DUBm complex

GO:0071819 · Other · Multiprotein complex · Proposed

A protein complex that forms part of SAGA-type complexes SAGA and SLIK, and mediates deubiquitination of histone H2B. In S. cerevisiae, the DUBm consists of the proteins Ubp8p, Sgf11p, Sus1p, and Sgf73p. [GO:0071819]

Synonyms: deubiquitinating module; deubiquitination module; SAGA DUBm complex

Part of: SAGA complex (GO:0000124); SLIK (SAGA-like) complex (GO:0046695)

UniProt location names: UniProt Consortium, CC BY 4.0. Reference label and route sources.

Components

Component	Type	Part of / acts on	Grounding	Genes	Essential	Role
Ubp8 DUBm catalytic subunit	Protein	part of	Reviewed label only (reviewed name; no accession asserted)	UBP8	UNKNOWN	Catalytic cysteine-type deubiquitinase constituent of the yeast DUBm module. `GO:0071819` GO:0071819 defines the DUBm complex as containing Saccharomyces cerevisiae Ubp8p. `DOI:10.1038/s41586-020-1933-5` Wang et al. 2020 resolved Ubp8 within the Saccharomyces cerevisiae SAGA DUB module.
Sgf11 DUBm subunit	Protein	part of	Reviewed label only (reviewed name; no accession asserted)	SGF11	UNKNOWN	SGF-family constituent of the yeast DUBm module. `GO:0071819` GO:0071819 defines the DUBm complex as containing Saccharomyces cerevisiae Sgf11p. `DOI:10.1038/s41586-020-1933-5` Wang et al. 2020 resolved Sgf11 within the Saccharomyces cerevisiae SAGA DUB module.
Sus1 DUBm subunit	Protein	part of	Reviewed label only (reviewed name; no accession asserted)	SUS1	UNKNOWN	ENY2/Sus1-family constituent of the yeast DUBm module. `GO:0071819` GO:0071819 defines the DUBm complex as containing Saccharomyces cerevisiae Sus1p. `DOI:10.1038/s41586-020-1933-5` Wang et al. 2020 resolved Sus1 within the Saccharomyces cerevisiae SAGA DUB module.
Sgf73 DUBm anchor subunit	Protein	part of	Reviewed label only (reviewed name; no accession asserted)	SGF73	UNKNOWN	SAGA-family DUB-module constituent that helps anchor DUBm to the core. `GO:0071819` GO:0071819 defines the DUBm complex as containing Saccharomyces cerevisiae Sgf73p. `DOI:10.1038/s41586-020-1933-5` Wang et al. 2020 resolved the N-terminal Sgf73 region within the Saccharomyces cerevisiae SAGA DUB module.

Taxonomic distribution

NCBITaxon:4932 Saccharomyces cerevisiae — COMMON: Budding yeast contains a four-subunit DUBm in SAGA-family coactivator complexes. [DOI:10.1038/s41586-020-1933-5]

Canonical examples

NCBITaxon:4932 Saccharomyces cerevisiae — Wang et al. 2020 resolved the Saccharomyces cerevisiae SAGA DUB module containing Ubp8, Sgf11, Sus1, and the N-terminal Sgf73 region. [DOI:10.1038/s41586-020-1933-5]

Functions

cysteine-type deubiquitinase activity GO:0004843 — The Ubp8-containing DUBm complex deubiquitinates histone H2B within SAGA-family transcriptional coactivators.
- GO:0071819 GO:0071819 defines DUBm as a protein complex that mediates histone H2B deubiquitination.
- GO:0004843 GO:0004843 identifies cysteine-type deubiquitinase activity.
- DOI:10.1101/gad.1144003 Henry et al. 2003 identified SAGA-associated Ubp8 as a mediator of histone H2B deubiquitylation.

Mechanism graphs

DUBm supports SAGA-family H2B deubiquitination (FUNCTION)

In budding yeast, Ubp8, Sgf11, Sus1, and Sgf73 assemble the DUBm deubiquitinase module found in SAGA-family transcriptional coactivator complexes.

