scholarly journals Epistasis analysis of suppressor mutations that allow HO expression in the absence of the yeast SW15 transcriptional activator.

Genetics ◽  
1994 ◽  
Vol 136 (3) ◽  
pp. 781-788 ◽  
Author(s):  
D J Stillman ◽  
S Dorland ◽  
Y Yu

Abstract We have examined mutations which overcome the requirement for SW15-dependent transcriptional activation of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae HO gene. We show that the RPD3 gene is the same as SDI2, and that SIN4 is the same as the TSF3 and SDI3 genes. We have also identified a new swi5 suppressor, RGR1. The RGR1 gene was identified originally as a negative regulator of SUC2. Epistasis analysis indicates that six swi5 suppressor genes function in four distinct pathways, with RPD3 and SIN3 in one pathway, RGR1 and SIN4 in a second pathway, and SDI4 and SIN5 each in distinct pathways. Finally, we show that complete suppression of the swi5 defect in HO expression by sin5 requires the wild-type ACE2 gene. This suggests that one function of SIN5 is to prevent ACE2, a SWI5 homolog, from activating HO expression.

1989 ◽  
Vol 9 (9) ◽  
pp. 3869-3877
Author(s):  
P A Bricmont ◽  
T G Cooper

The allantoin-degradative pathway of Saccharomyces cerevisiae consists of several genes whose expression is highly induced by the presence of allophanic acid. Induced expression requires a functional DAL81 gene product. Analysis of these genes has demonstrated the presence of three cis-acting elements in the upstream regions: (i) an upstream activation sequence (UAS) required for transcriptional activation in an inducer-independent fashion, (ii) an upstream repression sequence (URS) that mediates inhibition of this transcriptional activation, and (iii) an upstream induction sequence (UIS) needed for a response to inducer. The UIS element mediates inhibition of URS-mediated function when inducer is present. We cloned and characterized the DAL81 gene and identified the element with which it was associated. The gene was found to encode a rare 3.2-kilobase-pair mRNA. The amount of DAL81-specific RNA responded neither to induction nor to nitrogen catabolite repression. Deletion of the DAL81 gene resulted in loss of induction but did not significantly affect basal level expression of the DAL7 and DUR1,2 genes or the UAS and URS functions present in plasmid constructions. These data suggest that (i) transcriptional activation of the DAL genes and their responses to inducer are mediated by different factors and cis-acting sequences and (ii) the UIS functions only when a wild-type DAL81 gene product is available.


1985 ◽  
Vol 5 (8) ◽  
pp. 1901-1909
Author(s):  
M A Oettinger ◽  
K Struhl

Transcription of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae his3 gene requires an upstream promoter element and a TATA element. A strain containing his3-delta 13, an allele which deletes the upstream promoter element but contains the TATA box and intact structural gene, fails to express the gene and consequently is unable to grow in medium lacking histidine. In this paper we characterize His+ revertants of his3-delta 13 which are due to unlinked suppressor mutations. Recessive suppressors in three different ope genes allow his3-delta 13 to be expressed at wild-type levels. In all cases, the suppression is due to increased his3 transcription. However, unlike the wild-type his3 gene, whose transcripts are initiated about equally from two different sites (+1 and +12), transcription due to the ope mutations is initiated only from the +12 site, ope-mediated transcription is regulated in a novel manner; it is observed in minimal medium, but not in rich broth. Although ope mutations restore wild-type levels of transcription, his3 chromatin structure, as assayed by micrococcal nuclease sensitivity of the TATA box, resembles that found in the his3-delta 13 parent rather than in the wild-type strain. This provides further evidence that TATA box sensitivity is not correlated with transcriptional activation. ope mutations are pleiotropic in that cells have a crunchy colony morphology and lyse at 37 degrees C in conditions of normal osmolarity. ope mutations are allele specific because they fail to suppress five other his3 promoter mutations. We discuss implications concerning upstream promoter elements and propose some models for ope suppression.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Beatriz Val Torregrosa ◽  
Mireia Bundo ◽  
Tzyy Jen Chiou ◽  
Victor Flors ◽  
Blanca San Segundo

