SLIK (SAGA-like) complex

GO:0046695 · Other · Multiprotein complex · Proposed

A SAGA-type histone acetyltransferase complex that contains a smaller form of Spt7 (lacking the SPT8 binding region) than the fungal SAGA complex, and consequently lacks Spt8. The complex is involved in the yeast retrograde response pathway, which is important for gene expression changes during mitochondrial dysfunction. [GO:0046695]

Synonyms: SAGA (alt) complex; SALSA complex; SLIK/SALSA complex

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
Tra1 SLIK subunit	Protein	part of	Reviewed label only (reviewed name; no accession asserted)	TRA1	UNKNOWN	Activator-binding module constituent of the budding-yeast SLIK coactivator complex. `DOI:10.1016/j.jbc.2021.100671` Adamus et al. 2021 purified SAGA and SLIK from Saccharomyces cerevisiae, confirmed the expected SLIK subunit stoichiometry, detected truncated Spt7 and Spt8 loss in SLIK, and compared its architecture and HAT/DUB activities with SAGA.
Taf5 SLIK core subunit	Protein	part of	Reviewed label only (reviewed name; no accession asserted)	TAF5	UNKNOWN	WD40-propeller core-module constituent of budding-yeast SLIK. `DOI:10.1016/j.jbc.2021.100671` Adamus et al. 2021 purified SAGA and SLIK from Saccharomyces cerevisiae, confirmed the expected SLIK subunit stoichiometry, detected truncated Spt7 and Spt8 loss in SLIK, and compared its architecture and HAT/DUB activities with SAGA.
Taf6 SLIK core subunit	Protein	part of	Reviewed label only (reviewed name; no accession asserted)	TAF6	UNKNOWN	Core-module constituent of the Taf6-Taf9 histone-fold pair in budding-yeast SLIK. `DOI:10.1016/j.jbc.2021.100671` Adamus et al. 2021 purified SAGA and SLIK from Saccharomyces cerevisiae, confirmed the expected SLIK subunit stoichiometry, detected truncated Spt7 and Spt8 loss in SLIK, and compared its architecture and HAT/DUB activities with SAGA.
Taf9 SLIK core subunit	Protein	part of	Reviewed label only (reviewed name; no accession asserted)	TAF9	UNKNOWN	Core-module constituent of the Taf6-Taf9 histone-fold pair in budding-yeast SLIK. `DOI:10.1016/j.jbc.2021.100671` Adamus et al. 2021 purified SAGA and SLIK from Saccharomyces cerevisiae, confirmed the expected SLIK subunit stoichiometry, detected truncated Spt7 and Spt8 loss in SLIK, and compared its architecture and HAT/DUB activities with SAGA.
Taf10 SLIK core subunit	Protein	part of	Reviewed label only (reviewed name; no accession asserted)	TAF10	UNKNOWN	Core-module constituent of the Taf10-Spt7 histone-fold pair in budding-yeast SLIK. `DOI:10.1016/j.jbc.2021.100671` Adamus et al. 2021 purified SAGA and SLIK from Saccharomyces cerevisiae, confirmed the expected SLIK subunit stoichiometry, detected truncated Spt7 and Spt8 loss in SLIK, and compared its architecture and HAT/DUB activities with SAGA.
Taf12 SLIK core subunit	Protein	part of	Reviewed label only (reviewed name; no accession asserted)	TAF12	UNKNOWN	Core-module constituent of the Taf12-Ada1 histone-fold pair in budding-yeast SLIK. `DOI:10.1016/j.jbc.2021.100671` Adamus et al. 2021 purified SAGA and SLIK from Saccharomyces cerevisiae, confirmed the expected SLIK subunit stoichiometry, detected truncated Spt7 and Spt8 loss in SLIK, and compared its architecture and HAT/DUB activities with SAGA.
Spt3 SLIK core subunit	Protein	part of	Reviewed label only (reviewed name; no accession asserted)	SPT3	UNKNOWN	TBP-interacting core-module constituent of budding-yeast SLIK. `DOI:10.1016/j.jbc.2021.100671` Adamus et al. 2021 purified SAGA and SLIK from Saccharomyces cerevisiae, confirmed the expected SLIK subunit stoichiometry, detected truncated Spt7 and Spt8 loss in SLIK, and compared its architecture and HAT/DUB activities with SAGA.
truncated Spt7 SLIK core subunit	Protein	part of	Reviewed label only (reviewed name; no accession asserted)	SPT7	UNKNOWN	C-terminally processed Spt7 core-module constituent that distinguishes budding-yeast SLIK from SAGA. `DOI:10.1016/j.jbc.2021.100671` Adamus et al. 2021 purified SAGA and SLIK from Saccharomyces cerevisiae, confirmed the expected SLIK subunit stoichiometry, detected truncated Spt7 and Spt8 loss in SLIK, and compared its architecture and HAT/DUB activities with SAGA.
