title: Heterochromatin aggregation during DNA elimination in Tetrahymena is facilitated by a prion-like protein.
abstract: Regulated aggregations of prion and prion-like proteins play physiological roles in various biological processes. However, their structural roles in the nucleus are poorly understood. Here, we show that the prion-like protein Jub6p is involved in the regulation of chromatin structure in the ciliated protozoan Tetrahymena thermophila Jub6p forms sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)-resistant aggregates when it is ectopically expressed in vegetative cells and binds to RNA in vitro Jub6p is a heterochromatin component and is important for the formation of heterochromatin bodies during the process of programmed DNA elimination. We suggest that RNA-protein aggregates formed by Jub6p are an essential architectural component for the assembly of heterochromatin bodies.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Molecular Biotechnology of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (IMBA), Dr Bohr-Gasse 3, Vienna A-1030, Austria.
authors.forename: Kensuke
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kataoka
authors.affiliation: Institute of Molecular Biotechnology of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (IMBA), Dr Bohr-Gasse 3, Vienna A-1030, Austria kazufumi.mochizuki@igh.cnrs.fr.|Institute of Human Genetics (IGH), CNRS UPR1142, 141 rue de la Cardonille, Montpellier Cedex 5 34396, France.
authors.forename: Kazufumi
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-7987-9852
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Mochizuki
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001681:Biological Assay; D004247:DNA / Q000378:metabolism*; D006570:Heterochromatin / Q000378:metabolism*; D010766:Phosphorylation; D011328:Prions / Q000378:metabolism*; D066329:Protein Aggregates; D011485:Protein Binding; D000072417:Protein Domains; D015800:Protozoan Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D012313:RNA / Q000378:metabolism; D016808:Tetrahymena thermophila / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D006570:Heterochromatin; D011328:Prions; D066329:Protein Aggregates; D015800:Protozoan Proteins; D012313:RNA; D004247:DNA
keywords: DNA elimination; Heterochromatin; Heterochromatin body; Prion; Tetrahymena