Regulation of yeast mating-type interconversion: feedback control of HO gene expression by the mating-type locus.

ABSTRACT The two mating types of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae can be interconverted in both homothallic and heterothallic strains. Previous work indicates that all yeast cells contain the information to be both a and α and that the HO gene (in homothallic strains) promotes a change in mating type by causing a change at the mating type locus itself. In both heterothallic and homothallic strains, a defective α mating type locus can be converted to a functional a locus and subsequently to a functional α locus. In contrast, action of the HO gene does not restore mating ability to a strain defective in another gene for mating which is not at the mating type locus. These observations indicate that a yeast cell contains an additional copy (or copies) of α information, and lead to the "cassette" model for mating type interconversion. In this model, HM a and hmα loci are blocs of unexpressed α regulatory information, and HMα and hm a loci are blocs of unexpressed a regulatory information. These blocs are silent because they lack an essential site for expression, and become active upon insertion of this information (or a copy of the information) into the mating type locus by action of the HO gene.

Download Full-text

Investigation of Mating Pheromone–Pheromone Receptor Specificity in Lentinula edodes

Genes ◽

10.3390/genes11050506 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 11 (5) ◽

pp. 506

Author(s):

Sinil Kim ◽

Byeongsuk Ha ◽

Minseek Kim ◽

Hyeon-Su Ro

Keyword(s):

Mating Type ◽

Lentinula Edodes ◽

Signal Pathway ◽

Recombinant Yeast ◽

Mating Pheromone ◽

Type Locus ◽

Pheromone Receptor ◽

Mating Type Locus ◽

Yeast Mating ◽

Mating Signal

The B mating-type locus of Lentinula edodes, a representative edible mushroom, is highly complex because of allelic variations in the mating pheromone receptors (RCBs) and the mating pheromones (PHBs) in both the Bα and Bβ subloci. The complexity of the B mating-type locus, five Bα subloci with five alleles of RCB1 and nine PHBs and three Bβ subloci with 3 alleles of RCB2 and five PHBs, has led us to investigate the specificity of the PHB–RCB interaction because the interaction plays a key role in non-self-recognition. In this study, the specificities of PHBs to RCB1-2 and RCB1-4 from the Bα sublocus and RCB2-1 from the Bb sublocus were investigated using recombinant yeast strains generated by replacing STE2, an endogenous yeast mating pheromone receptor, with the L. edodes RCBs. Fourteen synthetic PHBs with C-terminal carboxymethylation but without farnesylation were added to the recombinant yeast cells and the PHB–RCB interaction was monitored by the expression of the FUS1 gene—a downstream gene of the yeast mating signal pathway. RCB1-2 (Bα2) was activated by PHB1 (4.3-fold) and PHB2 (2.1-fold) from the Bα1 sublocus and RCB1-4 (Bα4) was activated by PHB5 (3.0-fold) and PHB6 (2.7-fold) from the Bα2 sublocus and PHB13 (3.0-fold) from the Bα5 sublocus. In particular, PHB3 from Bβ2 and PHB9 from Bβ3 showed strong activation of RCB2-1 of the Bβ1 sublocus by 59-fold. The RCB–PHB interactions were confirmed in the monokaryotic S1–10 strain of L. edodes by showing increased expression of clp1, a downstream gene of the mating signal pathway and the occurrence of clamp connections after the treatment of PHBs. These results indicate that a single PHB can interact with a non-self RCB in a sublocus-specific manner for the activation of the mating pheromone signal pathways in L. edodes.

Download Full-text

Control of STA1 gene expression by the mating-type locus in yeasts.

Journal of Bacteriology ◽

10.1128/jb.164.2.769-773.1985 ◽

1985 ◽

Vol 164 (2) ◽

pp. 769-773 ◽

Cited By ~ 15

Author(s):

I Yamashita ◽

Y Takano ◽

S Fukui

Keyword(s):

Gene Expression ◽

Mating Type ◽

Type Locus ◽

Mating Type Locus

Download Full-text

Homology and non-homology at the yeast mating type locus

Nature ◽

10.1038/289250a0 ◽

1981 ◽

Vol 289 (5795) ◽

pp. 250-252 ◽

Cited By ~ 16

Author(s):

George F. Sprague ◽

Jasper Rine ◽

Ira Herskowitz

Keyword(s):

Mating Type ◽

Type Locus ◽

Mating Type Locus ◽

Yeast Mating

Download Full-text

The mating type locus protein MAT1-2-1 of Trichoderma reesei interacts with Xyr1 and regulates cellulase gene expression in response to light

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-017-17439-2 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 7 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 14

