Synthetic Lethal Screen

The spindle pole body (SPB) in Saccharomyces cerevisiae functions as the microtubule-organizing center. Spc110p is an essential structural component of the SPB and spans between the central and inner plaques of this multilamellar organelle. The amino terminus of Spc110p faces the inner plaque, the substructure from which spindle microtubules radiate. We have undertaken a synthetic lethal screen to identify mutations that enhance the phenotype of the temperature-sensitive spc110–221 allele, which encodes mutations in the amino terminus. The screen identified mutations inSPC97 and SPC98, two genes encoding components of the Tub4p complex in yeast. The spc98–63allele is synthetic lethal only with spc110 alleles that encode mutations in the N terminus of Spc110p. In contrast, thespc97 alleles are synthetic lethal withspc110 alleles that encode mutations in either the N terminus or the C terminus. Using the two-hybrid assay, we show that the interactions of Spc110p with Spc97p and Spc98p are not equivalent. The N terminus of Spc110p displays a robust interaction with Spc98p in two different two-hybrid assays, while the interaction between Spc97p and Spc110p is not detectable in one strain and gives a weak signal in the other. Extra copies of SPC98 enhance the interaction between Spc97p and Spc110p, while extra copies of SPC97interfere with the interaction between Spc98p and Spc110p. By testing the interactions between mutant proteins, we show that the lethal phenotype in spc98–63 spc110–221 cells is caused by the failure of Spc98–63p to interact with Spc110–221p. In contrast, the lethal phenotype in spc97–62 spc110–221 cells can be attributed to a decreased interaction between Spc97–62p and Spc98p. Together, these studies provide evidence that Spc110p directly links the Tub4p complex to the SPB. Moreover, an interaction between Spc98p and the amino-terminal region of Spc110p is a critical component of the linkage, whereas the interaction between Spc97p and Spc110p is dependent on Spc98p.

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Slm9, a Novel Nuclear Protein Involved in Mitotic Control in Fission Yeast

Genetics ◽

10.1093/genetics/155.2.623 ◽

2000 ◽

Vol 155 (2) ◽

pp. 623-631

Author(s):

Junko Kanoh ◽

Paul Russell

Keyword(s):

Cell Cycle ◽

Fission Yeast ◽

Cell Elongation ◽

Nuclear Protein ◽

G1 Arrest ◽

Permissive Temperature ◽

Cdc2 Kinase ◽

Synthetic Lethal ◽

Cycle Arrest ◽

Novel Protein

Abstract In the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe, as in other eukaryotic cells, Cdc2/cyclin B complex is the key regulator of mitosis. Perhaps the most important regulation of Cdc2 is the inhibitory phosphorylation of tyrosine-15 that is catalyzed by Wee1 and Mik1. Cdc25 and Pyp3 phosphatases dephosphorylate tyrosine-15 and activate Cdc2. To isolate novel activators of Cdc2 kinase, we screened synthetic lethal mutants in a cdc25-22 background at the permissive temperature (25°). One of the genes, slm9, encodes a novel protein of 807 amino acids. Slm9 is most similar to Hir2, the histone gene regulator in budding yeast. Slm9 protein level is constant and Slm9 is localized to the nucleus throughout the cell cycle. The slm9 disruptant is delayed at the G2-M transition as indicated by cell elongation and analysis of DNA content. Inactivation of Wee1 fully suppressed the cell elongation phenotype caused by the slm9 mutation. The slm9 mutant is defective in recovery from G1 arrest after nitrogen starvation. The slm9 mutant is also UV sensitive, showing a defect in recovery from the cell cycle arrest after UV irradiation.

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A Yeast taf17 Mutant Requires the Swi6 Transcriptional Activator for Viability and Shows Defects in Cell Cycle-Regulated Transcription

Genetics ◽

10.1093/genetics/154.4.1561 ◽

2000 ◽

Vol 154 (4) ◽

pp. 1561-1576

Author(s):

Neil Macpherson ◽

Vivien Measday ◽

Lynda Moore ◽

Brenda Andrews

Keyword(s):

Cell Cycle ◽

Transcriptional Activation ◽

Essential Gene ◽

Temperature Sensitive ◽

Permissive Temperature ◽

Synthetic Lethal ◽

Cycle Arrest ◽

A Cell ◽

Allelism Tests ◽

Complementation Groups

Abstract In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the Swi6 protein is a component of two transcription factors, SBF and MBF, that promote expression of a large group of genes in the late G1 phase of the cell cycle. Although SBF is required for cell viability, SWI6 is not an essential gene. We performed a synthetic lethal screen to identify genes required for viability in the absence of SWI6 and identified 10 complementation groups of swi6-dependent lethal mutants, designated SLM1 through SLM10. We were most interested in mutants showing a cell cycle arrest phenotype; both slm7-1 swi6Δ and slm8-1 swi6Δ double mutants accumulated as large, unbudded cells with increased 1N DNA content and showed a temperature-sensitive growth arrest in the presence of Swi6. Analysis of the transcript levels of cell cycle-regulated genes in slm7-1 SWI6 mutant strains at the permissive temperature revealed defects in regulation of a subset of cyclin-encoding genes. Complementation and allelism tests showed that SLM7 is allelic with the TAF17 gene, which encodes a histone-like component of the general transcription factor TFIID and the SAGA histone acetyltransferase complex. Sequencing showed that the slm7-1 allele of TAF17 is predicted to encode a version of Taf17 that is truncated within a highly conserved region. The cell cycle and transcriptional defects caused by taf17slm7-1 are consistent with the role of TAFIIs as modulators of transcriptional activation and may reflect a role for TAF17 in regulating activation by SBF and MBF.

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Targeting RB1 Loss in Cancers

Cancers ◽

10.3390/cancers13153737 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (15) ◽

pp. 3737

Author(s):

Paing Linn ◽

Susumu Kohno ◽

Jindan Sheng ◽

Nilakshi Kulathunga ◽

Hai Yu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Cell Cycle Progression ◽

Suppressor Gene ◽

Therapeutic Approaches ◽

Neighboring Gene ◽

Genomic Aberration ◽

Cycle Progression ◽

Synthetic Lethal ◽

Mitotic Kinases ◽

Promote Cell Cycle Progression ◽

Almost All

Retinoblastoma protein 1 (RB1) is encoded by a tumor suppressor gene that was discovered more than 30 years ago. Almost all mitogenic signals promote cell cycle progression by braking on the function of RB1 protein through mono- and subsequent hyper-phosphorylation mediated by cyclin-CDK complexes. The loss of RB1 function drives tumorigenesis in limited types of malignancies including retinoblastoma and small cell lung cancer. In a majority of human cancers, RB1 function is suppressed during tumor progression through various mechanisms. The latter gives rise to the acquisition of various phenotypes that confer malignant progression. The RB1-targeted molecules involved in such phenotypic changes are good quarries for cancer therapy. Indeed, a variety of novel therapies have been proposed to target RB1 loss. In particular, the inhibition of a number of mitotic kinases appeared to be synthetic lethal with RB1 deficiency. A recent study focusing on a neighboring gene that is often collaterally deleted together with RB1 revealed a pharmacologically targetable vulnerability in RB1-deficient cancers. Here we summarize current understanding on possible therapeutic approaches targeting functional or genomic aberration of RB1 in cancers.

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