Natural translocation of a large segment of chromosome III to chromosome I in a laboratory strain of Saccharomyces cerevisiae

1996 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. 218-223 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alain Camasses
Genetics ◽  
1991 ◽  
Vol 127 (3) ◽  
pp. 475-488 ◽  
Author(s):  
V Guacci ◽  
D B Kaback

Abstract Distributive disjunction is defined as the first division meiotic segregation of either nonhomologous chromosomes that lack homologs or homologous chromosomes that have not recombined. To determine if chromosomes from the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae were capable of distributive disjunction, we constructed a strain that was monosomic for both chromosome I and chromosome III and analyzed the meiotic segregation of the two monosomic chromosomes. In addition, we bisected chromosome I into two functional chromosome fragments, constructed strains that were monosomic for both chromosome fragments and examined meiotic segregation of the chromosome fragments in the monosomic strains. The two nonhomologous chromosomes or chromosome fragments appeared to segregate from each other in approximately 90% of the asci analyzed, indicating that yeast chromosomes were capable of distributive disjunction. We also examined the ability of a small nonhomologous centromere containing plasmid to participate in distributive disjunction with the two nonhomologous monosomic chromosomes. The plasmid appeared to efficiently participate with the two full length chromosomes suggesting that distributive disjunction in yeast is not dependent on chromosome size. Thus, distributive disjunction in S. cerevisiae appears to be different from Drosophila melanogaster where a different sized chromosome is excluded from distributive disjunction when two similar size nonhomologous chromosomes are present.


Genetics ◽  
1989 ◽  
Vol 123 (1) ◽  
pp. 81-95 ◽  
Author(s):  
E J Louis ◽  
J E Haber

Abstract The presence of the tRNA ochre suppressors SUP11 and SUP5 is found to induce meiosis I nondisjunction in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The induction increases with increasing dosage of the suppressor and decreases in the presence of an antisuppressor. The effect is independent of the chromosomal location of SUP11. Each of five different chromosomes monitored exhibited nondisjunction at frequencies of 0.1%-1.1% of random spores, which is a 16-160-fold increase over wild-type levels. Increased nondisjunction is reflected by a marked increase in tetrads with two and zero viable spores. In the case of chromosome III, for which a 50-cM map interval was monitored, the resulting disomes are all in the parental nonrecombinant configuration. Recombination along chromosome III appears normal both in meioses that have no nondisjunction and in meioses for which there was nondisjunction of another chromosome. We propose that a proportion of one or more proteins involved in chromosome pairing, recombination or segregation are aberrant due to translational read-through of the normal ochre stop codon. Hygromycin B, an antibiotic that can suppress nonsense mutations via translational read-through, also induces nonrecombinant meiosis I nondisjunction. Increases in mistranslation, therefore, increase the production of aneuploids during meiosis. There was no observable effect of SUP11 on mitotic chromosome nondisjunction; however some disomes caused SUP11 ade2-ochre strains to appear white or red, instead of pink.


Genetics ◽  
1998 ◽  
Vol 149 (3) ◽  
pp. 1277-1292 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rajesh R Naik ◽  
Elizabeth W Jones

Abstract The vacuolar hydrolase protease B in Saccharomyces cerevisiae is synthesized as an inactive precursor (Prb1p). The precursor undergoes post-translational modifications while transiting the secretory pathway. In addition to N- and O -linked glycosylations, four proteolytic cleavages occur during the maturation of Prb1p. Removal of the signal peptide by signal peptidase and the autocatalytic cleavage of the large aminoterminal propeptide occur in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). Two carboxy-terminal cleavages of the post regions occur in the vacuole: the first cleavage is catalyzed by protease A and the second results from autocatalysis. We have isolated a mutant, pbn1-1, that exhibits a defect in the ER processing of Prb1p. The autocatalytic cleavage of the propeptide from Prb1p does not occur and Prb1p is rapidly degraded in the cytosol. PBN1 was cloned and is identical to YCL052c on chromosome III. PBN1 is an essential gene that encodes a novel protein. Pbn1p is predicted to contain a sub-C-terminal transmembrane domain but no signal sequence. A functional HA epitope-tagged Pbn1p fusion localizes to the ER. Pbn1p is N-glycosylated in its amino-terminal domain, indicating a lumenal orientation despite the lack of a signal sequence. Based on these results, we propose that one of the functions of Pbn1p is to aid in the autocatalytic processing of Prb1p.


2001 ◽  
Vol 12 (11) ◽  
pp. 3317-3327 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arkadi Poloumienko ◽  
Ann Dershowitz ◽  
Jitakshi De ◽  
Carol S. Newlon

In Saccharomyces cerevisiae chromosomal DNA replication initiates at intervals of ∼40 kb and depends upon the activity of autonomously replicating sequence (ARS) elements. The identification of ARS elements and analysis of their function as chromosomal replication origins requires the use of functional assays because they are not sufficiently similar to identify by DNA sequence analysis. To complete the systematic identification of ARS elements onS. cerevisiae chromosome III, overlapping clones covering 140 kb of the right arm were tested for their ability to promote extrachromosomal maintenance of plasmids. Examination of chromosomal replication intermediates of each of the seven ARS elements identified revealed that their efficiencies of use as chromosomal replication origins varied widely, with four ARS elements active in ≤10% of cells in the population and two ARS elements active in ≥90% of the population. Together with our previous analysis of a 200-kb region of chromosome III, these data provide the first complete analysis of ARS elements and DNA replication origins on an entire eukaryotic chromosome.


