scholarly journals Mutational Analysis of the Structure and Localization of the Nucleolus in the Yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae

1998 ◽  
Vol 143 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-34 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Oakes ◽  
J.P. Aris ◽  
J.S. Brockenbrough ◽  
H. Wai ◽  
L. Vu ◽  
...  

The nucleolus in Saccharomyces cerevisiae is a crescent-shaped structure that makes extensive contact with the nuclear envelope. In different chromosomal rDNA deletion mutants that we have analyzed, the nucleolus is not organized into a crescent structure, as determined by immunofluorescence microscopy, fluorescence in situ hybridization, and electron microscopy. A strain carrying a plasmid with a single rDNA repeat transcribed by RNA polymerase I (Pol I) contained a fragmented nucleolus distributed throughout the nucleus, primarily localized at the nuclear periphery. A strain carrying a plasmid with the 35S rRNA coding region fused to the GAL7 promoter and transcribed by Pol II contained a rounded nucleolus that often lacked extensive contact with the nuclear envelope. Ultrastructurally distinct domains were observed within the round nucleolus. A similar rounded nucleolar morphology was also observed in strains carrying the Pol I plasmid in combination with mutations that affect Pol I function. In a Pol I–defective mutant strain that carried copies of the GAL7-35S rDNA fusion gene integrated into the chromosomal rDNA locus, the nucleolus exhibited a round morphology, but was more closely associated with the nuclear envelope in the form of a bulge. Thus, both the organization of the rDNA genes and the type of polymerase involved in rDNA expression strongly influence the organization and localization of the nucleolus.

Genetics ◽  
1997 ◽  
Vol 145 (3) ◽  
pp. 661-670 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qing-Qing Fan ◽  
Fei Xu ◽  
Michael A White ◽  
Thomas D Petes

In a wild-type strain of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, a hotspot for meiotic recombination is located upstream of the HIS4 gene. An insertion of a 49-bp telomeric sequence into the coding region of HIS4 strongly stimulates meiotic recombination and the local formation of meiosis-specific double-strand DNA breaks (DSBs). When strains are constructed in which both hotspots are heterozygous, hotspot activity is substantially less when the hotspots are on the same chromosome than when they are on opposite chromosomes.


1997 ◽  
Vol 17 (6) ◽  
pp. 2994-3004 ◽  
Author(s):  
M Kaouass ◽  
M Audette ◽  
D Ramotar ◽  
S Verma ◽  
D De Montigny ◽  
...  

Eukaryotic polyamine transport systems have not yet been characterized at the molecular level. We have used transposon mutagenesis to identify genes controlling polyamine transport in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. A haploid yeast strain was transformed with a genomic minitransposon- and lacZ-tagged library, and positive clones were selected for growth resistance to methylglyoxal bis(guanylhydrazone) (MGBG), a toxic polyamine analog. A 747-bp DNA fragment adjacent to the lacZ fusion gene rescued from one MGBG-resistant clone mapped to chromosome X within the coding region of a putative Ser/Thr protein kinase gene of previously unknown function (YJR059w, or STK2). A 304-amino-acid stretch comprising 11 of the 12 catalytic subdomains of Stk2p is approximately 83% homologous to the putative Pot1p/Kkt8p (Stk1p) protein kinase, a recently described activator of low-affinity spermine uptake in yeast. Saturable spermidine transport in stk2::lacZ mutants had an approximately fivefold-lower affinity and twofold-lower Vmax than in the parental strain. Transformation of stk2::lacZ cells with the STK2 gene cloned into a single-copy expression vector restored spermidine transport to wild-type levels. Single mutants lacking the catalytic kinase subdomains of STK1 exhibited normal parameters for the initial rate of spermidine transport but showed a time-dependent decrease in total polyamine accumulation and a low-level resistance to toxic polyamine analogs. Spermidine transport was repressed by prior incubation with exogenous spermidine. Exogenous polyamine deprivation also derepressed residual spermidine transport in stk2::lacZ mutants, but simultaneous disruption of STK1 and STK2 virtually abolished high-affinity spermidine transport under both repressed and derepressed conditions. On the other hand, putrescine uptake was also deficient in stk2::lacZ mutants but was not repressed by exogenous spermidine. Interestingly, stk2::lacZ mutants showed increased growth resistance to Li+ and Na+, suggesting a regulatory relationship between polyamine and monovalent inorganic cation transport. These results indicate that the putative STK2 Ser/Thr kinase gene is an essential determinant of high-affinity polyamine transport in yeast whereas its close homolog STK1 mostly affects a lower-affinity, low-capacity polyamine transport activity.


1986 ◽  
Vol 6 (12) ◽  
pp. 4335-4343
Author(s):  
J E Ogden ◽  
C Stanway ◽  
S Kim ◽  
J Mellor ◽  
A J Kingsman ◽  
...  

The Saccharomyces cerevisiae PGK (phosphoglycerate kinase) gene encodes one of the most abundant mRNA and protein species in the cell. To identify the promoter sequences required for the efficient expression of PGK, we undertook a detailed internal deletion analysis of the 5' noncoding region of the gene. Our analysis revealed that PGK has an upstream activation sequence (UASPGK) located between 402 and 479 nucleotides upstream from the initiating ATG sequence which is required for full transcriptional activity. Deletion of this sequence caused a marked reduction in the levels of PGK transcription. We showed that PGK has no requirement for TATA sequences; deletion of one or both potential TATA sequences had no effect on either the levels of PGK expression or the accuracy of transcription initiation. We also showed that the UASPGK functions as efficiently when in the inverted orientation and that it can enhance transcription when placed upstream of a TRP1-IFN fusion gene comprising the promoter of TRP1 fused to the coding region of human interferon alpha-2.


