A Non-amyloid Prion Particle that Activates a Heritable Gene Expression Program (Molecular Cell)

Chakravarty et al. define a new mechanism in protein-based epigenetics. Self-assembly of the evolutionarily ancient RNA-binding protein Vts1/Smaug drives formation of a non-amyloid prion, [SMAUG+], that heritably activates protein function. [SMAUG+] rewires post-transcriptional gene expression landscapes to favor robust mitotic growth. Its self-assembly properties are conserved across eukaryotes.