The COMPASS Complex Regulates Fungal Development and Virulence through Histone Crosstalk in the Fungal Pathogen Cryptococcus neoformans

The Complex of Proteins Associated with Set1 (COMPASS) methylates lysine K4 on histone H3 (H3K4) and is conserved from yeast to humans. Its subunits and regulatory roles in the meningitis-causing fungal pathogen remain unknown. Here we identified the core subunits of the COMPASS complex in and and c...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of fungi (Basel) 2023-06, Vol.9 (6), p.672
Main Authors: Liu, Ruoyan, Chen, Xiaoyu, Zhao, Fujie, Jiang, Yixuan, Lu, Zhenguo, Ji, Huining, Feng, Yuanyuan, Li, Junqiang, Zhang, Heng, Zheng, Jianting, Zhang, Jing, Zhao, Youbao
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Biosynthesis
Cloning
COMPASS
Cryptococcus neoformans
Genes
Genetic engineering
H2B ubiquitination
H3K4 methylation
Histone H3
Histones
Kinases
Meningitis
Metabolism
Metabolites
Methylation
Morphogenesis
Pathogenesis
Pathogens
Temperature tolerance
Ubiquitination
Virulence
Yeast
yeast-to-hypha transition
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Summary:The Complex of Proteins Associated with Set1 (COMPASS) methylates lysine K4 on histone H3 (H3K4) and is conserved from yeast to humans. Its subunits and regulatory roles in the meningitis-causing fungal pathogen remain unknown. Here we identified the core subunits of the COMPASS complex in and and confirmed their conserved roles in H3K4 methylation. Through AlphaFold modeling, we found that Set1, Bre2, Swd1, and Swd3 form the catalytic core of the COMPASS complex and regulate the cryptococcal yeast-to-hypha transition, thermal tolerance, and virulence. The COMPASS complex-mediated histone H3K4 methylation requires H2B mono-ubiquitination by Rad6/Bre1 and the Paf1 complex in order to activate the expression of genes specific for the yeast-to-hypha transition in . Taken together, our findings demonstrate that putative COMPASS subunits function as a unified complex, contributing to cryptococcal development and virulence.
ISSN:2309-608X
2309-608X
DOI:10.3390/jof9060672