Gene expression underlying the effects of biotin deficiency in rat liver, worms and yeast

Biotin is cofactor of crucial enzymes for intermediary metabolism, and its deficiency affects the transcription of some critical genes of mammalian glucose metabolism. However, the precise mechanisms of biotin starvation on gene expression are unknown. Here we show that metabolic changes ushered by deficiency of this vitamin sets in motion extensive reorganization of carbon metabolism gene expression, consistent across three diverse eukaryotes, that is mediated through a regulatory circuitry at the genome level similar in the three species. We used affymetrix microarrays to detail the global gene expression underlying the effects of biotin deficiency in Rattus norvegicus liver, Caenorhabditis elegans and Saccharomyces cerevisiae and identified distinct classes of up-regulated genes during this event.