scholarly journals PRECISE MAPPING OF THE HOMOTHALLISM GENES HML AND HMR IN SACCHAROMYCES CEREVISIAE

Genetics ◽  
1980 ◽  
Vol 96 (2) ◽  
pp. 315-320
Author(s):  
Amar J S Klar ◽  
Jean McIndoo ◽  
James B Hicks ◽  
Jeffrey N Strathern

ABSTRACT The HML and HMR loci carry unexpressed copies of MAT  a and MATα information, and a replica of that information is transposed to MAT during mating-type interchange in Saccharomyces yeasts. A negative control mechanism keeps silent the information located at the HML and HMR loci. We mapped these loci by constructing strains in which these loci are expressed. In these strains, the mating type of the segregants is dependent upon the allele at HML and HMR. This novel approach is independent of their switching function. HML is located on the left arm of chromosome III distal to his4 by about 26.8 centimorgans (cM). HMR maps on the right arm of the same chromosome distal to thr4 by about 39.8 cM and proximal to MAL2 by about 1.0 cM. The results allow the exact placement of these loci and are in accord with the observations made by Harashima and Oshima (1976).

1982 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-20 ◽  
Author(s):  
R K Chan ◽  
C A Otte

Eight independently isolated mutants which are supersensitive (Sst-) to the G1 arrest induced by the tridecapeptide pheromone alpha factor were identified by screening mutagenized Saccharomyces cerevisiae MATa cells on solid medium for increased growth inhibition by alpha factor. These mutants carried lesions in two complementation groups, sst1 and sst2. Mutations at the sst1 locus were mating type specific: MATa sst1 cells were supersensitive to alpha factor, but MAT alpha sst1 cells were not supersensitive to a factor. In contrast, mutations at the sst2 locus conferred supersensitivity to the pheromones of the opposite mating type on both MATa and MAT alpha cells. Even in the absence of added alpha pheromone, about 10% of the cells in exponentially growing cultures of MATa strains carrying any of three different alleles of sst2 (including the ochre mutation sst2-4) had the aberrant morphology ("shmoo" shape) that normally develops only after MATa cells are exposed to alpha factor. This "self-shmooing" phenotype was genetically linked to the sst2 mutations, although the leakiest allele isolated (sst2-3) did not display this characteristic. Normal MATa/MAT alpha diploids do not respond to pheromones; diploids homozygous for an sst2 mutation (MATa/MAT alpha sst2-1/sst2-1) were still insensitive to alpha factor. The sst1 gene was mapped to within 6.9 centimorgans of his6 on chromosome IX. The sst2 gene was unlinked to sst1, was not centromere linked, and was shown to be neither linked to nor centromere distal to MAT on the right arm of chromosome III.


1982 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-20
Author(s):  
R K Chan ◽  
C A Otte

Eight independently isolated mutants which are supersensitive (Sst-) to the G1 arrest induced by the tridecapeptide pheromone alpha factor were identified by screening mutagenized Saccharomyces cerevisiae MATa cells on solid medium for increased growth inhibition by alpha factor. These mutants carried lesions in two complementation groups, sst1 and sst2. Mutations at the sst1 locus were mating type specific: MATa sst1 cells were supersensitive to alpha factor, but MAT alpha sst1 cells were not supersensitive to a factor. In contrast, mutations at the sst2 locus conferred supersensitivity to the pheromones of the opposite mating type on both MATa and MAT alpha cells. Even in the absence of added alpha pheromone, about 10% of the cells in exponentially growing cultures of MATa strains carrying any of three different alleles of sst2 (including the ochre mutation sst2-4) had the aberrant morphology ("shmoo" shape) that normally develops only after MATa cells are exposed to alpha factor. This "self-shmooing" phenotype was genetically linked to the sst2 mutations, although the leakiest allele isolated (sst2-3) did not display this characteristic. Normal MATa/MAT alpha diploids do not respond to pheromones; diploids homozygous for an sst2 mutation (MATa/MAT alpha sst2-1/sst2-1) were still insensitive to alpha factor. The sst1 gene was mapped to within 6.9 centimorgans of his6 on chromosome IX. The sst2 gene was unlinked to sst1, was not centromere linked, and was shown to be neither linked to nor centromere distal to MAT on the right arm of chromosome III.


1996 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 657-668 ◽  
Author(s):  
X Wu ◽  
J K Moore ◽  
J E Haber

