Time-lapse single-cell transcriptomics reveals modulation of histone H3 for dormancy breaking in fission yeast

Hayato Tsuyuzaki, Masahito Hosokawa, Koji Arikawa, Takuya Yoda, Naoyuki Okada, Haruko Takeyama, Masamitsu Sato*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

7 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

How quiescent cells break dormancy is a key issue in eukaryotic cells including cancer. Fungal spores, for example, remain quiescent for long periods until nourished, although the mechanisms by which dormancy is broken remain enigmatic. Transcriptome analysis could provide a clue, but methods to synchronously germinate large numbers of spores are lacking, and thus it remains a challenge to analyse gene expression upon germination. Hence, we develop methods to assemble transcriptomes from individual, asynchronous spore cells of fission yeast undergoing germination to assess transcriptomic changes over time. The virtual time-lapse analyses highlights one of three copies of histone H3 genes whose transcription fluctuates during the initial stage of germination. Disruption of this temporal fluctuation causes defects in spore germination despite no visible defects in other stages of the life cycle. We conclude that modulation of histone H3 expression is a crucial ‘wake-up’ trigger at dormancy breaking.

Original languageEnglish
Article number1265
JournalNature communications
Volume11
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2020 Dec 1

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Chemistry
  • General Biochemistry,Genetics and Molecular Biology
  • General Physics and Astronomy

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