Author(s):

Fanglin Zheng ◽

Yanli Cao ◽

Lei Wang ◽

Xinxing Lv ◽

Xiangfeng Meng ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Gene Expression ◽

Trichoderma Reesei ◽

Mating Type ◽

Cellulase Gene ◽

Type Locus ◽

Mating Type Locus

Download Full-text

INTERCONVERSION OF YEAST MATING TYPES III. ACTION OF THE HOMOTHALLISM (HO) GENE IN CELLS HOMOZYGOUS FOR THE MATING TYPE LOCUS

Genetics ◽

10.1093/genetics/85.3.395 ◽

1977 ◽

Vol 85 (3) ◽

pp. 395-405 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

James B Hicks ◽

Jeffrey N Strathern ◽

Ira Herskowitz

Keyword(s):

Saccharomyces Cerevisiae ◽

Life Cycle ◽

Gene Product ◽

Direct Observation ◽

Mating Type ◽

Mating Types ◽

Type Locus ◽

Mating Type Locus ◽

Mating Type Switching ◽

Ho Gene

ABSTRACT Mating type interconversion in homothallic Saccharomyces cerevisiae has been studied in diploids homozygous for the mating type locus produced by sporulation of a/a/a/α and a/a/α/α tetraploid strains. Mating type switches have been analyzed by techniques including direct observation of cells for changes in α-factor sensitivity. Another method of following mating type switching exploits the observation that a/α cells exhibit polar budding and a/a and α/α cells exhibit medial budding.—These studies indicate the following: (1) The allele conferring the homothallic life cycle (HO) is dominant to the allele conferring the heterothallic life cycle (ho). (2) The action of the HO gene is controlled by the mating type locus—active in a/a and α/α cells but not in a/α cells. (3) The HO (or HO-controlled) gene product can act independently on two mating type alleles located on separate chromosomes in the same nucleus. (4) A switch in mating type is observed in pairs of cells, each of which has the same change.

Download Full-text

CRISPR-Cas-Mediated Tethering Recruits the Yeast HMR Mating-Type Locus to the Nuclear Periphery but Fails to Silence Gene Expression

ACS Synthetic Biology ◽

10.1021/acssynbio.1c00306 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Emily R. Cliff ◽

Robin L. Kirkpatrick ◽

Daniel Cunningham-Bryant ◽

Brianna Fernandez ◽

Joseph L. Harman ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Gene Expression ◽

Mating Type ◽

Nuclear Periphery ◽

Type Locus ◽

Mating Type Locus ◽

Silence Gene

Download Full-text

Analysis of chromatin remodeling during formation of a DNA double-strand break at the yeast mating type locus

Methods ◽

10.1016/j.ymeth.2009.02.007 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 48 (1) ◽

pp. 40-45 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Toyoko Tsukuda ◽

Kelly M. Trujillo ◽

Emmanuelle Martini ◽

Mary Ann Osley

Keyword(s):

Chromatin Remodeling ◽

Mating Type ◽

Strand Break ◽

Double Strand Break ◽

Type Locus ◽

Mating Type Locus ◽

Yeast Mating ◽

Dna Double Strand Break

Download Full-text

Identification of a protein that binds to the Ho endonuclease recognition sequence at the yeast mating type locus.

Molecular and Cellular Biology ◽

10.1128/mcb.17.2.770 ◽

1997 ◽

Vol 17 (2) ◽

pp. 770-777 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

R Wang ◽

Y Jin ◽

D Norris

Keyword(s):

Mating Type ◽

Recognition Sequence ◽

Mobility Shift ◽

Vitro Assay ◽

Type Locus ◽

Mating Type Locus ◽

Yeast Mating ◽

Mating Type Switching

Mating type switching in Saccharomyces cerevisiae initiates when Ho endonuclease makes a site-specific double-stranded break at MAT, the yeast mating type locus. To identify other proteins involved in this process, we examined whether extracts prepared from ho- mutants contain additional factors that bind near the recognition sequence for Ho. Using an electrophoretic mobility shift assay, we isolated a chromatographic fraction that contains an activity, named YZbp, which binds to two sequences flanking the recognition sequence at MATalpha and to one sequence overlapping it at MATa. MAT plasmids carrying mutations in the YZbp recognition sequence are cleaved by purified Ho at wild-type efficiencies in an in vitro assay. These same plasmids, however, are not cleaved by Ho inside cells, demonstrating that YZbp acts as a positive activator of in vivo cleavage. YZbp is present in all cell types, even those not undergoing mating type switching, suggesting that it has additional cellular functions.

Download Full-text