News & Views in 2018

The intertwined structure of the Taf5–Taf6–Taf9 subcomplex is dependent on the chaperonin CCT for its assembly and subsequent integration into the general transcription factor TFIID.

Recent advances in the ability to detect mRNA base modifications have led to a renewed appreciation for the diversity of the epitranscriptome and its ability to influence gene expression. Now, a study in Cell adds acetylated cytidine (ac⁴C) to the list, identifying it as a widespread mark in cellular mRNAs that influences both mRNA stability and translation.

Attempts to develop a method for 3D genome reconstruction of single cells have been frustrated by the inability to distinguish between chromosome homologs. A novel Hi-C workflow uses haplotype imputation to map the nuclear organization of single diploid cells.

The σ₁ receptor, an endoplasmic reticulum–resident transmembrane protein, modulates many physiological and pathological processes and binds multiple drugs, but is nonetheless poorly understood. In a recent issue, Kruse and colleagues illustrate structural differences between agonist- and antagonist-bound receptor and propose that agonist binding may impair oligomerization, making a major step in understanding σ₁ function. They also use a combination of kinetic and molecular dynamic modeling to explain how ligands access the binding pocket.

RNA uridylation offers a basis for diverse post-transcriptional regulation. Two recent studies reveal new roles of uridylation in immune defense against viruses and retrotransposons.

The mechanism underlying CCG-repeat expansions in patients with fragile X premutation is not well understood. Using a new experimental system in mammalian cells, a study in this issue reports that break-induced replication has a role in CGG-repeat instability.

A series of new cryo-EM structures reveals a surprising twist in how the RAG complex initiates V(D)J recombination. The initial complex with substrate DNA adopts two conformations: in one, the DNA is relatively undistorted but the scissile phosphate is far from the active site, and in the other the DNA is partially melted and unwound by half a turn, which allows the scissile phosphate to dock into the active site. Similar pre-catalysis DNA melting may occur with other DDE recombinases, for which equivalent complexes with uncleaved substrate DNA are not yet available.

The effects of RNA secondary structure on translation have been well recognized; however, the global interplay between both in a dynamic cellular system is poorly understood. Beaudoin, Giraldez and colleagues have analyzed RNA structure dynamics during zebrafish embryonic development and have found that the ribosome unzips mRNA secondary structure during translation, thus leading to a global decrease of structure in highly translated transcripts. Furthermore, the authors establish RNA structure in the 3′ untranslated regions of mRNAs as a major regulator of transcript stability in this context.

Under steady-state conditions, the E3 ubiquitin ligase Parkin is localized to the cytosol in an autoinhibited state. Two recent studies describe the mechanism of Parkin activation by phosphorylation via structural rearrangement of the Ubl and RING2 domains, explaining how the RING2 domain is released from the core of Parkin to allow for ubiquitination of its substrates.

In a stress-free environment, the histone binding function of 53BP1 is inhibited by TIRR, but upon DNA damage 53BP1 is recruited to chromatin and promotes DNA repair. New structural studies provide insights into the mechanisms underlying 53BP1 inhibition and activation. TIRR physically blocks the methyl-lysine histone-binding site of Tudors, and RNA binding by TIRR alleviates this block.

Activation signals from GPCRs, the largest receptor family, are transmitted to heterotrimeric G proteins and arrestins, and can be differentially modulated by GPCR phosphorylation. In a recent article, available data, including multiple arrestin structures, are analyzed to decipher common and state-specific conformational changes in arrestins and how these depend on patterns of receptor phosphorylation.

Traditional approaches to covalent drug design postulate that noncovalent binding affinity (K_i) should be in the nanomolar range for the lead compound to be attractive. A study by Hansen et al. suggests that covalent K-Ras inhibitors can have weak noncovalent binding affinity yet have fast chemical reactivity (k_inact), because K-Ras enhances the covalent reactivity of bound inhibitor, similarly to how enzymes activate their substrates.

Recent developments in transcriptome-wide sequencing technologies have enabled the identification of cellular mRNA decay intermediates. Although canonical mRNA decay has been shown to occur by deadenylation followed by decapping and subsequent exonucleolytic decay from both mRNA ends, a study by Mourelatos and colleagues now defines mRNA fragments that are generated on polysomes by endonucleolytic cleavages phased by the associated ribosome.

Inheritance of Polycomb repressive complex 2 (PRC2)-mediated gene silencing involves self-propagation of histone H3 lysine 27 (H3K27) methylation from an initial nucleation site, but how the first H3K27 methylation marks are established is not fully understood. A recent study reveals that PRC2 can reconstitute H3K27 methylation de novo in cells that have lost the mark. This reconstitution is dependent on the PRC2 core component SUZ12, which provides a novel link between initiation and self-propagation of this critical epigenetic mark.

A new study reveals how the oocyte-specific transcription factor TAp63 ensures female germ line fidelity and describes approaches to circumvent premature ovarian insufficiency in women receiving cytotoxic chemotherapy.

Transcripts with highly complementary sequences can target microRNAs (miRNAs) for degradation, but the physiological relevance of target-directed miRNA degradation (TDMD) has remained unclear. Bitetti et al. now identify a conserved vertebrate RNA that induces TDMD in the cerebellum of zebrafish and mouse to promote wild-type animal behaviors.

Nanobodies have emerged as highly versatile and useful binding molecules in biomedical research. A technical report describes a cost- and time-effective in vitro platform that facilitates the generation of desired nanobodies, including conformationally selective nanobodies against agonist-bound G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs).

Chd1 is a highly conserved chromatin remodeler found across all eukaryotic species. A recent study shows the structural changes that take place when yeast Chd1 binds to its nucleosomal substrate and reveals how they relate to remodeler function.