scholarly journals In vivo analysis of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae centromere CDEIII sequence: requirements for mitotic chromosome segregation.

1991 ◽  
Vol 11 (10) ◽  
pp. 5212-5221 ◽  
Author(s):  
B Jehn ◽  
R Niedenthal ◽  
J H Hegemann

In the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the complete information needed in cis to specify a fully functional mitotic and meiotic centromere is contained within 120 bp arranged in the three conserved centromeric (CEN) DNA elements CDEI, -II, and -III. The 25-bp CDEIII is most important for faithful chromosome segregation. We have constructed single- and double-base substitutions in all highly conserved residues and one nonconserved residue of this element and analyzed the mitotic in vivo function of the mutated CEN DNAs, using an artificial chromosome. The effects of the mutations on chromosome segregation vary between wild-type-like activity (chromosome loss rate of 4.8 x 10(-4)) and a complete loss of CEN function. Data obtained by saturation mutagenesis of the palindromic core sequence suggest asymmetric involvement of the palindromic half-sites in mitotic CEN function. The poor CEN activity of certain single mutations could be improved by introducing an additional single mutation. These second-site suppressors can be found at conserved and nonconserved positions in CDEIII. Our suppression data are discussed in the context of natural CDEIII sequence variations found in the CEN sequences of different yeast chromosomes.

1991 ◽  
Vol 11 (10) ◽  
pp. 5212-5221
Author(s):  
B Jehn ◽  
R Niedenthal ◽  
J H Hegemann

In the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the complete information needed in cis to specify a fully functional mitotic and meiotic centromere is contained within 120 bp arranged in the three conserved centromeric (CEN) DNA elements CDEI, -II, and -III. The 25-bp CDEIII is most important for faithful chromosome segregation. We have constructed single- and double-base substitutions in all highly conserved residues and one nonconserved residue of this element and analyzed the mitotic in vivo function of the mutated CEN DNAs, using an artificial chromosome. The effects of the mutations on chromosome segregation vary between wild-type-like activity (chromosome loss rate of 4.8 x 10(-4)) and a complete loss of CEN function. Data obtained by saturation mutagenesis of the palindromic core sequence suggest asymmetric involvement of the palindromic half-sites in mitotic CEN function. The poor CEN activity of certain single mutations could be improved by introducing an additional single mutation. These second-site suppressors can be found at conserved and nonconserved positions in CDEIII. Our suppression data are discussed in the context of natural CDEIII sequence variations found in the CEN sequences of different yeast chromosomes.


1999 ◽  
Vol 145 (7) ◽  
pp. 1381-1394 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jae-hyun Kim ◽  
Jung-seog Kang ◽  
Clarence S.M. Chan

The conserved Ipl1 protein kinase is essential for proper chromosome segregation and thus cell viability in the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Its human homologue has been implicated in the tumorigenesis of diverse forms of cancer. We show here that sister chromatids that have separated from each other are not properly segregated to opposite poles of ipl1-2 cells. Failures in chromosome segregation are often associated with abnormal distribution of the spindle pole–associated Nuf2-GFP protein, thus suggesting a link between potential spindle pole defects and chromosome missegregation in ipl1 mutant cells. A small fraction of ipl1-2 cells also appears to be defective in nuclear migration or bipolar spindle formation. Ipl1 associates, probably directly, with the novel and essential Sli15 protein in vivo, and both proteins are localized to the mitotic spindle. Conditional sli15 mutant cells have cytological phenotypes very similar to those of ipl1 cells, and the ipl1-2 mutation exhibits synthetic lethal genetic interaction with sli15 mutations. sli15 mutant phenotype, like ipl1 mutant phenotype, is partially suppressed by perturbations that reduce protein phosphatase 1 function. These genetic and biochemical studies indicate that Sli15 associates with Ipl1 to promote its function in chromosome segregation.


1986 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 688-702 ◽  
Author(s):  
J M Ivy ◽  
A J Klar ◽  
J B Hicks

Mating type in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae is determined by the MAT (a or alpha) locus. HML and HMR, which usually contain copies of alpha and a mating type information, respectively, serve as donors in mating type interconversion and are under negative transcriptional control. Four trans-acting SIR (silent information regulator) loci are required for repression of transcription. A defect in any SIR gene results in expression of both HML and HMR. The four SIR genes were isolated from a genomic library by complementation of sir mutations in vivo. DNA blot analysis suggests that the four SIR genes share no sequence homology. RNA blots indicate that SIR2, SIR3, and SIR4 each encode one transcript and that SIR1 encodes two transcripts. Null mutations, made by replacement of the normal genomic allele with deletion-insertion mutations created in the cloned SIR genes, have a Sir- phenotype and are viable. Using the cloned genes, we showed that SIR3 at a high copy number is able to suppress mutations of SIR4. RNA blot analysis suggests that this suppression is not due to transcriptional regulation of SIR3 by SIR4; nor does any SIR4 gene transcriptionally regulate another SIR gene. Interestingly, a truncated SIR4 gene disrupts regulation of the silent mating type loci. We propose that interaction of at least the SIR3 and SIR4 gene products is involved in regulation of the silent mating type genes.


