Calcineurin contributes to RNAi-mediated transgene silencing and small interfering RNA production in the human fungal pathogen Cryptococcus neoformans.

Adaptation to external environmental challenges at the cellular level requires rapid responses and involves relay of information to the nucleus to drive key gene expression changes through downstream transcription factors. Here, we describe an alternative route of adaptation through a direct role fo...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Published in:Genetics Vol. 226; no. 3; pp. 1 - 13
Main Authors: Yadav, Vikas, Mohan, Riya, Sun, Sheng, Heitman, Joseph
Format: pictorial research tables/charts Journal Article
Published: Oxford University Press / USA Mar2024
Online Access:View this record in EBSCOhost
fields @attributes:
  recordID: 1
pdfLink:
plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ccm&AN=176103845&site=ehost-live
header:
  @attributes:
    shortDbName: ccm
    uiTerm: 176103845
    longDbName: CINAHL Complete
    uiTag: AN
  controlInfo:
    bkinfo:
    dissinfo:
    jinfo:
      jid:
        00166731
        GNT
      jtl: Genetics
      issn: 00166731
      maglogo: N
    pubinfo:
      dt: Mar2024
      vid: 226
      iid: 3
      pid: 622
      pub: Oxford University Press / USA
    artinfo:
      ui:
        176103845
        176103845
        176103845
        10.1093/genetics/iyae010
        176103845
      ppf: 1
      ppct: 12
      formats:
      tig:
        atl: Calcineurin contributes to RNAi-mediated transgene silencing and small interfering RNA production in the human fungal pathogen Cryptococcus neoformans.
      aug:
        au:
          Yadav, Vikas
          Mohan, Riya
          Sun, Sheng
          Heitman, Joseph
        affil: Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, Duke University Medical Center , Durham, NC 27710 , USA
      sug:
        subj:
          Hydrolases Metabolism
          Gene Expression
          Signal Transduction
          RNA, Small Interfering Metabolism
          Epigenomics
          Fungi
          Transcription Factors
          Stress, Physiological
          Adaptation, Physiological
          Genome
          Funding Source
      ab: Adaptation to external environmental challenges at the cellular level requires rapid responses and involves relay of information to the nucleus to drive key gene expression changes through downstream transcription factors. Here, we describe an alternative route of adaptation through a direct role for cellular signaling components in governing gene expression via RNA interference-mediated small RNA production. Calcium–calcineurin signaling is a highly conserved signaling cascade that plays central roles in stress adaptation and virulence of eukaryotic pathogens, including the human fungal pathogen Cryptococcus neoformans. Upon activation in C. neoformans , calcineurin localizes to P-bodies, membraneless organelles that are also the site for RNA processing. Here, we studied the role of calcineurin and its substrates in RNAi-mediated transgene silencing. Our results reveal that calcineurin regulates both the onset and the reversion of transgene silencing. We found that some calcineurin substrates that localize to P-bodies also regulate transgene silencing but in opposing directions. Small RNA sequencing in mutants lacking calcineurin or its targets revealed a role for calcineurin in small RNA production. Interestingly, the impact of calcineurin and its substrates was found to be different in genome-wide analysis, suggesting that calcineurin may regulate small RNA production in C. neoformans through additional pathways. Overall, these findings define a mechanism by which signaling machinery induced by external stimuli can directly alter gene expression to accelerate adaptative responses and contribute to genome defense.
      pubtype: Academic Journal
      doctype:
        pictorial
        research
        tables/charts
        Journal Article
      ougenre: Article
    language: English
    refInfo:
    holdings:
      @attributes:
        islocal: N