Nuclear Functions of KaeA, a Subunit of the KEOPS Complex in <i>Aspergillus nidulans</i>

Kae1 is a subunit of the highly evolutionarily conserved KEOPS/EKC complex, which is involved in universal (t6A<sub>37</sub>) tRNA modification. Several reports have discussed the participation of this complex in transcription regulation in yeast and human cells, including our previous o...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Joanna Gawlik, Michal Koper, Albert Bogdanowicz, Piotr Weglenski, Agnieszka Dzikowska
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2022-09-01
Series:International Journal of Molecular Sciences
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/23/19/11138
Description
Summary:Kae1 is a subunit of the highly evolutionarily conserved KEOPS/EKC complex, which is involved in universal (t6A<sub>37</sub>) tRNA modification. Several reports have discussed the participation of this complex in transcription regulation in yeast and human cells, including our previous observations of KaeA, an <i>Aspergillus nidulans</i> homologue of Kae1p. The aim of this project was to confirm the role of KaeA in transcription, employing high-throughput transcriptomic (RNA-Seq and ChIP-Seq) and proteomic (LC-MS) analysis. We confirmed that KaeA is a subunit of the KEOPS complex in <i>A. nidulans.</i> An analysis of <i>kaeA19</i> and <i>kaeA25</i> mutants showed that, although the (t6A<sub>37</sub>) tRNA modification is unaffected in both mutants, they reveal significantly altered transcriptomes compared to the wild type. The finding that KaeA is localized in chromatin and identifying its protein partners allows us to postulate an additional nuclear function for the protein. Our data shed light on the universal bi-functional role of this factor and proves that the activity of this protein is not limited to tRNA modification in cytoplasm, but also affects the transcriptional activity of a number of nuclear genes. Data are available via the NCBI’s GEO database under identifiers GSE206830 (RNA-Seq) and GSE206874 (ChIP-Seq), and via ProteomeXchange with identifier PXD034554 (proteomic).
ISSN:1661-6596
1422-0067