The 3'-->5' exonucleases of DNA polymerases delta and epsilon and the 5'-->3' exonuclease Exo1 have major roles in postreplication mutation avoidance in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.
(1/8779)
Replication fidelity is controlled by DNA polymerase proofreading and postreplication mismatch repair. We have genetically characterized the roles of the 5'-->3' Exo1 and the 3'-->5' DNA polymerase exonucleases in mismatch repair in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae by using various genetic backgrounds and highly sensitive mutation detection systems that are based on long and short homonucleotide runs. Genetic interactions were examined among DNA polymerase epsilon (pol2-4) and delta (pol3-01) mutants defective in 3'-->5' proofreading exonuclease, mutants defective in the 5'-->3' exonuclease Exo1, and mismatch repair mutants (msh2, msh3, or msh6). These three exonucleases play an important role in mutation avoidance. Surprisingly, the mutation rate in an exo1 pol3-01 mutant was comparable to that in an msh2 pol3-01 mutant, suggesting that they participate directly in postreplication mismatch repair as well as in other DNA metabolic processes. (+info)
Nrg1 is a transcriptional repressor for glucose repression of STA1 gene expression in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.
(2/8779)
Expression of genes encoding starch-degrading enzymes is regulated by glucose repression in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. We have identified a transcriptional repressor, Nrg1, in a genetic screen designed to reveal negative factors involved in the expression of STA1, which encodes a glucoamylase. The NRG1 gene encodes a 25-kDa C2H2 zinc finger protein which specifically binds to two regions in the upstream activation sequence of the STA1 gene, as judged by gel retardation and DNase I footprinting analyses. Disruption of the NRG1 gene causes a fivefold increase in the level of the STA1 transcript in the presence of glucose. The expression of NRG1 itself is inhibited in the absence of glucose. DNA-bound LexA-Nrg1 represses transcription of a target gene 10.7-fold in a glucose-dependent manner, and this repression is abolished in both ssn6 and tup1 mutants. Two-hybrid and glutathione S-transferase pull-down experiments show an interaction of Nrg1 with Ssn6 both in vivo and in vitro. These findings indicate that Nrg1 acts as a DNA-binding repressor and mediates glucose repression of the STA1 gene expression by recruiting the Ssn6-Tup1 complex. (+info)
Histone octamer transfer by a chromatin-remodeling complex.
(3/8779)
RSC, an abundant, essential chromatin-remodeling complex related to SWI/SNF complex, catalyzes the transfer of a histone octamer from a nucleosome core particle to naked DNA. The newly formed octamer-DNA complex is identical with a nucleosome in all respects. The reaction requires ATP and involves an activated RSC-nucleosome intermediate. The mechanism may entail formation of a duplex displacement loop on the nucleosome, facilitating the entry of exogeneous DNA and the release of the endogenous molecule. (+info)
Regulation of the start of DNA replication in Schizosaccharomyces pombe.
(4/8779)
Cells of Schizosaccharomyces pombe were grown in minimal medium with different nitrogen sources under steady-state conditions, with doubling times ranging from 2.5 to 14 hours. Flow cytometry and fluorescence microscopy confirmed earlier findings that at rapid growth rates, the G1 phase was short and cell separation occurred at the end of S phase. For some nitrogen sources, the growth rate was greatly decreased, the G1 phase occupied 30-50% of the cell cycle, and cell separation occurred in early G1. In contrast, other nitrogen sources supported low growth rates without any significant increase in G1 duration. The method described allows manipulation of the length of G1 and the relative cell cycle position of S phase in wild-type cells. Cell mass was measured by flow cytometry as scattered light and as protein-associated fluorescence. The extensions of G1 were not related to cell mass at entry into S phase. Our data do not support the hypothesis that the cells must reach a certain fixed, critical mass before entry into S. We suggest that cell mass at the G1/S transition point is variable and determined by a set of molecular parameters. In the present experiments, these parameters were influenced by the different nitrogen sources in a way that was independent of the actual growth rate. (+info)
The prokaryotic beta-recombinase catalyzes site-specific recombination in mammalian cells.