Background: Phosphorus is an important macronutrient required for plant growth and development. It is absorbed through the roots in the form of inorganic phosphate (Pi). To cope with Pi limitation, plants have evolved an array of adaptive mechanisms to facilitate Pi acquisition and protect them from stress caused by Pi starvation. The NITROGEN LIMITATION ADAPTION (NLA) gene plays a key role in the regulation of phosphate starvation responses (PSR), its expression being regulated by the microRNA miR827. Stress caused by Pi limiting conditions might also affect the plant response to pathogen infection. However, cross-talk between phosphate signaling pathways and immune responses remains unclear. Results: In this study, we investigated whether NLA plays a role in Arabidopsis immunity. We show that loss-of-function of NLA and MIR827 overexpression causes an increase in phosphate (Pi) content which results in resistance to infection by the fungal pathogen Plectosphaerella cucumerina. The nla mutant plants accumulated callose in their leaves, a response that is also observed in wild-type plants that have been treated with high Pi. We also show that pathogen infection and treatment with fungal elicitors is accompanied by transcriptional activation of MIR827 and down-regulation of NLA. Upon pathogen challenge, nla plants exhibited higher levels of the phytoalexin camalexin compared to wild type plants. Camalexin level also increases in wild type plants treated with high Pi. Furthermore, the nla mutant plants accumulated salicylic acid (SA) and jasmonic acid (JA) in the absence of pathogen infection whose levels further increased upon pathogen. Conclusions: This study shows that NLA acts as a negative regulator of Arabidopsis immunity. Overaccumulation of Pi in nla plants positively affects resistance to infection by fungal pathogens. This piece of information reinforces the idea of signaling convergence between Pi and immune responses for the regulation of disease resistance in Arabidopsis.


2003 ◽  
Vol 185 (13) ◽  
pp. 3878-3887 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jianping Yu ◽  
Gaozhong Shen ◽  
Tao Wang ◽  
Donald A. Bryant ◽  
John H. Golbeck ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT In previous work, some members of our group isolated mutant strains of Synechocystis sp. strain PCC 6803 in which point mutations had been inserted into the psaC gene to alter the cysteine residues to the FA and FB iron-sulfur clusters in the PsaC subunit of photosystem I (J. P. Yu, I. R. Vassiliev, Y. S. Jung, J. H. Golbeck, and L. McIntosh, J. Biol. Chem. 272:8032-8039, 1997). These mutant strains did not grow photoautotrophically due to suppressed levels of chlorophyll a and photosystem I. In the results described here, we show that suppressor mutations produced strains that are capable of photoautotrophic growth at moderate light intensity (20 μmol m−2 s−1). Two separate suppressor strains of C14SPsaC, termed C14SPsaC-R62 and C14SPsaC-R18, were studied and found to have mutations in a previously uncharacterized open reading frame of the Synechocystis sp. strain PCC 6803 genome named sll0088. C14SPsaC-R62 was found to substitute Pro for Arg at residue 161 as the result of a G482→C change in sll0088, and C14SPsaC-R18 was found to have a three-amino-acid insertion of Gly-Tyr-Phe following Cys231 as the result of a TGGTTATTT duplication at T690 in sll0088. These suppressor strains showed near-wild-type levels of chlorophyll a and photosystem I, yet the serine oxygen ligand to FB was retained as shown by the retention of the S ≥ 3/2 spin state of the [4Fe-4S] cluster. The inactivation of sll0088 by insertion of a kanamycin resistance cartridge in the primary C14SPsaC mutant produced an engineered suppressor strain capable of photoautotrophic growth. There was no difference in psaC gene expression or in the amount of PsaC protein assembled in thylakoids between the wild type and an sll0088 deletion mutant. The sll0088 gene encodes a protein predicted to be a transcriptional regulator with sequence similarities to transcription factors in other prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms, including Arabidopsis thaliana. The protein contains a typical helix-turn-helix DNA-binding motif and can be classified as a negative regulator by phylogenetic analysis. This suggests that the product of sll0088 has a role in regulating the biogenesis of photosystem I.