Spt20 SLIK core subunit	Protein	part of	Reviewed label only (reviewed name; no accession asserted)	SPT20	UNKNOWN	Core-module constituent that helps organize budding-yeast SLIK. `DOI:10.1016/j.jbc.2021.100671` Adamus et al. 2021 purified SAGA and SLIK from Saccharomyces cerevisiae, confirmed the expected SLIK subunit stoichiometry, detected truncated Spt7 and Spt8 loss in SLIK, and compared its architecture and HAT/DUB activities with SAGA.
Ada1 SLIK core subunit	Protein	part of	Reviewed label only (reviewed name; no accession asserted)	ADA1	UNKNOWN	Core-module constituent of the Taf12-Ada1 histone-fold pair in budding-yeast SLIK. `DOI:10.1016/j.jbc.2021.100671` Adamus et al. 2021 purified SAGA and SLIK from Saccharomyces cerevisiae, confirmed the expected SLIK subunit stoichiometry, detected truncated Spt7 and Spt8 loss in SLIK, and compared its architecture and HAT/DUB activities with SAGA.
Gcn5 SLIK HAT subunit	Protein	part of	Reviewed label only (reviewed name; no accession asserted)	GCN5	UNKNOWN	Catalytic histone acetyltransferase constituent of the SLIK HAT module. `DOI:10.1016/j.jbc.2021.100671` Adamus et al. 2021 detected the Ada2/Ada3/Gcn5/Sgf29 HAT module in purified SLIK and showed SAGA and SLIK had indistinguishable HAT activity on an H3 peptide minimal substrate.
Ada2 SLIK HAT subunit	Protein	part of	Reviewed label only (reviewed name; no accession asserted)	ADA2	UNKNOWN	Adaptor constituent of the SLIK histone acetyltransferase module. `DOI:10.1016/j.jbc.2021.100671` Adamus et al. 2021 detected the Ada2/Ada3/Gcn5/Sgf29 HAT module in purified SLIK and showed SAGA and SLIK had indistinguishable HAT activity on an H3 peptide minimal substrate.
Ada3 SLIK HAT subunit	Protein	part of	Reviewed label only (reviewed name; no accession asserted)	ADA3	UNKNOWN	Adaptor constituent of the SLIK histone acetyltransferase module. `DOI:10.1016/j.jbc.2021.100671` Adamus et al. 2021 detected the Ada2/Ada3/Gcn5/Sgf29 HAT module in purified SLIK and showed SAGA and SLIK had indistinguishable HAT activity on an H3 peptide minimal substrate.
Sgf29 SLIK HAT subunit	Protein	part of	Reviewed label only (reviewed name; no accession asserted)	SGF29	UNKNOWN	SGF-family constituent of the SLIK histone acetyltransferase module. `DOI:10.1016/j.jbc.2021.100671` Adamus et al. 2021 detected the Ada2/Ada3/Gcn5/Sgf29 HAT module in purified SLIK and showed SAGA and SLIK had indistinguishable HAT activity on an H3 peptide minimal substrate.
Ubp8 SLIK DUB subunit	Protein	part of	Reviewed label only (reviewed name; no accession asserted)	UBP8	UNKNOWN	Catalytic histone H2B deubiquitinase constituent of the SLIK DUB module. `DOI:10.1016/j.jbc.2021.100671` Adamus et al. 2021 detected the Ubp8/Sgf11/Sus1/Sgf73 DUB module in purified SLIK and showed SAGA and SLIK had identical deubiquitination activity on a minimal substrate.
Sgf11 SLIK DUB subunit	Protein	part of	Reviewed label only (reviewed name; no accession asserted)	SGF11	UNKNOWN	SGF-family constituent of the SLIK deubiquitinating module. `DOI:10.1016/j.jbc.2021.100671` Adamus et al. 2021 detected the Ubp8/Sgf11/Sus1/Sgf73 DUB module in purified SLIK and showed SAGA and SLIK had identical deubiquitination activity on a minimal substrate.
Sus1 SLIK DUB subunit	Protein	part of	Reviewed label only (reviewed name; no accession asserted)	SUS1	UNKNOWN	ENY2/Sus1-family constituent of the SLIK deubiquitinating module. `DOI:10.1016/j.jbc.2021.100671` Adamus et al. 2021 detected the Ubp8/Sgf11/Sus1/Sgf73 DUB module in purified SLIK and showed SAGA and SLIK had identical deubiquitination activity on a minimal substrate.
Sgf73 SLIK DUB-anchor subunit	Protein	part of	Reviewed label only (reviewed name; no accession asserted)	SGF73	UNKNOWN	DUB-module constituent of budding-yeast SLIK. `DOI:10.1016/j.jbc.2021.100671` Adamus et al. 2021 detected the Ubp8/Sgf11/Sus1/Sgf73 DUB module in purified SLIK and showed SAGA and SLIK had identical deubiquitination activity on a minimal substrate.