During homothallic switching of the mating-type (MAT) gene in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, a- or alpha-specific sequences are replaced by opposite mating-type sequences copied from one of two silent donor loci, HML alpha or HMRa. The two donors lie at opposite ends of chromosome III, approximately 190 and 90 kb, respectively, from MAT. MAT alpha cells preferentially recombine with HMR, while MATa cells select HML. The mechanisms of donor selection are different for the two mating types. MATa cells, deleted for the preferred HML gene, efficiently use HMR as a donor. However, in MAT alpha cells, HML is not an efficient donor when HMR is deleted; consequently, approximately one-third of HO HML alpha MAT alpha hmr delta cells die because they fail to repair the HO endonuclease-induced double-strand break at MAT. MAT alpha donor preference depends not on the sequence differences between HML and HMR or their surrounding regions but on their chromosomal locations. Cloned HMR donors placed at three other locations to the left of MAT, on either side of the centromere, all fail to act as efficient donors. When the donor is placed 37 kb to the left of MAT, its proximity overcomes normal donor preference, but this position is again inefficiently used when additional DNA is inserted in between the donor and MAT to increase the distance to 62 kb. Donors placed to the right of MAT are efficiently recruited, and in fact a donor situated 16 kb proximal to HMR is used in preference to HMR. The cis-acting chromosomal determinants of MAT alpha preference are not influenced by the chromosomal orientation of MAT or by sequences as far as 6 kb from HMR. These data argue that there is an alpha-specific mechanism to inhibit the use of donors to the left of MAT alpha, causing the cell to recombine most often with donors to the right of MAT alpha.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mingguang Li ◽  
Ryan D. Fine ◽  
Manikarna Dinda ◽  
Stefan Bekiranov ◽  
Jeffrey S. Smith

AbstractThe NAD+-dependent histone deacetylase Sir2 was originally identified in Saccharomyces cerevisiae as a silencing factor for HML and HMR, the heterochromatic cassettes utilized as donor templates during mating-type switching. MATa cells preferentially switch to MATα using HML as the donor, which is driven by an adjacent cis-acting element called the recombination enhancer (RE). In this study we demonstrate that Sir2 and the condensin complex are recruited to the RE exclusively in MATa cells, specifically to the promoter of a small gene within the right half of the RE known as RDT1. We go on to demonstrate that the RDT1 promoter functions as a locus control region (LCR) that regulates both transcription and long-range chromatin interactions. Sir2 represses the transcription of RDT1 until it is redistributed to a dsDNA break at the MAT locus induced by the HO endonuclease during mating-type switching. Condensin is also recruited to the RDT1 promoter and is displaced upon HO induction, but does not significantly repress RDT1 transcription. Instead condensin appears to promote mating-type switching efficiency and donor preference by maintaining proper chromosome III architecture, which is defined by the interaction of HML with the right arm of chromosome III, including MATa and HMR. Remarkably, eliminating Sir2 and condensin recruitment to the RDT1 promoter disrupts this structure and reveals an aberrant interaction between MATa and HMR, consistent with the partially defective donor preference for this mutant. Global condensin subunit depletion also impairs mating type switching efficiency and donor preference, suggesting that modulation of chromosome architecture plays a significant role in controlling mating type switching, thus providing a novel model for dissecting condensin function in vivo.Author summarySir2 is a highly conserved NAD+-dependent protein deacetylase and defining member of the sirtuin protein family. It was identified about 40 years ago in the budding yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, as a gene required for silencing of the cryptic mating-type loci, HML and HMR. These heterochromatic cassettes are utilized as templates for mating-type switching, whereby a programmed DNA double-strand break at the MATa or MATα locus is repaired by gene conversion to the opposite mating type. The preference for switching to the opposite mating type is called donor preference, and in MATa cells, is driven by a cis-acting DNA element called the recombination enhancer (RE). It was believed that the only role for Sir2 in mating-type switching was silencing HML and HMR. However, in this study we show that Sir2 also regulates expression of a small gene (RDT1) in the RE that is activated during mating-type switching. The promoter of this gene is also bound by the condensin complex, and deleting this region of the RE drastically changes chromosome III structure and alters donor preference. The RE therefore appears to function as a complex locus control region (LCR) that links transcriptional control to chromatin architecture, and thus provides a new model for investigating the underlying mechanistic principles of programmed chromosome architectural dynamics.


Genetics ◽  
1976 ◽  
Vol 84 (3) ◽  
pp. 437-451
Author(s):  
Satoshi Harashima ◽  
Yasuji Oshima

ABSTRACT Two of the three homothallic genes, HMα and HM  a, showed direct linkage to the mating-type locus at approximately 73 and 98 stranes (57 and 65 centimorgans [cM]), respectively, whereas, the other, HO, showed no linkage to 25 standard markers distributed over 17 chromosomes including the mating-type locus. To determine whether the HMα and HM  a loci located on the left or right side of the mating-type locus, equations for three factor analysis of three linked genes were derived. Tetrad data were collected and were compared with expected values by X2 statistics. Calculations indicated that the HMα gene is probably located on the right arm at 95 stranes (65 cM) from the centromere and the HM  a locus at approximately 90 stranes (64 cM) on the left arm of chromosome III.


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.


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.


1984 ◽  
Vol 4 (7) ◽  
pp. 1278-1285 ◽  
Author(s):  
J Hicks ◽  
J Strathern ◽  
A Klar ◽  
S Ismail ◽  
J Broach

The SAD mutation, an extra mating type cassette, has been shown to arise from an unequal mitotic crossover between the MAT and HMR loci, resulting in the formation of a hybrid cassette and a duplication of the MAT-HMR interval. The SAD cassette contains the "a" information and left-hand flanking regions from the parental HMRa cassette and the right-hand flanking sequences of the parental MAT cassette. This arrangement of flanking sequences causes a leaky but reproducible mating phenotype correlated with a low-level expression of the cassette as measured by RNA blotting. This weak expression is attributed to the loss of one flanking control site normally present at the silent HM storage loci.


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.


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