title: Insights into SAGA function during gene expression.
abstract: Histone modifications are a crucial source of epigenetic control. SAGA (Spt-Ada-Gcn5 acetyltransferase) is a chromatin-modifying complex that contains two distinct enzymatic activities, Gcn5 and Ubp8, through which it acetylates and deubiquitinates histone residues, respectively, thereby enforcing a pattern of modifications that is decisive in regulating gene expression. Here, I discuss the latest contributions to understanding the roles of the SAGA complex, highlighting the characterization of the SAGA-deubiquitination module, and emphasizing the functions newly ascribed to SAGA during transcription elongation and messenger-RNA export. These findings suggest that a crosstalk exists between chromatin remodelling, transcription and messenger-RNA export, which could constitute a checkpoint for accurate gene expression. I focus particularly on the new components of human SAGA, which was recently discovered and confirms the conservation of the SAGA complex throughout evolution.
authors.affiliation: Centro de Investigación Príncipe Felipe (CIPF), Valencia, Spain. srodriguez@cipf.es
authors.forename: Susana
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rodríguez-Navarro
mesh_terms: D000123:Acetyltransferases / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D000818:Animals; D042002:Chromatin Assembly and Disassembly / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D010450:Endopeptidases / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008954:Models, Biological; D014158:Transcription, Genetic / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D050880:p300-CBP Transcription Factors / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D000123:Acetyltransferases; D050880:p300-CBP Transcription Factors; D010450:Endopeptidases