Name: high-throughput screening for protein-based inheritance in s. cerevisiae
Uploaded: 2017-08-08T14:00:00
Description: Watch this Scientific Journal Video about High-throughput Screening for Protein-based Inheritance in S. cerevisiae at JoVE.com

We thank Sohini Chakrabortee, Sandra Jones, David Garcia, Bhupinder Bhullar, Amelia Chang, Richard She, and Susan Lindquist for their assistance in developing the assays used in this paper, as well as the reviewers for their thoughtful comments.

1. Initial Overexpression
<ol>
	<li>Transform the yeast cells (in this case, BY4741 MAT a haploids) previously grown in YPD liquid (10 g of yeast extract, 20 g of peptone, and 20 g of glucose per 1 L) with the desired candidate constructs from the FLEXGene ORFeome library (yeast ORFs under the control of a galactose-inducible promoter in the URA3-marked centromericplasmid backbone, pBY01129).</li>
	<li>Use autoclaved toothpicks to pick four separate colonies from these...

<ol>
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Y., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Prion-inducing+domain+2-114+of+yeast+Sup35+protein+transforms+in+vitro+into+amyloid-like+filaments.">Prion-inducing domain 2-114 of yeast Sup35 protein transforms in vitro into amyloid-like filaments.</a> Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 94 (13), 6618-6622 (1997).</li><li>Shorter, J., Lindquist, S. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Hsp104+catalyzes+formation+and+elimination+of+self-replicating+Sup35+prion+conformers.">Hsp104 catalyzes formation and elimination of self-replicating Sup35 prion conformers.</a> Science. 304 (5678), 1793-1797 (2004).</li><li>Ferreira, P. C., Ness, F., Edwards, S. R., Cox, B. S., Tuite, M. 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The first yeast prions were identified by their unusual phenotypes and perplexing patterns of inheritance. The characteristics of these prions were then used to build algorithms and computational tools to screen for additional prion proteins. The method described here, in contrast, is experimental and relies on transient overexpression to create a lasting change-a stable state-encoded in protein conformation. However, if the efficiency of &#34;seeding&#34; prion assembly by overexpression for any given protein is very lo...

Biological systems frequently experience transient fluctuations in protein abundance. Whether these have a lasting impact in shaping the phenotype of an organism or of future generations remains unclear. The best-known instances of this biology involve a rare class of proteins, prions, which drive the emergence of heritable traits without genome modification. Instead, these proteinaceous and infectious particles transmit phenotypes via self-perpetuating changes to protein conformation1,2. This type of inheritance was discovered as the cause of the unusual inheritance patterns of a devastating neurodegenerative disease. However, studies in organisms ranging from fungi to mammals3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10 have since revealed that prion-like elements can confer adaptive value. Nonetheless, prions have been viewed as a fascinating but rare biological oddity.
This prevailing wisdom is in part held because the characterization of protein-based inheritance has long been restricted by a small set of examples. Recent systematic screening efforts have widened this picture significantly by identifying several new bona fide prions11 and almost two dozen protein domains12 with the capacity to fuel prion-like conformational conversion. However, because these approaches have generally focused on strong amino acid sequence biases, the prions that have been discovered share the biochemical properties of the founding yeast prions [PSI+]13,14, [URE3]15, and [RNQ+]11,16. These include: 1) modular domains that are rich in long polymeric stretches of asparagine (N) and glutamine (Q), 2) assembly into an amyloid [PRION+] conformation17,18,19, and 3) complete reliance on disaggregase Hsp104 function for faithful propagation from mother to daughter13,20,21. Indeed, many bona fide prions, including [GAR+], [Het-s], and even the original prion (PrPSc), would be missed under such stringent criteria. Perhaps more importantly, they would be unable to capture any novel mechanisms of protein-based inheritance22. Thus, the true biological breadth of such phenomena may be far more common in nature than previously assumed.
To investigate this question, a high-throughput, proteome-wide strategy was employed. A hallmark of all prions, including PrPSc, [GAR+], and [Het-s], is that the transient overexpression of the causal proteins strongly increases the rate of prion acquisition15,23,24,25,26. We took advantage of this feature to systematically ask, across the entire yeast ORFeome, if stable protein-based, epigenetic states could be initiated by transiently inducing the overexpression of individual proteins. It is well known that protein overexpression can alter phenotypes27. However, prion proteins are unusual because their temporary overproduction produces a change in phenotype that is heritable for many hundreds of generations after the initial overexpression. We previously took advantage of this feature, as well as the unusual inheritance patterns of protein-based genetic elements, to identify dozens of proteins that are capable of heritably re-wiring phenotypic landscapes without altering the genome28. Although some identified proteins were previously known as prions, most were not, underscoring the power of this approach to uncover new forms of protein-based inheritance.

