scholarly journals Transcription of alpha-specific genes in Saccharomyces cerevisiae: DNA sequence requirements for activity of the coregulator alpha 1.

1993 ◽  
Vol 13 (11) ◽  
pp. 6866-6875 ◽  
Author(s):  
D C Hagen ◽  
L Bruhn ◽  
C A Westby ◽  
G F Sprague

Transcription activation of alpha-specific genes in Saccharomyces cerevisiae is regulated by two proteins, MCM1 and alpha 1, which bind to DNA sequences, called P'Q elements, found upstream of alpha-specific genes. Neither MCM1 nor alpha 1 alone binds efficiently to P'Q elements. Together, however, they bind cooperatively in a manner that requires both the P' sequence, which is a weak binding site for MCM1, and the Q sequence, which has been postulated to be the binding site for alpha 1. We analyzed a collection of point mutations in the P'Q element of the STE3 gene to determine the importance of individual base pairs for alpha-specific gene transcription. Within the 10-bp conserved Q sequence, mutations at only three positions strongly affected transcription activation in vivo. These same mutations did not affect the weak binding to P'Q displayed by MCM1 alone. In vitro DNA binding assays showed a direct correlation between the ability of the mutant sequences to form ternary P'Q-MCM1-alpha 1 complexes and the degree to which transcription was activated in vivo. Thus, the ability of alpha 1 and MCM1 to bind cooperatively to P'Q elements is critical for activation of alpha-specific genes. In all natural alpha-specific genes the Q sequence is adjacent to the degenerate side of P'. To test the significance of this geometry, we created several novel juxtapositions of P, P', and Q sequences. When the Q sequence was opposite the degenerate side, the composite QP' element was inactive as a promoter element in vivo and unable to form stable ternary QP'-MCM1-alpha 1 complexes in vitro. We also found that addition of a Q sequence to a strong MCM1 binding site allows the addition of alpha 1 to the complex. This finding, together with the observation that Q-element point mutations affected ternary complex formation but not the weak binding of MCM1 alone, supports the idea that the Q sequence serves as a binding site for alpha 1.

1993 ◽  
Vol 13 (11) ◽  
pp. 6866-6875
Author(s):  
D C Hagen ◽  
L Bruhn ◽  
C A Westby ◽  
G F Sprague

Transcription activation of alpha-specific genes in Saccharomyces cerevisiae is regulated by two proteins, MCM1 and alpha 1, which bind to DNA sequences, called P'Q elements, found upstream of alpha-specific genes. Neither MCM1 nor alpha 1 alone binds efficiently to P'Q elements. Together, however, they bind cooperatively in a manner that requires both the P' sequence, which is a weak binding site for MCM1, and the Q sequence, which has been postulated to be the binding site for alpha 1. We analyzed a collection of point mutations in the P'Q element of the STE3 gene to determine the importance of individual base pairs for alpha-specific gene transcription. Within the 10-bp conserved Q sequence, mutations at only three positions strongly affected transcription activation in vivo. These same mutations did not affect the weak binding to P'Q displayed by MCM1 alone. In vitro DNA binding assays showed a direct correlation between the ability of the mutant sequences to form ternary P'Q-MCM1-alpha 1 complexes and the degree to which transcription was activated in vivo. Thus, the ability of alpha 1 and MCM1 to bind cooperatively to P'Q elements is critical for activation of alpha-specific genes. In all natural alpha-specific genes the Q sequence is adjacent to the degenerate side of P'. To test the significance of this geometry, we created several novel juxtapositions of P, P', and Q sequences. When the Q sequence was opposite the degenerate side, the composite QP' element was inactive as a promoter element in vivo and unable to form stable ternary QP'-MCM1-alpha 1 complexes in vitro. We also found that addition of a Q sequence to a strong MCM1 binding site allows the addition of alpha 1 to the complex. This finding, together with the observation that Q-element point mutations affected ternary complex formation but not the weak binding of MCM1 alone, supports the idea that the Q sequence serves as a binding site for alpha 1.


