News

New publication from the Ulrich lab on the Ubiquiton— An inducible, linkage-specific polyubiquitylation tool

Renz C, Asimaki E, Meister C, Albanèse V, Petriukov K, Krapoth NC, Wegmann S, Wollscheid H-P, Wong RP, Fulzele A, Chen J-X, Léon S and Ulrich HD (2023) Ubiquiton—An inducible, linkage-specific polyubiquitylation tool. Mol Cell, doi: 10.1016/j.molcel.2023.11.016

Abstract:

The posttranslational modifier ubiquitin regulates most cellular processes. Its ability to form polymeric chains of distinct linkages is key to its diverse functionality. Yet, we still lack the experimental tools to induce linkage-specific polyubiquitylation of a protein of interest in cells. Here, we introduce a set of engineered ubiquitin protein ligases and matching ubiquitin acceptor tags for the rapid, inducible linear (M1-), K48-, or K63-linked polyubiquitylation of proteins in yeast and mammalian cells. By applying the so-called ‘‘Ubiquiton’’ system to proteasomal targeting and the endocytic pathway, we validate this tool for soluble cytoplasmic and nuclear as well as chromatin-associated and integral membrane proteins and demonstrate how it can be used to control the localization and stability of its targets. We expect that the Ubiquiton system will serve as a versatile, broadly applicable research tool to explore the signaling functions of polyubiquitin chains in many biological contexts

Read the full paper here: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1097276523009619