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Intrinsically Disordered Proteins Drive Emergence and Inheritance of Biological Traits.

Cell | 2016

Prions are a paradigm-shifting mechanism of inheritance in which phenotypes are encoded by self-templating protein conformations rather than nucleic acids. Here, we examine the breadth of protein-based inheritance across the yeast proteome by assessing the ability of nearly every open reading frame (ORF; ∼5,300 ORFs) to induce heritable traits. Transient overexpression of nearly 50 proteins created traits that remained heritable long after their expression returned to normal. These traits were beneficial, had prion-like patterns of inheritance, were common in wild yeasts, and could be transmitted to naive cells with protein alone. Most inducing proteins were not known prions and did not form amyloid. Instead, they are highly enriched in nucleic acid binding proteins with large intrinsically disordered domains that have been widely conserved across evolution. Thus, our data establish a common type of protein-based inheritance through which intrinsically disordered proteins can drive the emergence of new traits and adaptive opportunities.

Pubmed ID: 27693355 RIS Download

Associated grants

  • Agency: NIGMS NIH HHS, United States
    Id: F32 GM109680
  • Agency: NHGRI NIH HHS, United States
    Id: T32 HG000044
  • Agency: NIGMS NIH HHS, United States
    Id: DP2 GM119140
  • Agency: NIGMS NIH HHS, United States
    Id: T32 GM007790
  • Agency: NIGMS NIH HHS, United States
    Id: R00 GM098600

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SGD (tool)

RRID:SCR_004694

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RRID:SCR_005476

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