1985 ◽  
Vol 5 (8) ◽  
pp. 1901-1909 ◽  
Author(s):  
M A Oettinger ◽  
K Struhl

Transcription of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae his3 gene requires an upstream promoter element and a TATA element. A strain containing his3-delta 13, an allele which deletes the upstream promoter element but contains the TATA box and intact structural gene, fails to express the gene and consequently is unable to grow in medium lacking histidine. In this paper we characterize His+ revertants of his3-delta 13 which are due to unlinked suppressor mutations. Recessive suppressors in three different ope genes allow his3-delta 13 to be expressed at wild-type levels. In all cases, the suppression is due to increased his3 transcription. However, unlike the wild-type his3 gene, whose transcripts are initiated about equally from two different sites (+1 and +12), transcription due to the ope mutations is initiated only from the +12 site, ope-mediated transcription is regulated in a novel manner; it is observed in minimal medium, but not in rich broth. Although ope mutations restore wild-type levels of transcription, his3 chromatin structure, as assayed by micrococcal nuclease sensitivity of the TATA box, resembles that found in the his3-delta 13 parent rather than in the wild-type strain. This provides further evidence that TATA box sensitivity is not correlated with transcriptional activation. ope mutations are pleiotropic in that cells have a crunchy colony morphology and lyse at 37 degrees C in conditions of normal osmolarity. ope mutations are allele specific because they fail to suppress five other his3 promoter mutations. We discuss implications concerning upstream promoter elements and propose some models for ope suppression.


2008 ◽  
Vol 28 (7) ◽  
pp. 2380-2390 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hong Ji ◽  
Christopher J. Adkins ◽  
Bethany R. Cartwright ◽  
Katherine L. Friedman

ABSTRACT In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the sequence-specific binding of the negative regulator Rap1p provides a mechanism to measure telomere length: as the telomere length increases, the binding of additional Rap1p inhibits telomerase activity in cis. We provide evidence that the association of Rap1p with telomeric DNA in vivo occurs in part by sequence-independent mechanisms. Specific mutations in EST2 (est2-LT) reduce the association of Rap1p with telomeric DNA in vivo. As a result, telomeres are abnormally long yet bind an amount of Rap1p equivalent to that observed at wild-type telomeres. This behavior contrasts with that of a second mutation in EST2 (est2-up34) that increases bound Rap1p as expected for a strain with long telomeres. Telomere sequences are subtly altered in est2-LT strains, but similar changes in est2-up34 telomeres suggest that sequence abnormalities are a consequence, not a cause, of overelongation. Indeed, est2-LT telomeres bind Rap1p indistinguishably from the wild type in vitro. Taken together, these results suggest that Est2p can directly or indirectly influence the binding of Rap1p to telomeric DNA, implicating telomerase in roles both upstream and downstream of Rap1p in telomere length homeostasis.


Genetics ◽  
1980 ◽  
Vol 94 (2) ◽  
pp. 341-360
Author(s):  
Deborah Wygal Mascioli ◽  
James E Haber

ABSTRACT Homothallic strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae are able to switch from one mating-type to the other as frequently as every cell division. We have identified a cis-dominant mutation of the MATa locus, designated MATa-inc, that can be converted to MATα at only about 5% of the normal efficiency. In homothallic MATa-inc/mata* diploids, the MATa-inc locus switched to MATα in only one of 30 cases, while the mata* locus switched to MATα in all 30 cases. The MATa-inc mutation can be "healed" by a series of switches, first to MATα and then to a normal allele of MATa. These data are consistent with the "cassette" model of HICKS, STRATHERN and HERSKOWITZ (1977), in which mating conversions involve the transposition of wild-type copies of a or α information from silent genes elsewhere in the genome. The MATa-inc mutation appears to alter a DNA sequence necessary for the replacement of MATa by MATα. The MATa-inc mutation has no other effect on MATa functions. In heterothallic backgrounds, the mutation has no effect on the sensitivity to α-factor, synthesis of a-factor, expression of barrier phenotype or ability to mate or sporulate.—The MATa-inc allele does, however, exhibit one pleiotropic effect. About 1% of homothallic MATa-inc cells become completely unable to switch mating type because ofmutations at HMa, the locus proposed to carry the silent copy of α information.—In addition, we have isolated a less efficient allele of the HO gene.