Genes ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (9) ◽  
pp. 462 ◽  
Author(s):  
Janet Taggart ◽  
Yirong Wang ◽  
Erin Weisenhorn ◽  
Colin W. MacDiarmid ◽  
Jason Russell ◽  
...  

Zinc homeostasis is essential for all organisms. The Zap1 transcriptional activator regulates these processes in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. During zinc deficiency, Zap1 increases expression of zinc transporters and proteins involved in adapting to the stress of zinc deficiency. Transcriptional activation by Zap1 can also repress expression of some genes, e.g., RTC4. In zinc-replete cells, RTC4 mRNA is produced with a short transcript leader that is efficiently translated. During deficiency, Zap1-dependent expression of an RNA with a longer transcript leader represses the RTC4 promoter. This long leader transcript (LLT) is not translated due to the presence of small open reading frames upstream of the RTC4 coding region. In this study, we show that the RTC4 LLT RNA also plays a second function, i.e., repression of the adjacent GIS2 gene. In generating the LLT transcript, RNA polymerase II transcribes RTC4 through the GIS2 promoter. Production of the LLT RNA correlates with the decreased expression of GIS2 mRNA and mutations that prevent synthesis of the LLT RNA or terminate it before the GIS2 promoter renders GIS2 mRNA expression and Gis2 protein accumulation constitutive. Thus, we have discovered an unusual regulatory mechanism that uses a bicistronic RNA to control two genes simultaneously.


2006 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 1768-1778 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph L. Campbell ◽  
Alexander Lorenz ◽  
Keren L. Witkin ◽  
Thomas Hays ◽  
Josef Loidl ◽  
...  

Little is known about what dictates the round shape of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae nucleus. In spo7Δ mutants, the nucleus is misshapen, exhibiting a single protrusion. The Spo7 protein is part of a phosphatase complex that represses phospholipid biosynthesis. Here, we report that the nuclear protrusion of spo7Δ mutants colocalizes with the nucleolus, whereas the nuclear compartment containing the bulk of the DNA is unaffected. Using strains in which the nucleolus is not intimately associated with the nuclear envelope, we show that the single nuclear protrusion of spo7Δ mutants is not a result of nucleolar expansion, but rather a property of the nuclear membrane. We found that in spo7Δ mutants the peripheral endoplasmic reticulum (ER) membrane was also expanded. Because the nuclear membrane and the ER are contiguous, this finding indicates that in spo7Δ mutants all ER membranes, with the exception of the membrane surrounding the bulk of the DNA, undergo expansion. Our results suggest that the nuclear envelope has distinct domains that differ in their ability to resist membrane expansion in response to increased phospholipid biosynthesis. We further propose that in budding yeast there is a mechanism, or structure, that restricts nuclear membrane expansion around the bulk of the DNA.


1991 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 3060-3069 ◽  
Author(s):  
S Irniger ◽  
C M Egli ◽  
G H Braus

This report provides an analysis of the function of polyadenylation sites from six different genes of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. These sites were tested for their ability to turn off read-through transcription into the URA3 gene in vivo when inserted into an ACT-URA3 fusion gene. The 3' ends of all polyadenylation sites inserted into the test system in their natural configuration are identical to the 3' ends of the chromosomal genes. We identified two classes of polyadenylation sites: (i) efficient sites (originating from the genes GCN4 and PHO5) that were functional in a strict orientation-dependent manner and (ii) bidirectional sites (derived from ARO4, TRP1, and TRP4) that had a distinctly reduced efficiency. The ADH1 polyadenylation site was efficient and bidirectional and was shown to be a combination of two polyadenylation sites of two convergently transcribed genes. Sequence comparison revealed that all efficient unidirectional polyadenylation sites contain the sequence TTTTTAT, whereas all bidirectional sites have the tripartite sequence TAG...TA (T)GT...TTT. Both sequence elements have previously been proposed to be involved in 3' end formation. Site-directed point mutagenesis of the TTTTTAT sequence had no effect, whereas mutations within the tripartite sequence caused a reduced efficiency for 3' end formation. The tripartite sequence alone, however, is not sufficient for 3' end formation, but it might be part of a signal sequence in the bidirectional class of yeast polyadenylation sites. Our findings support the assumption that there are at least two different mechanisms with different sequence elements directing 3' end formation in yeast.


1996 ◽  
Vol 16 (6) ◽  
pp. 2772-2776 ◽  
Author(s):  
Z Guo ◽  
F Sherman

The following three elements were previously shown to be required for 3'-end formation of mRNA in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae: (i) the efficiency element TATATA or related sequences, which function by enhancing the efficiency of downstream positioning elements; (ii) the positioning element AATAAA or related sequences, which position the poly(A) site; and (iii) the actual poly(A) site, which is usually Py(A)n. In this study, we synthesized a 39-pb poly(A) signal that contained the optimum sequences of these three elements. By inserting the synthetic 3'-end-forming signal into various positions of a CYC1-lacZ fusion gene, we showed that truncated transcripts of the expected sizes were generated. Furthermore, the poly(A) sites of the truncated transcripts were mapped to the expected poly(A) site within the synthetic signal. Our findings establish that the three elements are not only necessary but also sufficient for mRNA 3'-end formation in S. cerevisiae.


Author(s):  
Eduard C. Hurt ◽  
Ann Mutvei ◽  
Maria Carmo-Fonseca

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