1990 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 5679-5687
Author(s):  
C K Barlowe ◽  
D R Appling

In eucaryotes, 10-formyltetrahydrofolate (formyl-THF) synthetase, 5,10-methenyl-THF cyclohydrolase, and NADP(+)-dependent 5,10-methylene-THF dehydrogenase activities are present on a single polypeptide termed C1-THF synthase. This trifunctional enzyme, encoded by the ADE3 gene in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, is thought to be responsible for the synthesis of the one-carbon donor 10-formyl-THF for de novo purine synthesis. Deletion of the ADE3 gene causes adenine auxotrophy, presumably as a result of the lack of cytoplasmic 10-formyl-THF. In this report, defined point mutations that affected one or more of the catalytic activities of yeast C1-THF synthase were generated in vitro and transferred to the chromosomal ADE3 locus by gene replacement. In contrast to ADE3 deletions, point mutations that inactivated all three activities of C1-THF synthase did not result in an adenine requirement. Heterologous expression of the Clostridium acidiurici gene encoding a monofunctional 10-formyl-THF synthetase in an ade3 deletion strain did not restore growth in the absence of adenine, even though the monofunctional synthetase was catalytically competent in vivo. These results indicate that adequate cytoplasmic 10-formyl-THF can be produced by an enzyme(s) other than C1-THF synthase, but efficient utilization of that 10-formyl-THF for purine synthesis requires a nonenzymatic function of C1-THF synthase. A monofunctional 5,10-methylene-THF dehydrogenase, dependent on NAD+ for catalysis, has been identified and purified from yeast cells (C. K. Barlowe and D. R. Appling, Biochemistry 29:7089-7094, 1990). We propose that the characteristics of strains expressing full-length but catalytically inactive C1-THF synthase could result from the formation of a purine-synthesizing multienzyme complex involving the structurally unchanged C1-THF synthase and that production of the necessary one-carbon units in these strains is accomplished by an NAD+ -dependent 5,10-methylene-THF dehydrogenase.


1998 ◽  
Vol 180 (10) ◽  
pp. 2736-2743 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jianzhong Huang ◽  
Wandee Yindeeyoungyeon ◽  
Ram P. Garg ◽  
Timothy P. Denny ◽  
Mark A. Schell

ABSTRACT Ralstonia (Pseudomonas)solanacearum is a soil-borne phytopathogen that causes a wilting disease of many important crops. It makes large amounts of the exopolysaccharide EPS I, which it requires for efficient colonization, wilting, and killing of plants. Transcription of the epsoperon, encoding biosynthetic enzymes for EPS I, is controlled by a unique and complex sensory network that responds to multiple environmental signals. This network is comprised of the novel transcriptional activator XpsR, three distinct two-component regulatory systems (VsrAD, VsrBC, and PhcSR), and the LysR-type regulator PhcA, which is under the control of PhcSR. Here we show that thexpsR promoter (P xpsR ) is simultaneously controlled by PhcA and VsrD, permitting XpsR to act like a signal integrator, simultaneously coordinating signal input into theeps promoter from both VsrAD and PhcSR. Additionally, we used in vivo expression analysis and in vitro DNA binding assays with substitution and deletion mutants of P xpsR to show the following. (i) PhcA primarily interacts with a typical 14-bp LysR-type consensus sequence around position −77, causing a sixfold activation of P xpsR ; a weaker, less-defined binding site between −183 and −239 likely enhances PhcA binding and activation via the −77 site another twofold. (ii) Full 70-fold activation of P xpsR requires the additional interaction of the VsrD response regulator (or its surrogate) with a 14-bp dyadic sequence centered around −315 where it enhances activation (and possibly binding) by PhcA; however, VsrD alone cannot activate P xpsR . (iii) Increasing the distance between the putative VsrD binding site from that of PhcA by up to 232 bp did not dramatically affect P xpsR activation or regulation.