<table width="958">
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		<col />
		<col />
	</colgroup>
	<tbody>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="width:356px;height:21px;">Guanidine hydrochloride</td>
			<td style="width:299px;">Sigma</td>
			<td style="width:125px;">Cat#G3272-25G</td>
			<td style="width:179px;">Chemical</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">Manganese chloride</td>
			<td>Sigma</td>
			<td>Cat#M8054-100G</td>
			<td>Chemical</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">Ethidium bromide</td>
			<td>Sigma</td>
			<td>E1510</td>
			<td>Chemical</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">5-Fluoroorotic Acid</td>
			<td>Sigma</td>
			<td>Cat#F5013-50MG</td>
			<td>Chemical</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">BY4741 MATa (his3&#916;1 leu2&#916;0 LYS2 met15&#916;0 ura3&#916;0)</td>
			<td>Winston et al., 1995; Brachmann et al., 1998</td>
			<td>N/A</td>
			<td>Yeast strain</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">BY4741 MAT&#945; (his3&#916;1 leu2&#916;0 lys2&#916;0 MET15 ura3&#916;0)</td>
			<td>Winston et al., 1995; Brachmann et al., 1998</td>
			<td>N/A</td>
			<td>Yeast strain</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">Hsp70 (K69M)&#160;</td>
			<td>Jarosz et al., 2014b</td>
			<td>N/A</td>
			<td>Plasmid</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">FLEXGene library</td>
			<td>Hu et al., 2007</td>
			<td>N/A</td>
			<td>Plasmid library</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">Dextrose (glucose)</td>
			<td>Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>D16-3</td>
			<td>Media component</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">Raffinose</td>
			<td>Sigma</td>
			<td>R0250-25G</td>
			<td>Media component</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">Galactose</td>
			<td>Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>BP656-500</td>
			<td>Media component</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">CSM</td>
			<td>Sunrise Science</td>
			<td>1001-100</td>
			<td>Media component</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">CSM-URA</td>
			<td>Sunrise Science</td>
			<td>1004-100</td>
			<td>Media component</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">CSM-LYS</td>
			<td>Sunrise Science</td>
			<td>1032-100</td>
			<td>Media component</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">CSM-MET</td>
			<td>Sunrise Science</td>
			<td>1019-100</td>
			<td>Media component</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">CSM-LYS-MET</td>
			<td>Sunrise Science</td>
			<td>1035-100</td>
			<td>Media component</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">yeast extract</td>
			<td>Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>BP1422-2</td>
			<td>Media component</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">peptone</td>
			<td>Research Products International</td>
			<td>P20240-5000</td>
			<td>Media component</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">bacto-peptone</td>
			<td>BD</td>
			<td align="right">211677</td>
			<td>Media component</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">glycerol</td>
			<td>EMD Millipore</td>
			<td>GX0185-2</td>
			<td>Media component</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">yeast nitrogen base w/o amino acids</td>
			<td>BD</td>
			<td align="right">291920</td>
			<td>Media component</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">agar</td>
			<td>IBI Scientific</td>
			<td>IB49172</td>
			<td>Media component</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">Adenine sulfate</td>
			<td>Sigma</td>
			<td>A3159-25G</td>
			<td>Media component</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">Potassium acetate</td>
			<td>Sigma</td>
			<td>P1190-500G</td>
			<td>Media component</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">Uracil</td>
			<td>Sigma</td>
			<td>U0750-100G</td>
			<td>Media component</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">Histidine</td>
			<td>Sigma</td>
			<td>H8000-100G</td>
			<td>Media component</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">Leucine</td>
			<td>Sigma</td>
			<td>L8000-25G</td>
			<td>Media component</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">Lysine</td>
			<td>Sigma</td>
			<td>L5501-25G</td>
			<td>Media component</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">RNase I&#160;</td>
			<td>Thermo Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>EN0601</td>
			<td>Enzyme</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">biotinylated DNase</td>
			<td>Thermo Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>AM1906</td>
			<td>Enzyme</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">zymolyase 100T (yeast lytic enzyme)</td>
			<td>Sunrise Science</td>
			<td>N0766555</td>
			<td>Enzyme</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">Microplate reader</td>
			<td>BioTek</td>
			<td>Synergy H1</td>
			<td>Equipment</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">Microplate stacker</td>
			<td>BioTek</td>
			<td>BioStack3</td>
			<td>Equipment</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">Plate filler</td>
			<td>BiotTek</td>
			<td>EL406</td>
			<td>Equipment</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">Liquid handling robot</td>
			<td>Beckman Coulter</td>
			<td>Biomek FX</td>
			<td>Equipment</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

