The chromatin remodeling protein CHD-1 and the EFL-1/DPL-1 transcription factor cooperatively down regulate CDK-2 to control SAS-6 levels and centriole number

PLoS Genet. 2022 Apr 4;18(4):e1009799. doi: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1009799. eCollection 2022 Apr.

Abstract

Centrioles are submicron-scale, barrel-shaped organelles typically found in pairs, and play important roles in ciliogenesis and bipolar spindle assembly. In general, successful execution of centriole-dependent processes is highly reliant on the ability of the cell to stringently control centriole number. This in turn is mainly achieved through the precise duplication of centrioles during each S phase. Aberrations in centriole duplication disrupt spindle assembly and cilia-based signaling and have been linked to cancer, primary microcephaly and a variety of growth disorders. Studies aimed at understanding how centriole duplication is controlled have mainly focused on the post-translational regulation of two key components of this pathway: the master regulatory kinase ZYG-1/Plk4 and the scaffold component SAS-6. In contrast, how transcriptional control mechanisms might contribute to this process have not been well explored. Here we show that the chromatin remodeling protein CHD-1 contributes to the regulation of centriole duplication in the C. elegans embryo. Specifically, we find that loss of CHD-1 or inactivation of its ATPase activity can restore embryonic viability and centriole duplication to a strain expressing insufficient ZYG-1 activity. Interestingly, loss of CHD-1 is associated with increases in the levels of two ZYG-1-binding partners: SPD-2, the centriole receptor for ZYG-1 and SAS-6. Finally, we explore transcriptional regulatory networks governing centriole duplication and find that CHD-1 and a second transcription factor, EFL-1/DPL-1 cooperate to down regulate expression of CDK-2, which in turn promotes SAS-6 protein levels. Disruption of this regulatory network results in the overexpression of SAS-6 and the production of extra centrioles.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Intramural
  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Caenorhabditis elegans / metabolism
  • Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins* / genetics
  • Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins* / metabolism
  • Cell Cycle Proteins / genetics
  • Centrioles* / genetics
  • Centrioles* / metabolism
  • Chromatin Assembly and Disassembly / genetics
  • Protein Kinases / genetics
  • Transcription Factors / genetics
  • Transcription Factors / metabolism

Substances

  • Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins
  • Cell Cycle Proteins
  • SAS-6 protein, C elegans
  • Transcription Factors
  • Protein Kinases
  • zyg-1 protein, C elegans