How Does the Enzyme MOF Work as a Molecular Bridge between Epigenetics and Metabolism?

Asifa Akhtar

All cells in our bodies contain the same genetic information. Yet, these cells make up very different parts of the body like liver, heart, and eyes. This is achieved by expressing certain genes and inactivating others. The protein MOF is known to play an important role in this process: DNA does not flow freely in the cell nucleus but is packaged by histone proteins. There, MOF facilitates reading the genetic information encoded in the DNA by modifying the histones. ASIFA AKHTAR describes in this video how the researchers were surprised to find that, in mammals, MOF is not only present in the nucleus but also in the mitochondria, the powerhouse of the cell. To understand which role MOF plays in both locations, the team employed confocal microscopy, biochemistry and genetics to study the effect of removing the protein from the cell. Their findings indicate that MOF controls gene expression both in the nucleus and the mitochondria. This implicates a link between gene expression and metabolism control which might provide a new perspective on how changes in the environment that influence the metabolism can impinge on the expression of genes.

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.21036/LTPUB10375

Researcher

Asifa Akhtar is Director at the Max Planck Institute of Immunobiology and Epigenetics in Freiburg, Germany, heading the Department of Chromatin Regulation. Furthermore, she serves as evaluator for numerous research and funding organizations and works as an editor for well-recognized scientific journals like eLife and PLoS Genetics. Before joining the Max Planck Society as a Max Planck Investigator in 2009, she was a group leader at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg, Germany. Akhtar’s research investigates the influence of chromatin and epigenetic mechanisms on gene expression. For her scientific achievements Akhtar received the European Life Science Organization (ELSO) Early Career Award in 2008 and the Feldberg Prize in 2017. In 2013, she was elected as an EMBO member.

Max Planck Institute of Immunobiology and Epigenetics

The Max Planck Institute of Immunobiology and Epigenetics (MPI-IE) in Freiburg is an interdisciplinary research institution that conducts basic research in two key areas of modern biology. Immunobiology is concerned with the ways multicellular organisms defend themselves against pathogens. We study the evolutionary origins and the development of lymphoid organs and immune effector cells, the function of antigen receptors, and the genetic basis of host-pathogen interactions. This information underpins efforts to better diagnose and treat immunodeficiency and inflammatory diseases. Epigenetics is the study of inheritable traits that are not caused by changes in the underlying DNA sequence. Epigenetic mechanisms are crucial for the organization and utilization of our genetic information. Since the susceptibility to diseases can be promoted by epigenetic dysfunction, epigenetic research has far-reaching implications for diagnosis and therapy of human disease.