Mating type control in Saccharomyces cerevisiae: a frameshift mutation at the common DNA sequence, X, of the HML alpha locus

1984 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 203-211
Author(s):  
K Tanaka ◽  
T Oshima ◽  
H Araki ◽  
S Harashima ◽  
Y Oshima

A mutation defective in the homothallic switching of mating type alleles, designated hml alpha-2, has previously been characterized. The mutation occurred in a cell having the HO MATa HML alpha HMRa genotype, and the mutant culture consisted of ca. 10% a mating type cells, 90% nonmater cells of haploid cell size, and 0.1% sporogenous diploid cells. Genetic analyses revealed that nonmater haploid cells have a defect in the alpha 2 cistron at the MAT locus. This defect was probably caused by transposition of a cassette originating from the hml alpha-2 allele by the process of the homothallic mating type switch. That the MAT locus of the nonmater cells is occupied by a DNA fragment indistinguishable from the Y alpha sequence in electrophoretic mobility was demonstrated by Southern hybridization of the EcoRI-HindIII fragment encoding the MAT locus with a cloned HML alpha gene as the probe. The hml alpha-2 mutation was revealed to be a one-base-pair deletion at the ninth base pair in the X region from the X and Y boundary of the HML locus. This mutation gave rise to a shift in the open reading frame of the alpha 2 cistron. A molecular mechanism for the mating type switch associated with the occurrence of sporogenous diploid cells in the mutant culture is discussed.

1984 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 203-211 ◽  
Author(s):  
K Tanaka ◽  
T Oshima ◽  
H Araki ◽  
S Harashima ◽  
Y Oshima

A mutation defective in the homothallic switching of mating type alleles, designated hml alpha-2, has previously been characterized. The mutation occurred in a cell having the HO MATa HML alpha HMRa genotype, and the mutant culture consisted of ca. 10% a mating type cells, 90% nonmater cells of haploid cell size, and 0.1% sporogenous diploid cells. Genetic analyses revealed that nonmater haploid cells have a defect in the alpha 2 cistron at the MAT locus. This defect was probably caused by transposition of a cassette originating from the hml alpha-2 allele by the process of the homothallic mating type switch. That the MAT locus of the nonmater cells is occupied by a DNA fragment indistinguishable from the Y alpha sequence in electrophoretic mobility was demonstrated by Southern hybridization of the EcoRI-HindIII fragment encoding the MAT locus with a cloned HML alpha gene as the probe. The hml alpha-2 mutation was revealed to be a one-base-pair deletion at the ninth base pair in the X region from the X and Y boundary of the HML locus. This mutation gave rise to a shift in the open reading frame of the alpha 2 cistron. A molecular mechanism for the mating type switch associated with the occurrence of sporogenous diploid cells in the mutant culture is discussed.


2009 ◽  
Vol 182 (6) ◽  
pp. 3902-3918 ◽  
Author(s):  
François-Xavier Hubert ◽  
Sarah A. Kinkel ◽  
Pauline E. Crewther ◽  
Ping Z. F. Cannon ◽  
Kylie E. Webster ◽  
...  

1985 ◽  
Vol 5 (8) ◽  
pp. 2154-2158
Author(s):  
B Weiffenbach ◽  
J E Haber

Homothallic switching of the mating type genes of Saccharomyces cerevisiae occurs by a gene conversion event, replacing sequences at the expressed MAT locus with a DNA segment copied from one of two unexpressed loci, HML or HMR. The transposed Ya or Y alpha sequences are flanked by homologous regions that are believed to be essential for switching. We examined the transposition of a mating type gene (hmr alpha 1-delta 6) which contains a 150-base-pair deletion spanning the site where the HO endonuclease generates a double-stranded break in MAT that initiates the gene conversion event. Despite the fact that the ends of the cut MAT region no longer share homology with the donor hmr alpha 1-delta 6, switching of MATa or MAT alpha to mat alpha 1-delta 6 was efficient. However, there was a marked increase in the number of aberrant events, especially the formation of haploid-inviable fusions between MAT and the hmr alpha 1-delta 6 donor locus.


