scholarly journals Genetic Interactions Between HOP1, RED1 and MEK1 Suggest That MEK1 Regulates Assembly of Axial Element Components During Meiosis in the Yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Genetics ◽  
1997 ◽  
Vol 147 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-42 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nancy M Hollingsworth ◽  
Lisa Ponte

Abstract During meiosis, axial elements are generated by the condensation of sister chromatids along a protein core as precursors to the formation of the synaptonemal complex (X). Functional axial elements are essential for wild-type levels of recombination and proper reductional segregation at meiosis I. Genetic and cytological data suggest that three meiosis-specific genes, HOP1, RED1 and MEK1, are involved in axial element formation in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. HOP1 and RED1 encode structural components of axial elements while MEK1 encodes a putative protein kinase. Using a partially functional allele of MEK1, new genetic interactions have been found between HOP1, RED1 and MEK1. Overexpression of HOP1 partially suppresses the spore inviability and recombination defects of mekl-974; in contrast, overexpression of RED1 exacerbates the mek1-974 spore inviability. Co-overexpression of HOP1 and RED1 in mek1-974 diploids alleviates the negative effect of overexpressing RED1 alone. Red1p/Red1p as well as Hop1p/Red1p interactions have been reconstituted in two hybrid experiments. Our results suggest a model whereby Mekl kinase activity controls axial element assembly by regulating the affinity with which Hoplp and Redlp interact with each other.

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.


2002 ◽  
Vol 22 (20) ◽  
pp. 6946-6948 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joanna Kamińska ◽  
Beata Gajewska ◽  
Anita K. Hopper ◽  
Teresa ˙Zołądek

ABSTRACT Rsp5p is an ubiquitin-protein ligase of Saccharomyces cerevisiae that has been implicated in numerous processes including transcription, mitochondrial inheritance, and endocytosis. Rsp5p functions at multiple steps of endocytosis, including ubiquitination of substrates and other undefined steps. We propose that one of the roles of Rsp5p in endocytosis involves maintenance and remodeling of the actin cytoskeleton. We report the following. (i) There are genetic interactions between rsp5 and several mutant genes encoding actin cytoskeletal proteins. rsp5 arp2, rsp5 end3, and rsp5 sla2 double mutants all show synthetic growth defects. Overexpressed wild-type RSP5 or mutant rsp5 genes with lesions of some WW domains suppress growth defects of arp2 and end3 cells. The defects in endocytosis, actin cytoskeleton, and morphology of arp2 are also suppressed. (ii) Rsp5p and Sla2p colocalize in abnormal F-actin-containing clumps in arp2 and pan1 mutants. Immunoprecipitation experiments confirmed that Rsp5p and Act1p colocalize in pan1 mutants. (iii) Rsp5p and Sla2p coimmunoprecipitate and partially colocalize to punctate structures in wild-type cells. These studies provide the first evidence for an interaction of an actin cytoskeleton protein with Rsp5p. (iv) rsp5-w1 mutants are resistant to latrunculin A, a drug that sequesters actin monomers and depolymerizes actin filaments, consistent with the fact that Rsp5p is involved in actin cytoskeleton dynamics.


1995 ◽  
Vol 130 (3) ◽  
pp. 687-700 ◽  
Author(s):  
E Yeh ◽  
R V Skibbens ◽  
J W Cheng ◽  
E D Salmon ◽  
K Bloom

We have used time-lapse digital- and video-enhanced differential interference contrast (DE-DIC, VE-DIC) microscopy to study the role of dynein in spindle and nuclear dynamics in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The real-time analysis reveals six stages in the spindle cycle. Anaphase B onset appears marked by a rapid phase of spindle elongation, simultaneous with nuclear migration into the daughter cell. The onset and kinetics of rapid spindle elongation are identical in wild type and dynein mutants. In the absence of dynein the nucleus does not migrate as close to the neck as in wild-type cells and initial spindle elongation is confined primarily to the mother cell. Rapid oscillations of the elongating spindle between the mother and bud are observed in wild-type cells, followed by a slower growth phase until the spindle reaches its maximal length. This stage is protracted in the dynein mutants and devoid of oscillatory motion. Thus dynein is required for rapid penetration of the nucleus into the bud and anaphase B spindle dynamics. Genetic analysis reveals that in the absence of a functional central spindle (ndcl), dynein is essential for chromosome movement into the bud. Immunofluorescent localization of dynein-beta-galactosidase fusion proteins reveals that dynein is associated with spindle pole bodies and the cell cortex: with spindle pole body localization dependent on intact microtubules. A kinetic analysis of nuclear movement also revealed that cytokinesis is delayed until nuclear translocation is completed, indicative of a surveillance pathway monitoring nuclear transit into the bud.


