Conserved gene regulatory function of the carboxy-terminal domain of dictyostelid C-module-binding factor.
C-module-binding factor A (CbfA) is a jumonji-type transcription regulator that is important for maintaining the expression and mobility of the retrotransposable element TRE5-A in the social amoeba Dictyostelium discoideum. CbfA-deficient cells have lost TRE5-A retrotransposition, are impaired in the ability to feed on bacteria, and do not enter multicellular development because of a block in cell aggregation. In this study, we performed Illumina RNA-seq of growing CbfA mutant cells to obtain a list of CbfA-regulated genes. We demonstrate that the carboxy-terminal domain of CbfA alone is sufficient to mediate most CbfA-dependent gene expression. The carboxy-terminal domain of CbfA from the distantly related social amoeba Polysphondylium pallidum restored the expression of CbfA-dependent genes in the D. discoideum CbfA mutant, indicating a deep conservation in the gene regulatory function of this domain in the dictyostelid clade. The CbfA-like protein CbfB displays ∼25% sequence identity with CbfA in the amino-terminal region, which contains a JmjC domain and two zinc finger regions and is thought to mediate chromatin-remodeling activity. In contrast to CbfA proteins, where the carboxy-terminal domains are strictly conserved in all dictyostelids, CbfB proteins have completely unrelated carboxy-terminal domains. Outside the dictyostelid clade, CbfA-like proteins with the CbfA-archetypical JmjC/zinc finger arrangement and individual carboxy-terminal domains are prominent in filamentous fungi but are not found in yeasts, plants, and metazoans. Our data suggest that two functional regions of the CbfA-like proteins evolved at different rates to allow the occurrence of species-specific adaptation processes during genome evolution.
Department of Pharmaceutical Biology, Institute of Pharmacy, University of Jena, Jena, Germany.
Anika
A
Schmith
Marco
M
Groth
Josephine
J
Ratka
Sara
S
Gatz
Thomas
T
Spaller
Oliver
O
Siol
Gernot
G
Glöckner
Thomas
T
Winckler
D001483:Base Sequence; D017124:Conserved Sequence; D004023:Dictyostelium / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D017125:Genes, Protozoan; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009154:Mutation; D010802:Phylogeny; D017434:Protein Structure, Tertiary; D015800:Protozoan Proteins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D017423:Sequence Analysis, RNA; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D014158:Transcription, Genetic; D059467:Transcriptome
D015800:Protozoan Proteins; D014157:Transcription Factors