Taxonomic distribution

NCBITaxon:4932 Saccharomyces cerevisiae — COMMON: Budding yeast is the organism in which SLIK was discovered and then purified for biochemical, cross-linking, and cryo-EM comparison with SAGA. [DOI:10.1016/j.jbc.2021.100671]

Canonical examples

NCBITaxon:4932 Saccharomyces cerevisiae — Adamus et al. 2021 purified Saccharomyces cerevisiae SLIK from Ubp8-TAP cells and resolved a low-resolution cryo-EM architecture consistent with the SAGA core. [DOI:10.1016/j.jbc.2021.100671]

Functions

histone acetyltransferase activity GO:0004402 — The SLIK HAT module contains the Gcn5 catalytic subunit and supports histone acetylation by the complex.
- GO:0004402 GO:0004402 is the Gene Ontology molecular-function term for histone acetyltransferase activity.
- GO:0046695 GO:0046695 defines SLIK as a SAGA-type histone acetyltransferase complex.
- DOI:10.1016/j.jbc.2021.100671 Adamus et al. 2021 detected the Ada2/Ada3/Gcn5/Sgf29 HAT module in purified SLIK and showed SAGA and SLIK had indistinguishable HAT activity on an H3 peptide minimal substrate.
cysteine-type deubiquitinase activity GO:0004843 — The SLIK DUB module deubiquitinates substrate through its Ubp8 catalytic constituent.
- GO:0004843 GO:0004843 is the Gene Ontology molecular-function term for cysteine-type deubiquitinase activity.
- DOI:10.1016/j.jbc.2021.100671 Adamus et al. 2021 detected the Ubp8/Sgf11/Sus1/Sgf73 DUB module in purified SLIK and showed SAGA and SLIK had identical deubiquitination activity on a minimal substrate.

Mechanism graphs

SLIK supports histone modification activities (FUNCTION)

In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the Gcn5-containing HAT module and Ubp8-containing DUB module contribute the histone acetyltransferase and deubiquitinating activities of the SLIK coactivator complex.