1996 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 1805-1812 ◽  
Author(s):  
J Zhu ◽  
R H Schiestl

Chromosome aberrations may cause cancer and many heritable diseases. Topoisomerase I has been suspected of causing chromosome aberrations by mediating illegitimate recombination. The effects of deletion and of overexpression of the topoisomerase I gene on illegitimate recombination in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae have been studied. Yeast transformations were carried out with DNA fragments that did not have any homology to the genomic DNA. The frequency of illegitimate integration was 6- to 12-fold increased in a strain overexpressing topoisomerase I compared with that in isogenic control strains. Hot spot sequences [(G/C)(A/T)T] for illegitimate integration target sites accounted for the majority of the additional events after overexpression of topoisomerase I. These hot spot sequences correspond to sequences previously identified in vitro as topoisomerase I preferred cleavage sequences in other organisms. Furthermore, such hot spot sequences were found in 44% of the integration events present in the TOP1 wild-type strain and at a significantly lower frequency in the top1delta strain. Our results provide in vivo evidence that a general eukaryotic topoisomerase I enzyme nicks DNA and ligates nonhomologous ends, leading to illegitimate recombination.


1978 ◽  
Vol 24 (6) ◽  
pp. 637-642 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. C. Thomas ◽  
Mary Spencer

Effects of the carbon source and oxygen on ethylene production by the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae have been studied. The amounts of ethylene evolved by the yeast culture were less than those detected in the blank (an equal volume of uninoculated medium), suggesting a net absorption of ethylene by the yeast cells. Addition of glucose to the lactate-grown yeast culture induced ethylene production. This glucose-induced stimulation of ethylene production was inhibited to a great extent by cycloheximide. Results suggested that the yeast cells in the presence of glucose synthesized an ethylene precursor and passed it into the medium. The conversion of this precursor to ethylene might be stimulated by oxygen. The fact that ethylene was produced by the yeast growing anaerobically and also by respiration-deficient mutants isolated from the wild-type yeast suggested that mitochondrial ATP synthesis was not an absolute requirement for ethylene biogenesis.


Genetics ◽  
1989 ◽  
Vol 122 (3) ◽  
pp. 535-542 ◽  
Author(s):  
B A Kunz ◽  
M G Peters ◽  
S E Kohalmi ◽  
J D Armstrong ◽  
M Glattke ◽  
...  

Abstract Defects in the RAD52 gene of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae confer a mutator phenotype. To characterize this effect in detail, a collection of 238 spontaneous SUP4-o mutations arising in a strain having a disrupted RAD52 gene was analyzed by DNA sequencing. The resulting mutational spectrum was compared to that derived from an examination of 222 spontaneous mutations selected in a nearisogenic wild-type (RAD52) strain. This comparison revealed that the mutator phenotype was associated with an increase in the frequency of base-pair substitutions. All possible types of substitution were detected but there was a reduction in the relative fraction of A.T----G.C transitions and an increase in the proportion of G.C----C.G transversions. These changes were sufficient to cause a twofold greater preference for substitutions at G.C sites in the rad52 strain despite a decrease in the fraction of G.C----T.A transversions. There were also considerable differences between the distributions of substitutions within the SUP4-o gene. Base-pair changes occurred at fewer sites in the rad52 strain but the mutated sites included several that were not detected in the RAD52 background. Only two of the four sites that were mutated most frequently in the rad52 strain were also prominent in the wild-type strain and mutation frequencies at almost all sites common to both strains were greater for the rad52 derivative. Although single base-pair deletions occurred in the two strains with similar frequencies, several classes of mutation that were recovered in the wild-type background including multiple base-pair deletions, insertions of the yeast transposable element Ty, and more complex changes, were not detected in the rad52 strain.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


1990 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 5235-5243 ◽  
Author(s):  
D M Baronas-Lowell ◽  
J R Warner