1985 ◽  
Vol 5 (8) ◽  
pp. 2154-2158 ◽  
Author(s):  
B Weiffenbach ◽  
J E Haber

Homothallic switching of the mating type genes of Saccharomyces cerevisiae occurs by a gene conversion event, replacing sequences at the expressed MAT locus with a DNA segment copied from one of two unexpressed loci, HML or HMR. The transposed Ya or Y alpha sequences are flanked by homologous regions that are believed to be essential for switching. We examined the transposition of a mating type gene (hmr alpha 1-delta 6) which contains a 150-base-pair deletion spanning the site where the HO endonuclease generates a double-stranded break in MAT that initiates the gene conversion event. Despite the fact that the ends of the cut MAT region no longer share homology with the donor hmr alpha 1-delta 6, switching of MATa or MAT alpha to mat alpha 1-delta 6 was efficient. However, there was a marked increase in the number of aberrant events, especially the formation of haploid-inviable fusions between MAT and the hmr alpha 1-delta 6 donor locus.


1991 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 5693-5700 ◽  
Author(s):  
N Nakazawa ◽  
S Harashima ◽  
Y Oshima

We have isolated a class of mutants, aar2, showing the alpha mating type due to a defect in a1-alpha 2 repression but with alpha 2 repression activity from a nonmater strain of Saccharomyces cerevisiae expressing both a and alpha mating-type information in duplicate. Cells of the aar2 mutant and the aar2 disruptant also show a growth defect. A DNA fragment complementing the aar2 mutation contains an open reading frame consisting of 355 amino acid codons. Northern hybridization showed that cells of the aar2 mutant and disruptant contained alpha 1 and alpha 2 transcripts of the MAT alpha gene (or HML alpha in sir3 cells), but their a1 transcript of MATa (or HMRa in sir3 cells) migrated more slowly than that of the wild-type cells on gel electrophoresis and gave a diffused band. Primer extension analysis showed that the aar2 mutant and disruptant have a defect in splicing two short introns of the a1 pre-mRNA but not in splicing pre-mRNA of ACT1. The alpha mating type, but not the slow-growing phenotype, of the aar2 mutant was suppressed by introduction of an intronless MATa1 DNA. Thus, the AAR2 gene is involved in splicing pre-mRNA of the a1 cistron and other genes that are important for cell growth. The AAR2 locus was mapped on chromosome II beside the SSA3 locus, with a 276-bp space, but was not allelic to either PRP5 or PRP6, which are both located on chromosome II and function in splicing pre-mRNA of ACT1.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandra Lorena Ament-Velásquez ◽  
Veera Tuovinen ◽  
Linnea Bergström ◽  
Toby Spribille ◽  
Dan Vanderpool ◽  
...  

The study of the reproductive biology of lichen fungal symbionts has been traditionally challenging due to their complex lifestyles. Against the common belief of haploidy, a recent genomic study found a triploid-like signal in Letharia. Here, we infer the genome organization and reproduction in Letharia by analyzing genomic data from a pure culture and from thalli, and performing a PCR survey of the MAT locus in natural populations. We found that the read count variation in the four Letharia specimens, including the pure culture derived from a single sexual spore of L. lupina, is consistent with haploidy. By contrast, the L. lupina read counts from a thallus' metagenome are triploid-like. Characterization of the mating-type locus revealed a conserved heterothallic configuration across the genus, along with auxiliary genes that we identified. We found that the mating-type distributions are balanced in North America for L. vulpina and L. lupina, suggesting widespread sexual reproduction, but highly skewed in Europe for L. vulpina, consistent with predominant asexuality. Taken together, we propose that Letharia fungi are heterothallic and typically haploid, and provide evidence that triploid-like individuals are hybrids between L. lupina and an unknown Letharia lineage, reconciling classic systematic and genetic studies with recent genomic observations.


