RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Evolutionary plasticity in the innate immune function of Akirin
JF bioRxiv
FD Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
SP 230102
DO 10.1101/230102
A1 Jolanta Polanowska
A1 Jia-Xuan Chen
A1 Julien Soulé
A1 Shizue Omi
A1 Jerome Belougne
A1 Clara Taffoni
A1 Nathalie Pujol
A1 Matthias Selbach
A1 Olivier Zugasti
A1 Jonathan J. Ewbank
YR 2017
UL http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2017/12/06/230102.abstract
AB Eukaryotic gene expression requires the coordinated action of transcription factors, chromatin remodelling complexes and RNA polymerase. The conserved nuclear protein Akirin plays a central role in immune gene expression in insects and mammals, linking the SWI/SNF chromatin-remodelling complex with the transcription factor NFκB. Although nematodes lack NFκB, Akirin is also indispensable for the expression of defence genes in the epidermis of Caenorhabditis elegans following natural fungal infection. Through a combination of reverse genetics and biochemistry, we discovered that in C. elegans Akirin has conserved its role of bridging chromatin-remodellers and transcription factors, but that the identity of its functional partners is different since it forms a physical complex with NuRD proteins and the POU-class transcription factor CEH-18. In addition to providing a substantial step forward in our understanding of innate immune gene regulation in C. elegans, our results give insight into the molecular evolution of lineage-specific signalling pathways.