1981 ◽  
Vol 1 (6) ◽  
pp. 522-534
Author(s):  
B Weiffenbach ◽  
J E Haber

In homothallic cells of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, a or alpha mating type information at the mating type locus (MAT) is replaced by the transposition of the opposite mating type allele from HML alpha or HMRa. The rad52-1 mutation, which reduces mitotic and abolishes meiotic recombination, also affects homothallic switching (Malone and Esposito, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 77:503-507, 1980). We have found that both HO rad52 MATa and HO rad52 MAT alpha cells die. This lethality is suppressed by mutations that substantially reduce but do not eliminate homothallic conversions. These mutations map at or near the MAT locus (MAT alpha inc, MATa-inc, MATa stk1) or are unlinked to MAT (HO-1 and swi1). These results suggest that the switching event itself is involved in the lethality. With the exception of swi1, HO rad52 strains carrying one of the above mutations cannot convert mating type at all. MAT alpha rad52 HO swi1 strains apparently can switch MAT alpha to MATa. However, when we analyzed these a maters, we found that few, if any, of them were bona fide MATa cells. These a-like cells were instead either deleted for part of chromosome III distal to and including MAT or had lost the entire third chromosome. Approximately 30% of the time, an a-like cell could be repaired to a normal MATa genotype if the cell was mated to a RAD52 MAT alpha-inc strain. The effects of rad52 were also studied in mata/MAT alpha-inc rad52/rad52 ho/HO diploids. When this diploid attempted to switch mata to MATa, an unstable broken chromosome was generated in nearly every cell. These studies suggest that homothallic switching involves the formation of a double-stranded deoxyribonucleic acid break or a structure which is labile in rad52 cells and results in a broken chromosome. We propose that the production of a double-stranded deoxyribonucleic acid break is the lethal event in rad52 HO cells.


1991 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 2919-2928
Author(s):  
K W Runge ◽  
R J Wellinger ◽  
V A Zakian

The linear chromosomes of eukaryotes contain specialized structures to ensure their faithful replication and segregation to daughter cells. Two of these structures, centromeres and telomeres, are limited, respectively, to one and two copies per chromosome. It is possible that the proteins that interact with centromere and telomere DNA sequences are present in limiting amounts and could be competed away from the chromosomal copies of these elements by additional copies introduced on plasmids. We have introduced excess centromeres and telomeres into Saccharomyces cerevisiae and quantitated their effects on the rates of loss of chromosome III and chromosome VII by fluctuation analysis. We show that (i) 600 new telomeres have no effect on chromosome loss; (ii) an average of 25 extra centromere DNA sequences increase the rate of chromosome III loss from 0.4 x 10(-4) events per cell division to 1.3 x 10(-3) events per cell division; (iii) centromere DNA (CEN) sequences on circular vectors destabilize chromosomes more effectively than do CEN sequences on 15-kb linear vectors, and transcribed CEN sequences have no effect on chromosome stability. We discuss the different effects of extra centromere and telomere DNA sequences on chromosome stability in terms of how the cell recognizes these two chromosomal structures.


1989 ◽  
Vol 9 (11) ◽  
pp. 4621-4630
Author(s):  
D J Mahoney ◽  
J R Broach

Mating-type genes resident in the silent cassette HML at the left arm of chromosome III are repressed by the action of four SIR gene products, most likely mediated through two cis-acting sites located on opposite sides of the locus. We showed that deletion of either of these two cis-acting sites from the chromosome did not yield any detectable derepression of HML, while deletion of both sites yielded full expression of the locus. In addition, each of these sites was capable of exerting repression of heterologous genes inserted in their vicinity. Thus, HML expression is regulated by two independent silencers, each fully competent for maintaining repression. This situation was distinct from the organization of the other silent locus, HMR, at which a single silencer served as the predominant repressor of expression. Examination of identifiable domains and binding sites within the HML silencers suggested that silencing activity can be achieved by a variety of combinations of various functional domains.


1987 ◽  
Vol 7 (12) ◽  
pp. 4441-4452
Author(s):  
M Marshall ◽  
D Mahoney ◽  
A Rose ◽  
J B Hicks ◽  
J R Broach

The product of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae SIR4 gene, in conjunction with at least three other gene products, prevents expression of mating-type genes resident at loci at either end of chromosome III, but not of the same genes resident at the MAT locus in the middle of the chromosome. To address the mechanism of this novel position effect regulation, we have conducted a structural and genetic analysis of the SIR4 gene. We have determined the nucleotide sequence of the gene and found that it encodes a lysine-rich, serine-rich protein of 152 kilodaltons. Expression of the carboxy half of the protein complements a chromosomal nonsense mutation of sir4 but not a complete deletion of the gene. These results suggest that SIR4 protein activity resides in two portions of the molecule, but that these domains need not be covalently linked to execute their biological function. We also found that high-level expression of the carboxy domain of the protein yields dominant derepression of the silent loci. This anti-Sir activity can be reversed by increased expression of the SIR3 gene, whose product is normally also required for maintaining repression of the silent loci. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that SIR3 and SIR4 proteins physically associate to form a multicomponent complex required for repression of the silent mating-type loci.


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