Moonlighting transcriptional activation function of a fungal sulfur metabolism enzyme

Sci Rep. 2016 Apr 28:6:25165. doi: 10.1038/srep25165.

Abstract

Moonlighting proteins, including metabolic enzymes acting as transcription factors (TF), are present in a variety of organisms but have not been described in higher fungi so far. In a previous genome-wide analysis of the TF repertoire of the plant-symbiotic fungus Tuber melanosporum, we identified various enzymes, including the sulfur-assimilation enzyme phosphoadenosine-phosphosulfate reductase (PAPS-red), as potential transcriptional activators. A functional analysis performed in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, now demonstrates that a specific variant of this enzyme, PAPS-red A, localizes to the nucleus and is capable of transcriptional activation. TF moonlighting, which is not present in the other enzyme variant (PAPS-red B) encoded by the T. melanosporum genome, relies on a transplantable C-terminal polypeptide containing an alternating hydrophobic/hydrophilic amino acid motif. A similar moonlighting activity was demonstrated for six additional proteins, suggesting that multitasking is a relatively frequent event. PAPS-red A is sulfur-state-responsive and highly expressed, especially in fruitbodies, and likely acts as a recruiter of transcription components involved in S-metabolism gene network activation. PAPS-red B, instead, is expressed at low levels and localizes to a highly methylated and silenced region of the genome, hinting at an evolutionary mechanism based on gene duplication, followed by epigenetic silencing of this non-moonlighting gene variant.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Ascomycota / genetics*
  • Ascomycota / metabolism*
  • Genes, Essential*
  • Oxidoreductases / metabolism*
  • Sulfur / metabolism*
  • Transcription Factors / metabolism*
  • Transcriptional Activation*

Substances

  • Transcription Factors
  • Sulfur
  • Oxidoreductases