1990 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 887-897 ◽  
Author(s):  
A R Buchman ◽  
R D Kornberg

ABFI (ARS-binding protein I) is a yeast protein that binds specific DNA sequences associated with several autonomously replicating sequences (ARSs). ABFI also binds sequences located in promoter regions of some yeast genes, including DED1, an essential gene of unknown function that is transcribed constitutively at a high level. ABFI was purified by specific binding to the DED1 upstream activating sequence (UAS) and was found to recognize related sequences at several other promoters, at an ARS (ARS1), and at a transcriptional silencer (HMR E). All ABFI-binding sites, regardless of origin, provided weak UAS function in vivo when examined in test plasmids. UAS function was abolished by point mutations that reduced ABFI binding in vitro. Analysis of the DED1 promoter showed that two ABFI-binding sites combine synergistically with an adjacent T-rich sequence to form a strong constitutive activator. The DED1 T-rich element acted synergistically with all other ABFI-binding sites and with binding sites for other multifunctional yeast activators. An examination of the properties of sequences surrounding ARS1 left open the possibility that ABFI enhances the initiation of DNA replication at ARS1 by transcriptional activation.


1999 ◽  
Vol 19 (11) ◽  
pp. 7828-7840 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alok Kumar Sil ◽  
Samina Alam ◽  
Ping Xin ◽  
Ly Ma ◽  
Melissa Morgan ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT The Gal3, Gal80, and Gal4 proteins of Saccharomyces cerevisiae comprise a signal transducer that governs the galactose-inducible Gal4p-mediated transcription activation ofGAL regulon genes. In the absence of galactose, Gal80p binds to Gal4p and prohibits Gal4p from activating transcription, whereas in the presence of galactose, Gal3p binds to Gal80p and relieves its inhibition of Gal4p. We have found that immunoprecipitation of full-length Gal4p from yeast extracts coprecipitates less Gal80p in the presence than in the absence of Gal3p, galactose, and ATP. We have also found that retention of Gal80p by GSTG4AD (amino acids [aa] 768 to 881) is markedly reduced in the presence compared to the absence of Gal3p, galactose, and ATP. Consistent with these in vitro results, an in vivo two-hybrid genetic interaction between Gal80p and Gal4p (aa 768 to 881) was shown to be weaker in the presence than in the absence of Gal3p and galactose. These compiled results indicate that the binding of Gal3p to Gal80p results in destabilization of a Gal80p-Gal4p complex. The destabilization was markedly higher for complexes consisting of G4AD (aa 768 to 881) than for full-length Gal4p, suggesting that Gal80p relocated to a second site on full-length Gal4p. Congruent with the idea of a second site, we discovered a two-hybrid genetic interaction involving Gal80p and the region of Gal4p encompassing aa 225 to 797, a region of Gal4p linearly remote from the previously recognized Gal80p binding peptide within Gal4p aa 768 to 881.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Astrid Lancrey ◽  
Alexandra Joubert ◽  
Evelyne Duvernois-Berthet ◽  
Etienne Routhier ◽  
Saurabh Raj ◽  
...  

The so-called 601 DNA sequence is often used to constrain the position of nucleosomes on a DNA molecule in vitro. Although the ability of the 147 base pair sequence to precisely position a nucleosome in vitro is well documented, in vivo application of this property has been explored only in a few studies and yielded contradictory conclusions. Our goal in the present study was to test the ability of the 601 sequence to dictate nucleosome positioning in Saccharomyces cerevisiae in the context of a long tandem repeat array inserted in a yeast chromosome. We engineered such arrays with three different repeat size, namely 167, 197 and 237 base pairs. Although our arrays are able to position nucleosomes in vitro as expected, analysis of nucleosome occupancy on these arrays in vivo revealed that nucleosomes are not preferentially positioned as expected on the 601-core sequence along the repeats and that the measured nucleosome repeat length does not correspond to the one expected by design. Altogether our results demonstrate that the rules defining nucleosome positions on this DNA sequence in vitro are not valid in vivo, at least in this chromosomal context, questioning the relevance of using the 601 sequence in vivo to achieve precise nucleosome positioning on designer synthetic DNA sequences.


