The trimeric coiled-coil HSBP1 protein promotes WASH complex assembly at centrosomes
The Arp2/3 complex generates branched actin networks that exert pushing forces onto different cellular membranes. WASH complexes activate Arp2/3 complexes at the surface of endosomes and thereby fission transport intermediates containing endocytosed receptors, such as α5β1 integrins. How WASH complexes are assembled in the cell is unknown. Here, we identify the small coiled-coil protein HSBP1 as a factor that specifically promotes the assembly of a ternary complex composed of CCDC53, WASH, and FAM21 by dissociating the CCDC53 homotrimeric precursor. HSBP1 operates at the centrosome, which concentrates the buildi...
Source: EMBO Journal - July 2, 2018 Category: Molecular Biology Authors: Visweshwaran, S. P., Thomason, P. A., Guerois, R., Vacher, S., Denisov, E. V., Tashireva, L. A., Lomakina, M. E., Lazennec-Schurdevin, C., Lakisic, G., Lilla, S., Molinie, N., Henriot, V., Mechulam, Y., Alexandrova, A. Y., Cherdyntseva, N. V., Bieche, I., Tags: Cell Adhesion, Polarity & Cytoskeleton, Membrane & Intracellular Transport Articles Source Type: research
How DNA vicinity controls SUMO E3 ligase activity
Little is known about the regulation of SUMO E3 ligases and how they are activated upon stress. New findings from the Reverter and Torres-Rosell laboratories in The EMBO Journal demonstrate that vicinity of preferentially ssDNA activates the SUMO E3 ligase Nse2 when in complex with SMC5-6. (Source: EMBO Journal)
Source: EMBO Journal - June 15, 2018 Category: Molecular Biology Authors: Pichler, A. Tags: DNA Replication, Repair & Recombination, Post-translational Modifications, Proteolysis & Proteomics, Structural Biology News [amp ] Views Source Type: research
Algorithmically outsourcing the detection of statistical errors and other problems
Software to check texts for spelling errors is commonplace, but catching errors of a more technical nature, such as incorrect P-value calculations, is still a manual endeavor. Nonetheless, text-mining technology to catch a growing number of error types within scientific manuscripts has been developed by studies interested in broad, literature-wide surveys. The same algorithms that are now used to retrospectively identify potential errors in published papers can also be used pre-emptively to identify errors before publication. So far, these algorithms have focused on finding errors of commission, such as incorrect calculati...
Source: EMBO Journal - June 15, 2018 Category: Molecular Biology Authors: Wren, J. D. Tags: Methods & Resources, Systems & Computational Biology Commentary Source Type: research
FAM35A associates with REV7 and modulates DNA damage responses of normal and BRCA1-defective cells
To exploit vulnerabilities of tumors, it is urgent to identify associated defects in genome maintenance. One unsolved problem is the mechanism of regulation of DNA double-strand break repair by REV7 in complex with 53BP1 and RIF1, and its influence on repair pathway choice between homologous recombination and non-homologous end-joining. We searched for REV7-associated factors in human cells and found FAM35A, a previously unstudied protein with an unstructured N-terminal region and a C-terminal region harboring three OB-fold domains similar to single-stranded DNA-binding protein RPA, as novel interactor of REV7/RIF1/53BP1. ...
Source: EMBO Journal - June 15, 2018 Category: Molecular Biology Authors: Tomida, J., Takata, K.-i., Bhetawal, S., Person, M. D., Chao, H.-P., Tang, D. G., Wood, R. D. Tags: Cancer, DNA Replication, Repair & Recombination Articles Source Type: research
GTSF-1 is required for formation of a functional RNA-dependent RNA Polymerase complex in Caenorhabditis elegans
We report that GTSF-1 is not required for Piwi-mediated gene silencing. Instead, gtsf-1 mutants show a striking depletion of 26G-RNAs, a class of endogenous sRNAs, fully phenocopying rrf-3 mutants. We show, both in vivo and in vitro, that GTSF-1 interacts with RRF-3 via its CHHC zinc fingers. Furthermore, we demonstrate that GTSF-1 is required for the assembly of a larger RRF-3 and DCR-1-containing complex (ERIC), thereby allowing for 26G-RNA generation. We propose that GTSF-1 homologs may act to drive the assembly of larger complexes that act in sRNA production and/or in imposing sRNA-mediated silencing activiti...
Source: EMBO Journal - June 15, 2018 Category: Molecular Biology Authors: Almeida, M. V., Dietz, S., Redl, S., Karaulanov, E., Hildebrandt, A., Renz, C., Ulrich, H. D., König, J., Butter, F., Ketting, R. F. Tags: Development & Differentiation, RNA Biology Articles Source Type: research