Subject	Predicate	Object	Evidence
Ubp8 DUBm catalytic subunit	contributes to	DUBm complex	`GO:0071819` GO:0071819 defines DUBm as containing Saccharomyces cerevisiae Ubp8p.
Sgf11 DUBm subunit	contributes to	DUBm complex	`GO:0071819` GO:0071819 defines DUBm as containing Saccharomyces cerevisiae Sgf11p.
Sus1 DUBm subunit	contributes to	DUBm complex	`GO:0071819` GO:0071819 defines DUBm as containing Saccharomyces cerevisiae Sus1p.
Sgf73 DUBm anchor subunit	contributes to	DUBm complex	`GO:0071819` GO:0071819 defines DUBm as containing Saccharomyces cerevisiae Sgf73p.
DUBm complex	is part of	SAGA complex	`GO:0071819` GO:0071819 defines DUBm as a component of SAGA-type complexes. `DOI:10.1038/s41586-020-1933-5` Wang et al. 2020 resolved DUBm in budding-yeast SAGA.
DUBm complex	is part of	SLIK (SAGA-like) complex	`DOI:10.1016/j.jbc.2021.100671` Adamus et al. 2021 detected the Ubp8/Sgf11/Sus1/Sgf73 DUB module in purified budding-yeast SLIK.
DUBm complex	supports	cysteine-type deubiquitinase activity	`GO:0071819` GO:0071819 defines DUBm as mediating histone H2B deubiquitination. `GO:0004843` GO:0004843 identifies cysteine-type deubiquitinase activity.

Discussions

CURATION_TODO (OPEN): Resolve exact source-neutral family groundings for the curated DUBm protein constituents. Ubp8, Sgf11, Sus1, and Sgf73 are shared between SAGA and SLIK and have metazoan homologues or domain-level identifiers; curate InterPro, Pfam, NCBIfam or UniProt family accessions only when they denote the DUBm component class rather than a broader domain.
INTERPRETATION (RESOLVED): Keep DUBm distinct from whole SAGA-family complexes and from HAT or core modules. GO:0071819 denotes the Ubp8/Sgf11/Sus1/Sgf73 deubiquitinase module, while GO:0000124 and GO:0046695 denote whole SAGA-family transcriptional coactivator complexes that also contain core, Tra1, and HAT-module constituents.

Evidence

GO:0071819 Gene Ontology cellular-component term for the DUBm complex.
GO:0140513 OLS reports GO:0140513 nuclear protein-containing complex as the GO:0071819 is-a parent.
GO:0000124 Gene Ontology cellular-component term for the SAGA complex that has a DUB module.
GO:0046695 Gene Ontology cellular-component term for the SLIK SAGA-like complex.
GO:0004843 Gene Ontology molecular-function term for cysteine-type deubiquitinase activity.
DOI:10.1038/s41586-020-1933-5 Wang et al. 2020, 'Structure of the transcription coactivator SAGA'.
DOI:10.1016/j.jbc.2021.100671 Adamus et al. 2021, 'SAGA and SAGA-like SLIK transcriptional coactivators are structurally and biochemically equivalent'.
DOI:10.1101/gad.1144003 Henry et al. 2003, 'Transcriptional activation via sequential histone H2B ubiquitylation and deubiquitylation, mediated by SAGA-associated Ubp8'.

Curation history

2026-09-30T22:07:51Z codex · CREATED_RECORD — Scaffolded by scripts/new_record.py
2026-09-30T22:09:44Z codex · EXPANDED_RECORD — Added GO synonymy, nuclear-protein-complex parentage, SAGA and SLIK parthood, reviewed-label-only budding-yeast DUBm constituents, Saccharomyces scope, deubiquitinase activity, a nonmechanistic module graph, and DUBm boundary and grounding discussions.
2026-09-30T22:27:21Z codex · FIX_DISCUSSION_ANCHORS — Replaced the DUBm boundary discussion's section-level components anchor with explicit component IDs.

Source: data/structures/other/dubm_complex.yaml