1985 ◽  
Vol 5 (11) ◽  
pp. 3274-3279 ◽  
Author(s):  
R M Gronostajski ◽  
P D Sadowski

The FLP recombinase, encoded by the 2 micron plasmid of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, promotes efficient recombination in vivo and in vitro between its specific target sites (FLP sites). It was previously determined that FLP interacts with DNA sequences within its target site (B. J. Andrews, G. A. Proteau, L. G. Beatty, and P. D. Sadowski. Cell 40:795-803, 1985), generates a single-stranded break on both DNA strands within the FLP site, and remains covalently attached to the 3' end of each break. We now show that the FLP protein is bound to the 3' side of each break by an O-phosphotyrosyl residue and that it appears that the same tyrosyl residue(s) is used to attach to either DNA strand within the FLP site.


1999 ◽  
Vol 343 (3) ◽  
pp. 621-626 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefaan WERA ◽  
Ellen DE SCHRIJVER ◽  
Ilse GEYSKENS ◽  
Solomon NWAKA ◽  
Johan M. THEVELEIN

A variety of results has been obtained consistent with activation of neutral trehalase in Saccharomyces cerevisiae through direct phosphorylation by cAMP-dependent protein kinase (PKA). A series of neutral trehalase mutant alleles, in which all evolutionarily conserved putative phosphorylation sites were changed into alanine, was tested for activation in vitro (by PKA) and in vivo (by glucose addition). None of the mutations alone affected the activation ratio, whereas all mutations combined resulted in an inactive enzyme. All mutant alleles were expressed to similar levels, as shown by Western blotting. Several of the point mutations significantly lowered the specific activity. Using this series of mutants with different activity levels we show an inverse relationship between trehalase activity and heat-shock survival during glucose-induced trehalose mobilization. This is consistent with a stress-protective function of trehalose. On the other hand, reduction of trehalase activity below a certain threshold level impaired recovery from a sublethal heat shock. This suggests that trehalose breakdown is required for efficient recovery from heat shock, and that the presence of trehalase protein alone is not sufficient for efficient heat-stress recovery.


1998 ◽  
Vol 18 (10) ◽  
pp. 5942-5951 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander Zhelkovsky ◽  
Steffen Helmling ◽  
Claire Moore

ABSTRACT The interaction of the Fip1 subunit of polyadenylation factor I with the Saccharomyces cerevisiae poly(A) polymerase (PAP) was assayed in vivo by two-hybrid analysis and was found to involve two separate regions on PAP, located at opposite ends of the protein sequence. In vitro, Fip1 blocks access of the RNA primer to an RNA binding site (RBS) that overlaps the Fip1 carboxy-terminal interaction region and, in doing so, shifts PAP to a distributive mode of action. Partial truncation of this RBS has the same effect, indicating that this site is required for processivity. A comparison of the utilization of ribo- and deoxyribonucleotides as substrates indicates the existence on PAP of a second RBS which recognizes the last three nucleotides at the 3′ end of the primer. This site discriminates against deoxyribonucleotides at the 3′ end, and interactions at this site are not affected by Fip1. Further analysis revealed that the specificity of PAP for adenosine is not simply a function of the ATP binding site but also reflects interactions with bases at the 3′ end of the primer and at another contact site 14 nucleotides upstream of the 3′ end. These results suggest that the unique specificity of PAP for ribose and base, and thus the extent and type of activity with different substrates, depends on interactions at multiple nucleotide binding sites.


1991 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 3545-3553
Author(s):  
R Niedenthal ◽  
R Stoll ◽  
J H Hegemann

The centromere DNA element I (CDEI) is an important component of Saccharomyces cerevisiae centromere DNA and carries the palindromic sequence CACRTG (R = purine) as a characteristic feature. In vivo, CDEI is bound by the helix-loop-helix protein CPF1. This article describes the in vivo analysis of all single-base-pair substitutions in CDEI in the centromere of an artificial chromosome and demonstrates the importance of the palindromic sequence for faithful chromosome segregation, supporting the notion that CPF1 binds as a dimer to this binding site. Mutational analysis of two conserved base pairs on the left and two nonconserved base pairs on the right of the CDEI palindrome revealed that these are also relevant for mitotic CEN function. Symmetrical mutations in either half-site of the palindrome affect centromere activity to a different extent, indicating nonidentical sequence requirements for binding by the CPF1 homodimer. Analysis of double point mutations in CDEI and in CDEIII, an additional centromere element, indicate synergistic effects between the DNA-protein complexes at these sites.


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