRT7 conferred resistance to apoptosis by attenuating stress activated kinases (SAPK viz., p38 and JNK) and p53 response thereby shifting the cellular fate towards senescence. Interestingly, relocalization of SIRT7 from nucleolus to nucleoplasm together with its co-localization with SAPK was an important feature associated with DNA damage. SIRT7 mediated resistance to doxorubicin induced apoptosis and senescence was lost when p53 level was restored by nutlin treatment. Overall, we propose SIRT7 attenuates DNA damage, SAPK activation and p53 response thereby promoting cellular survival under conditions of genomic stress.