(5/8779)
The development of new strategies for the in vivo modification of eukaryotic genomes has become an important objective of current research. Site-specific recombination has proven useful, as it allows controlled manipulation of murine, plant, and yeast genomes. Here we provide the first evidence that the prokaryotic site-specific recombinase (beta-recombinase), which catalyzes only intramolecular recombination, is active in eukaryotic environments. beta-Recombinase, encoded by the beta gene of the Gram-positive broad host range plasmid pSM19035, has been functionally expressed in eukaryotic cell lines, demonstrating high avidity for the nuclear compartment and forming a clear speckled pattern when assayed by indirect immunofluorescence. In simian COS-1 cells, transient beta-recombinase expression promoted deletion of a DNA fragment lying between two directly oriented specific recognition/crossing over sequences (six sites) located as an extrachromosomal DNA substrate. The same result was obtained in a recombination-dependent lacZ activation system tested in a cell line that stably expresses the beta-recombinase protein. In stable NIH/3T3 clones bearing different number of copies of the target sequences integrated at distinct chromosomal locations, transient beta-recombinase expression also promoted deletion of the intervening DNA, independently of the insertion position of the target sequences. The utility of this new recombination tool for the manipulation of eukaryotic genomes, used either alone or in combination with the other recombination systems currently in use, is discussed. (+info)
The yeast dynamin-like protein, Mgm1p, functions on the mitochondrial outer membrane to mediate mitochondrial inheritance.
(6/8779)
The mdm17 mutation causes temperature-dependent defects in mitochondrial inheritance, mitochondrial morphology, and the maintenance of mitochondrial DNA in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Defects in mitochondrial transmission to daughter buds and changes in mitochondrial morphology were apparent within 30 min after shifting cells to 37 degrees C, while loss of the mitochondrial genome occurred after 4-24 h at the elevated temperature. The mdm17 lesion mapped to MGM1, a gene encoding a dynamin-like GTPase previously implicated in mitochondrial genome maintenance, and the cloned MGM1 gene complements all of the mdm17 mutant phenotypes. Cells with an mgm1-null mutation displayed aberrant mitochondrial inheritance and morphology. A version of mgm1 mutated in a conserved residue in the putative GTP-binding site was unable to complement any of the mutant defects. It also caused aberrant mitochondrial distribution and morphology when expressed at high levels in cells that also contained a wild-type copy of the gene. Mgm1p was localized to the mitochondrial outer membrane and fractionated as a component of a high molecular weight complex. These results indicate that Mgm1p is a mitochondrial inheritance and morphology component that functions on the mitochondrial surface. (+info)
All 16 centromere DNAs from Saccharomyces cerevisiae show DNA curvature.
(7/8779)
All 16 centromere DNA regions of Saccharomyces cerevisiae including 90 bp framing sequences on either side were cloned. These 300 bp long centromere regions were analysed by native polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and found to display a reduced mobility indicative of DNA curvature. The degree of curvature is centromere dependent. The experimental data were confirmed by computer analysis of the 3-dimensional structure of the CEN DNAs. Altogether these data provide further evidence for a model for budding yeast centromeres in which CEN DNA structure could be important for the assembly, activity and/or regulation of the centromere protein-DNA complex. (+info)
The nuclear ribosomal DNA intergenic spacer as a target sequence to study intraspecific diversity of the ectomycorrhizal basidiomycete Hebeloma cylindrosporum directly on pinus root systems.
(8/8779)
Polymorphism of the nuclear ribosomal DNA intergenic spacer (IGS) of the ectomycorrhizal basidiomycete Hebeloma cylindrosporum was studied to evaluate whether this sequence could be used in field studies to estimate the diversity of strains forming mycorrhizas on individual Pinus pinaster root systems. This sequence was amplified by PCR from 125 haploid homokaryotic strains collected in 14 P. pinaster stands along the Atlantic coast of France by using conserved oligonucleotide primers. Restriction enzyme digestion of the amplified 3.4-kbp-long IGS allowed us to characterize 24 alleles whose frequencies differed. Nine of these alleles were found only once, whereas about 60% of the strains contained four of the alleles. Local populations could be almost as diverse as the entire population along a 150-km stretch of coastline that was examined; for example, 13 alleles were found in a single forest stand. The IGS from one strain was partially sequenced, and the sequence data were used to design oligonucleotides which allowed separate PCR amplification of three different segments of the IGS. Most polymorphisms observed among the full-length IGS regions resulted from polymorphisms in an internal ca. 1,500-bp-long sequence characterized by length variations that may have resulted from variable numbers of a T2AG3 motif. This internal polymorphic sequence could not be amplified from the genomes of nine other Hebeloma species. Analysis of this internal sequence amplified from the haploid progenies of 10 fruiting bodies collected in a 70-m2 area resulted in identification of six allelic forms and seven distinct diplotypes out of the 21 possible different combinations. Moreover, optimization of the PCR conditions resulted in amplification of this sequence from more than 80% of the DNA samples extracted from individual H. cylindrosporum infected P. pinaster mycorrhizal root tips, thus demonstrating the usefulness of this sequence for studying the below-ground diversity of mycorrhizas formed by genets belonging to the same fungal species. (+info)