2005 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 832-835 ◽  
Author(s):  
Terri S. Rice ◽  
Min Ding ◽  
David S. Pederson ◽  
Nicholas H. Heintz

ABSTRACT Here we show that the Saccharomyces cerevisiae tRNAHis guanylyltransferase Thg1p interacts with the origin recognition complex in vivo and in vitro and that overexpression of hemagglutinin-Thg1p selectively impedes growth of orc2-1(Ts) cells at the permissive temperature. Studies with conditional mutants indicate that Thg1p couples nuclear division and migration to cell budding and cytokinesis in yeast.


1994 ◽  
Vol 14 (9) ◽  
pp. 6350-6360
Author(s):  
F Houman ◽  
C Holm

To investigate chromosome segregation in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, we examined a collection of temperature-sensitive mutants that arrest as large-budded cells at restrictive temperatures (L. H. Johnston and A. P. Thomas, Mol. Gen. Genet. 186:439-444, 1982). We characterized dbf8, a mutation that causes cells to arrest with a 2c DNA content and a short spindle. DBF8 maps to chromosome IX near the centromere, and it encodes a 36-kDa protein that is essential for viability at all temperatures. Mutational analysis reveals that three dbf8 alleles are nonsense mutations affecting the carboxy-terminal third of the encoded protein. Since all of these mutations confer temperature sensitivity, it appears that the carboxyl-terminal third of the protein is essential only at a restrictive temperature. In support of this conclusion, an insertion of URA3 at the same position also confers a temperature-sensitive phenotype. Although they show no evidence of DNA damage, dbf8 mutants exhibit increased rates of chromosome loss and nondisjunction even at a permissive temperature. Taken together, our data suggest that Dbf8p plays an essential role in chromosome segregation.


1994 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 189-199
Author(s):  
D S Pederson ◽  
T Fidrych

After each round of replication, new transcription initiation complexes must assemble on promoter DNA. This process may compete with packaging of the same promoter sequences into nucleosomes. To elucidate interactions between regulatory transcription factors and nucleosomes on newly replicated DNA, we asked whether heat shock factor (HSF) could be made to bind to nucleosomal DNA in vivo. A heat shock element (HSE) was embedded at either of two different sites within a DNA segment that directs the formation of a stable, positioned nucleosome. The resulting DNA segments were coupled to a reporter gene and transfected into the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Transcription from these two plasmid constructions after induction by heat shock was similar in amount to that from a control plasmid in which HSF binds to nucleosome-free DNA. High-resolution genomic footprint mapping of DNase I and micrococcal nuclease cleavage sites indicated that the HSE in these two plasmids was, nevertheless, packaged in a nucleosome. The inclusion of HSE sequences within (but relatively close to the edge of) the nucleosome did not alter the position of the nucleosome which formed with the parental DNA fragment. Genomic footprint analyses also suggested that the HSE-containing nucleosome was unchanged by the induction of transcription. Quantitative comparisons with control plasmids ruled out the possibility that HSF was bound only to a small fraction of molecules that might have escaped nucleosome assembly. Analysis of the helical orientation of HSE DNA in the nucleosome indicated that HSF contacted DNA residues that faced outward from the histone octamer. We discuss the significance of these results with regard to the role of nucleosomes in inhibiting transcription and the normal occurrence of nucleosome-free regions in promoters.


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.


1995 ◽  
Vol 15 (11) ◽  
pp. 5983-5990 ◽  
Author(s):  
Z Guo ◽  
F Sherman

It was previously shown that three distinct but interdependent elements are required for 3' end formation of mRNA in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae: (i) the efficiency element TATATA and related sequences, which function by enhancing the efficiency of positioning elements; (ii) positioning elements, such as TTAAGAAC and AAGAA, which position the poly(A) site; and (iii) the actual site of polyadenylation. In this study, we have shown that several A-rich sequences, including the vertebrate poly(A) signal AATAAA, are also positioning elements. Saturated mutagenesis revealed that optimum sequences of the positioning element were AATAAA and AAAAAA and that this element can tolerate various extents of replacements. However, the GATAAA sequence was completely ineffective. The major cleavage sites determined in vitro corresponded to the major poly(A) sites observed in vivo. Our findings support the assumption that some components of the basic polyadenylation machinery could have been conserved among yeasts, plants, and mammals, although 3' end formation in yeasts is clearly distinct from that of higher eukaryotes.


2006 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 330-346 ◽  
Author(s):  
Scott A. Chasse ◽  
Paul Flanary ◽  
Stephen C. Parnell ◽  
Nan Hao ◽  
Jiyoung Y. Cha ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT A common property of G protein-coupled receptors is that they become less responsive with prolonged stimulation. Regulators of G protein signaling (RGS proteins) are well known to accelerate G protein GTPase activity and do so by stabilizing the transition state conformation of the G protein α subunit. In the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae there are four RGS-homologous proteins (Sst2, Rgs2, Rax1, and Mdm1) and two Gα proteins (Gpa1 and Gpa2). We show that Sst2 is the only RGS protein that binds selectively to the transition state conformation of Gpa1. The other RGS proteins also bind Gpa1 and modulate pheromone signaling, but to a lesser extent and in a manner clearly distinct from Sst2. To identify other candidate pathway regulators, we compared pheromone responses in 4,349 gene deletion mutants representing nearly all nonessential genes in yeast. A number of mutants produced an increase (sst2, bar1, asc1, and ygl024w) or decrease (cla4) in pheromone sensitivity or resulted in pheromone-independent signaling (sst2, pbs2, gas1, and ygl024w). These findings suggest that Sst2 is the principal regulator of Gpa1-mediated signaling in vivo but that other proteins also contribute in distinct ways to pathway regulation.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document