Subject	Predicate	Object	Evidence
Gcn5 SLIK HAT subunit	contributes to	SLIK (SAGA-like) complex	`DOI:10.1016/j.jbc.2021.100671` Adamus et al. 2021 detected the Ada2/Ada3/Gcn5/Sgf29 HAT module in purified SLIK and showed SAGA and SLIK had indistinguishable HAT activity on an H3 peptide minimal substrate.
Ubp8 SLIK DUB subunit	contributes to	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 SLIK and showed SAGA and SLIK had identical deubiquitination activity on a minimal substrate.
SLIK (SAGA-like) complex	supports	histone acetyltransferase activity	`DOI:10.1016/j.jbc.2021.100671` Adamus et al. 2021 detected the Ada2/Ada3/Gcn5/Sgf29 HAT module in purified SLIK and showed SAGA and SLIK had indistinguishable HAT activity on an H3 peptide minimal substrate.
SLIK (SAGA-like) complex	supports	cysteine-type deubiquitinase activity	`DOI:10.1016/j.jbc.2021.100671` Adamus et al. 2021 detected the Ubp8/Sgf11/Sus1/Sgf73 DUB module in purified SLIK and showed SAGA and SLIK had identical deubiquitination activity on a minimal substrate.

Discussions

CURATION_TODO (OPEN): Resolve exact source-neutral family groundings for the curated budding-yeast SLIK constituents. Several SLIK constituents are shared with SAGA and TFIID or have metazoan paralogues; curate InterPro, Pfam, NCBIfam or UniProt family accessions only when they denote the SLIK component class rather than a broader domain family.
INTERPRETATION (RESOLVED): Do not curate Rtg2 as a structural SLIK component from the 2002 SLIK discovery paper alone. Pray-Grant et al. 2002 identified Rtg2 as a unique SLIK-associated protein and linked SLIK to the retrograde response pathway, but Adamus et al. 2021 did not detect Rtg2 by mass spectrometry in purified SLIK and reported that SLIK retained the expected architecture and chromatin-modifying activities without detectable Rtg2.

Evidence

GO:0046695 Gene Ontology cellular-component term for the SLIK (SAGA-like) complex and its SAGA (alt), SALSA and SLIK/SALSA exact synonyms.
GO:0070461 Gene Ontology cellular-component parent term for SAGA-type histone acetyltransferase complexes.
GO:0004402 Gene Ontology molecular-function term for histone acetyltransferase activity.
GO:0004843 Gene Ontology molecular-function term for cysteine-type deubiquitinase activity.
PMID:33864814 PubMed identifier for Adamus et al. 2021, the budding-yeast SAGA and SLIK functional and structural comparison paper.
DOI:10.1016/j.jbc.2021.100671 DOI for Adamus et al. 2021, 'SAGA and SAGA-like SLIK transcriptional coactivators are structurally and biochemically equivalent', verified through NCBI E-utilities.
PMID:12446794 PubMed identifier for Pray-Grant et al. 2002, the original budding-yeast SLIK identification and retrograde-response paper.
DOI:10.1128/MCB.22.24.8774-8786.2002 DOI for Pray-Grant et al. 2002, 'The novel SLIK histone acetyltransferase complex functions in the yeast retrograde response pathway', verified through NCBI E-utilities.

Curation history

2026-09-27T07:10:46Z codex · CREATED_RECORD — Scaffolded by scripts/new_record.py
2026-09-27T07:12:01Z codex · EXPANDED_RECORD — Added SLIK exact synonymy, SAGA-type parentage, 18 budding-yeast SLIK constituent rows, yeast scope, histone acetyltransferase and cysteine-type deubiquitinase activities, GO/PubMed/DOI evidence, a nonmechanistic function graph, a SLIK subunit-grounding TODO, and an explanation for excluding Rtg2 as an unresolved historical association.

Source: data/structures/other/slik_saga_like_complex.yaml