1991 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 5693-5700
Author(s):  
N Nakazawa ◽  
S Harashima ◽  
Y Oshima

We have isolated a class of mutants, aar2, showing the alpha mating type due to a defect in a1-alpha 2 repression but with alpha 2 repression activity from a nonmater strain of Saccharomyces cerevisiae expressing both a and alpha mating-type information in duplicate. Cells of the aar2 mutant and the aar2 disruptant also show a growth defect. A DNA fragment complementing the aar2 mutation contains an open reading frame consisting of 355 amino acid codons. Northern hybridization showed that cells of the aar2 mutant and disruptant contained alpha 1 and alpha 2 transcripts of the MAT alpha gene (or HML alpha in sir3 cells), but their a1 transcript of MATa (or HMRa in sir3 cells) migrated more slowly than that of the wild-type cells on gel electrophoresis and gave a diffused band. Primer extension analysis showed that the aar2 mutant and disruptant have a defect in splicing two short introns of the a1 pre-mRNA but not in splicing pre-mRNA of ACT1. The alpha mating type, but not the slow-growing phenotype, of the aar2 mutant was suppressed by introduction of an intronless MATa1 DNA. Thus, the AAR2 gene is involved in splicing pre-mRNA of the a1 cistron and other genes that are important for cell growth. The AAR2 locus was mapped on chromosome II beside the SSA3 locus, with a 276-bp space, but was not allelic to either PRP5 or PRP6, which are both located on chromosome II and function in splicing pre-mRNA of ACT1.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Lorena Ament-Velásquez ◽  
Veera Tuovinen ◽  
Linnea Bergström ◽  
Toby Spribille ◽  
Dan Vanderpool ◽  
...  

AbstractThe study of the reproductive biology of lichen fungal symbionts has been traditionally challenging due to their complex and symbiotic lifestyles. Against the common belief of haploidy, a recent genomic study found a triploid-like signal in Letharia. Here, we used genomic data from a pure culture and from thalli, together with a PCR survey of the MAT locus, to infer the genome organization and reproduction in Letharia. We found that the read count variation in the four Letharia specimens, including the pure culture derived from a single sexual spore of L. lupina, is consistent with haploidy. By contrast, the L. lupina read counts from a thallus’ metagenome are triploid-like. Characterization of the mating-type locus revealed a conserved heterothallic configuration across the genus, along with auxiliary genes that we identified. We found that the mating-type distributions are balanced in North America for L. vulpina and L. lupina, suggesting widespread sexual reproduction, but highly skewed in Europe for L. vulpina, consistent with predominant asexuality. Taken together, we propose that Letharia fungi are heterothallic and typically haploid, and provide evidence that triploid-like individuals are rare hybrids between L. lupina and an unknown Letharia lineage, reconciling classic systematic and genetic studies with recent genomic observations.


1998 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 161-171 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wan-Sheng Lo ◽  
Anne M. Dranginis

Diploid yeast develop pseudohyphae in response to nitrogen starvation, while haploid yeast produce invasive filaments which penetrate the agar in rich medium. We have identified a gene,FLO11, that encodes a cell wall protein which is critically required for both invasion and pseudohyphae formation in response to nitrogen starvation. FLO11 encodes a cell surface flocculin with a structure similar to the class of yeast serine/threonine-rich GPI-anchored cell wall proteins. Cells of theSaccharomyces cerevisiae strain Σ1278b with deletions of FLO11 do not form pseudohyphae as diploids nor invade agar as haploids. In rich media, FLO11 is regulated by mating type; it is expressed in haploid cells but not in diploids. Upon transfer to nitrogen starvation media, however, FLO11transcripts accumulate in diploid cells, but not in haploids. Overexpression of FLO11 in diploid cells, which are otherwise not invasive, enables them to invade agar. Thus, the mating type repression of FLO11 in diploids grown in rich media suffices to explain the inability of these cells to invade. The promoter of FLO11 contains a consensus binding sequence for Ste12p and Tec1p, proteins known to cooperatively activate transcription of Ty1 elements and theTEC1 gene during development of pseudohyphae. Yeast with a deletion of STE12 does not expressFLO11 transcripts, indicating that STE12is required for FLO11 expression. These ste12-deletion strains also do not invade agar. However, the ability to invade can be restored by overexpressing FLO11. Activation ofFLO11 may thus be the primary means by which Ste12p and Tec1p cause invasive growth.


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