The function of YEATS domain proteins in S. cerevisiae

在真核生物中，DNA被包装成由DNA、组蛋白和非组蛋白组成的核蛋白结构。DNA在染色质中的包装对于基因表达的调控和染色体的稳定性是重要的。染色质结构可以通过在组蛋白上添加翻译后修饰来调节，包括乙酰化、甲基化、磷酸化和泛素化。然而，尽管经过了几十年的研究，人们对这些组蛋白修饰的功能后果知之甚少。目前公认的假设是组蛋白翻译后修饰作为“信标”来招募修饰染色质结构的“效应”蛋白。然而，到目前为止，这些效应蛋白很少被鉴定出来。我们最近检测到含有YEATS （Yaf9-ENL-AF9-Taf14-Sas5）结构域的蛋白Yaf9p的染色质结合活性。含有YEATS结构域的蛋白质是多种染色质修饰复合物的组成部分，我们对确定这些蛋白质是否特异性识别翻译后修饰的组蛋白感兴趣。利用遗传学和生物化学方法的结合，我们将表征模式生物酿酒酵母中yeats结构域蛋白与染色质的相互作用。确定这些蛋白的功能将使我们了解组蛋白修饰如何调节染色质结构。

In eukaryotes DNA is packaged into a nucleoprotein structure consisting of DNA, histones, and non-histone proteins. The packing of DNA into chromatin is important for the regulation of gene expression and for chromosome stability. Chromatin structure can be regulated by the addition of post-translational modifications to histones, including acetylation, methylation, phosphorylation, and ubiquitination. However, despite several decades of study, little is known regarding the functional consequences of these histone modifications. The current accepted hypothesis is that histone post-translational modifications serve as "beacons" to recruit "effector" proteins that modify chromatin structure. However, to date, few of these effector proteins have been identified. We have recently detected chromatin-binding activity in Yaf9p, a YEATS (Yaf9-ENL-AF9-Taf14-Sas5) domain-containing protein. Proteins containing YEATS domains are components of multiple chromatin modifying complexes, and we are interested in determining whether these proteins specifically recognize post-translationally modified histones. Using a combination of genetic and biochemical approaches we will characterize the interaction of the YEATS-domain proteins with chromatin in the model organism, Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Determining the function of these proteins will enable us to understand how histone modifications can regulate chromatin structure.