high-throughput screening for protein-based inheritance in s. cerevisiae

The encoding of biological information that is accessible to future generations is generally achieved via changes to the DNA sequence. Long-lived inheritance encoded in protein conformation (rather than sequence) has long been viewed as paradigm-shifting but rare. The best characterized examples of such epigenetic elements are prions, which possess a self-assembling behavior that can drive the heritable manifestation of new phenotypes. Many archetypal prions display a striking N/Q-rich sequence bias and assemble into an amyloid fold. These unusual features have informed most screening efforts to identify new prion proteins. However, at least three known prions (including the founding prion, PrPSc) do not harbor these biochemical characteristics. We therefore developed an alternative method to probe the scope of protein-based inheritance based on a property of mass action: the transient overexpression of prion proteins increases the frequency at which they acquire a self-templating conformation. This paper describes a method for analyzing the capacity of the yeast ORFeome to elicit protein-based inheritance. Using this strategy, we previously found that &gt;1% of yeast proteins could fuel the emergence of biological traits that were long-lived, stable, and arose more frequently than genetic mutation. This approach can be employed in high throughput across entire ORFeomes or as a targeted screening paradigm for specific genetic networks or environmental stimuli. Just as forward genetic screens define numerous developmental and signaling pathways, these techniques provide a methodology to investigate the influence of protein-based inheritance in biological processes.

Protein overexpression is known to dramatically alter cellular phenotypes27. Indeed, with an initial screening approach, hundreds of new phenotypes were reproducibly recovered from the overexpression of clones from the yeast ORFeome using just ten stressors. However, the assays described above allow for the assessment of whether cells retain any long-term stable phenotypes following this overexpression. One protein capable of encoding such a state is Psp1. Psp1 is ...

Watch this Scientific Journal Video about High-throughput Screening for Protein-based Inheritance in S. cerevisiae at JoVE.com

High-throughput Screening for Protein-based Inheritance in S. cerevisiae

This protocol describes a high-throughput methodology to functionally screen for protein-based inheritance in S. cerevisiae.

High-throughput Screening for Protein-based Inheritance in S. cerevisiae

The encoding of biological information that is accessible to future generations is generally achieved via changes to the DNA sequence. Long-lived ...

Research

JoVE Journal

Biology

Assay for Adhesion and Agar Invasion in S. cerevisiae

Yeasts are found in natural biofilms, where many microorganisms colonize surfaces. In artificial environments, such as surfaces of man-made objects, ...

A high-throughput method to globally study the organelle morphology in S. cerevisiae

High-throughput methods to examine protein localization or organelle morphology is an effective tool for studying protein interactions and can help ...

Identification of protein complexes with quantitative proteomics in S. cerevisiae

Lipids are the building blocks of cellular membranes that function as barriers and in compartmentalization of cellular processes, and recently, as ...

High-throughput Screening and Biosensing with Fluorescent C. elegans Strains

High-throughput Screening and Biosensing with Fluorescent C. elegans Strains

High-throughput screening (HTS) is a powerful approach for identifying chemical modulators of biological processes.  However, many compounds identified in ...

High Throughput Screening of Fungal Endoglucanase Activity in Escherichia coli

High Throughput Screening of Fungal Endoglucanase Activity in Escherichia coli

Cellulase enzymes (endoglucanases, cellobiohydrolases, and &beta;-glucosidases) hydrolyze cellulose into component sugars, which in turn can be converted ...

Flow Cytometry-based Purification of S. cerevisiae Zygotes

Flow Cytometry-based Purification of S. cerevisiae Zygotes

Zygotes are essential intermediates between haploid and diploid states in the life cycle of many organisms, including yeast (Figure 1) 1. S. cerevisiae ...

High-throughput Screening for Small-molecule Modulators of Inward Rectifier Potassium Channels

Specific members of the inward rectifier potassium (Kir) channel family are postulated drug targets for a variety of disorders, including hypertension, ...

High-throughput Functional Screening using a Homemade Dual-glow Luciferase Assay

We present a rapid and inexpensive high-throughput screening protocol to identify transcriptional regulators of alpha-synuclein, a gene associated with ...

High Throughput Quantitative Expression Screening and Purification Applied to Recombinant Disulfide-rich Venom Proteins Produced in E. coli

High Throughput Quantitative Expression Screening and Purification Applied to Recombinant Disulfide-rich Venom Proteins Produced in E. coli

Escherichia coli (E. coli) is the most widely used expression system for the production of recombinant proteins for structural and functional studies. ...

High-throughput Screening for Chemical Modulators of Post-transcriptionally Regulated Genes

Both transcriptional and post-transcriptional regulation have a profound impact on genes expression. However, commonly adopted cell-based screening assays ...