1984 ◽  
Vol 4 (8) ◽  
pp. 1521-1527
Author(s):  
T E Torchia ◽  
R W Hamilton ◽  
C L Cano ◽  
J E Hopper

In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the transcriptional expression of the galactose-melibiose catabolic pathway genes is under the control of at least three regulatory genes, GAL4, GAL80, and GAL3. We have isolated the GAL80 gene and have studied the effect of a null mutation on the carbon-controlled regulation of the MEL1 and GAL cluster genes. The null mutation was achieved in vivo by replacing the chromosomal wild-type GAL80 allele with an in vitro-created GAL80 deletion-disruption mutation. Enzyme activities and RNA levels for the GAL cluster and MEL1 genes were constitutively expressed in the null mutant strain grown on glycerol-lactate and were higher than in the isogenic wild-type yeast strain when compared after growth on galactose. Carbon catabolite repression of the GAL cluster and MEL1 genes, which occurs at the level of transcription, is retained in the null mutant. Deletion of the GAL80 gene in a gal4 cell does not restore GAL cluster and MEL1 gene expression. The data demonstrate that (i) the GAL80 protein is a purely negative regulator, (ii) the GAL80 protein does not mediate carbon catabolite repression, and (iii) the GAL4 protein is not simply an antagonizer of GAL80-mediated repression.


1984 ◽  
Vol 4 (8) ◽  
pp. 1521-1527 ◽  
Author(s):  
T E Torchia ◽  
R W Hamilton ◽  
C L Cano ◽  
J E Hopper

In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the transcriptional expression of the galactose-melibiose catabolic pathway genes is under the control of at least three regulatory genes, GAL4, GAL80, and GAL3. We have isolated the GAL80 gene and have studied the effect of a null mutation on the carbon-controlled regulation of the MEL1 and GAL cluster genes. The null mutation was achieved in vivo by replacing the chromosomal wild-type GAL80 allele with an in vitro-created GAL80 deletion-disruption mutation. Enzyme activities and RNA levels for the GAL cluster and MEL1 genes were constitutively expressed in the null mutant strain grown on glycerol-lactate and were higher than in the isogenic wild-type yeast strain when compared after growth on galactose. Carbon catabolite repression of the GAL cluster and MEL1 genes, which occurs at the level of transcription, is retained in the null mutant. Deletion of the GAL80 gene in a gal4 cell does not restore GAL cluster and MEL1 gene expression. The data demonstrate that (i) the GAL80 protein is a purely negative regulator, (ii) the GAL80 protein does not mediate carbon catabolite repression, and (iii) the GAL4 protein is not simply an antagonizer of GAL80-mediated repression.


Blood ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 106 (9) ◽  
pp. 3150-3159 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kensuke Kojima ◽  
Marina Konopleva ◽  
Ismael J. Samudio ◽  
Masato Shikami ◽  
Maria Cabreira-Hansen ◽  
...  

AbstractAlthough TP53 mutations are rare in acute myeloid leukemia (AML), inactivation of wild-type p53 protein frequently occurs through overexpression of its negative regulator MDM2 (murine double minute 2). Recently, small-molecule antagonists of MDM2, Nutlins, have been developed that inhibit the p53-MDM2 interaction and activate p53 signaling. Here, we study the effects of p53 activation by Nutlin-3 in AML cells. Treatment with MDM2 inhibitor triggered several molecular events consistent with induction of apoptosis: loss of mitochondrial membrane potential, caspase activation, phosphatidylserine externalization, and DNA fragmentation. There was a positive correlation in primary AML samples with wild-type p53 between baseline MDM2 protein levels and apoptosis induced by MDM2 inhibition. No induction of apoptosis was observed in AML samples harboring mutant p53. Colony formation of AML progenitors was inhibited in a dose-dependent fashion, whereas normal CD34+ progenitor cells were less affected. Mechanistic studies suggested that Nutlin-induced apoptosis was mediated by both transcriptional activation of proapoptotic Bcl-2 family proteins, and transcription-independent mitochondrial permeabilization resulting from mitochondrial p53 translocation. MDM2 inhibition synergistically enhanced cytotoxicity of cytosine arabinoside and doxorubicin in AML blasts but not in normal hematopoietic progenitor cells. p53 activation by targeting the p53-MDM2 interaction might offer a novel therapeutic strategy for AML that retain wild-type p53.


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