In the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, L30 is one of many ribosomal proteins that is encoded by two functional genes. We have cloned and sequenced RPL30B, which shows strong homology to RPL30A. Use of mRNA as a template for a polymerase chain reaction demonstrated that RPL30B contains an intron in its 5' untranslated region. This intron has an unusual 5' splice site, C/GUAUGU. The genomic copies of RPL30A and RPL30B were disrupted by homologous recombination. Growth rates, primer extension, and two-dimensional ribosomal protein analyses of these disruption mutants suggested that RPL30A is responsible for the majority of L30 production. Surprisingly, meiosis of a diploid strain carrying one disrupted RPL30A and one disrupted RPL30B yielded four viable spores. Ribosomes from haploid cells carrying both disrupted genes had no detectable L30, yet such cells grew with a doubling time only 30% longer than that of wild-type cells. Furthermore, depletion of L30 did not alter the ratio of 60S to 40S ribosomal subunits, suggesting that there is no serious effect on the assembly of 60S subunits. Polysome profiles, however, suggest that the absence of L30 leads to the formation of stalled translation initiation complexes.


1990 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 5235-5243
Author(s):  
D M Baronas-Lowell ◽  
J R Warner

In the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, L30 is one of many ribosomal proteins that is encoded by two functional genes. We have cloned and sequenced RPL30B, which shows strong homology to RPL30A. Use of mRNA as a template for a polymerase chain reaction demonstrated that RPL30B contains an intron in its 5' untranslated region. This intron has an unusual 5' splice site, C/GUAUGU. The genomic copies of RPL30A and RPL30B were disrupted by homologous recombination. Growth rates, primer extension, and two-dimensional ribosomal protein analyses of these disruption mutants suggested that RPL30A is responsible for the majority of L30 production. Surprisingly, meiosis of a diploid strain carrying one disrupted RPL30A and one disrupted RPL30B yielded four viable spores. Ribosomes from haploid cells carrying both disrupted genes had no detectable L30, yet such cells grew with a doubling time only 30% longer than that of wild-type cells. Furthermore, depletion of L30 did not alter the ratio of 60S to 40S ribosomal subunits, suggesting that there is no serious effect on the assembly of 60S subunits. Polysome profiles, however, suggest that the absence of L30 leads to the formation of stalled translation initiation complexes.


1990 ◽  
Vol 110 (1) ◽  
pp. 105-114 ◽  
Author(s):  
B K Haarer ◽  
S H Lillie ◽  
A E Adams ◽  
V Magdolen ◽  
W Bandlow ◽  
...  

We have isolated profilin from yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) and have microsequenced a portion of the protein to confirm its identity; the region microsequenced agrees with the predicted amino acid sequence from a profilin gene recently isolated from S. cerevisiae (Magdolen, V., U. Oechsner, G. Müller, and W. Bandlow. 1988. Mol. Cell. Biol. 8:5108-5115). Yeast profilin resembles profilins from other organisms in molecular mass and in the ability to bind to polyproline, retard the rate of actin polymerization, and inhibit hydrolysis of ATP by monomeric actin. Using strains that carry disruptions or deletions of the profilin gene, we have found that, under appropriate conditions, cells can survive without detectable profilin. Such cells grow slowly, are temperature sensitive, lose the normal ellipsoidal shape of yeast cells, often become multinucleate, and generally grow much larger than wild-type cells. In addition, these cells exhibit delocalized deposition of cell wall chitin and have dramatically altered actin distributions.


2005 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 1178-1188 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Winey ◽  
Garry P. Morgan ◽  
Paul D. Straight ◽  
Thomas H. Giddings ◽  
David N. Mastronarde

Meiotic chromosome segregation leads to the production of haploid germ cells. During meiosis I (MI), the paired homologous chromosomes are separated. Meiosis II (MII) segregation leads to the separation of paired sister chromatids. In the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, both of these divisions take place in a single nucleus, giving rise to the four-spored ascus. We have modeled the microtubules in 20 MI and 15 MII spindles by using reconstruction from electron micrographs of serially sectioned meiotic cells. Meiotic spindles contain more microtubules than their mitotic counterparts, with the highest number in MI spindles. It is possible to differentiate between MI versus MII spindles based on microtubule numbers and organization. Similar to mitotic spindles, kinetochores in either MI or MII are attached by a single microtubule. The models indicate that the kinetochores of paired homologous chromosomes in MI or sister chromatids in MII are separated at metaphase, similar to mitotic cells. Examination of both MI and MII spindles reveals that anaphase A likely occurs in addition to anaphase B and that these movements are concurrent. This analysis offers a structural basis for considering meiotic segregation in yeast and for the analysis of mutants defective in this process.


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