0000000000021886
AUTHOR
Francisco Estruch
In vivo assembly of chromatin on pBR322 sequences cloned into yeast plasmids
Abstract In order to study the in vivo assembly of chromatin on prokaryotic DNA templates, we have transformed yeast cells with plasmids pAJ50 and pRB58, which contain pBR322 sequences. In both cases nucleosomes are assembled in vivo on pBR322 DNA, although the nucleosomes are not homogeneous in size. To explore whether there is any preference for nucleosome assembly along pBR322 sequences, we have used an indirect end labeling method. The results indicate that most nucleosomes are placed at random on pBR322, although the probability for histone octamers to interact with some short regions is somewhat reduced. These regions coincide with sequences in which the frequency distribution of nucl…
Chromatin structure of the 5′ flanking region of the yeastLEU2 gene
The chromatin structure of theLEU2 gene and its flanks has been studied by means of nuclease digestion, both with micrococcal nuclease and DNase I. The gene is organized in an array of positioned nucleosomes. Within the promoter region, the nucleosome positioning places the regulatory sequences, putative TATA box and upstream activator sequence outside the nucleosomal cores. The tRNA3 Leu gene possesses a characteristic structure and is protected against nucleases. Most of the 5′ flank is sensitive to DNase I digestion, although no clear hypersensitive sites were found. The chromatin structure is independent of either the transcriptional state of the gene or the chromosomal or episomal loca…
Defects in the NC2 repressor affect both canonical and non-coding RNA polymerase II transcription initiation in yeast.
BACKGROUND: The formation of the pre-initiation complex in eukaryotic genes is a key step in transcription initiation. The TATA-binding protein (TBP) is a universal component of all pre-initiation complexes for all kinds of RNA polymerase II (RNA pol II) genes, including those with a TATA or a TATA-like element, both those that encode proteins and those that transcribe non-coding RNAs. Mot1 and the negative cofactor 2 (NC2) complex are regulators of TBP, and it has been shown that depletion of these factors in yeast leads to defects in the control of transcription initiation that alter cryptic transcription levels in selected yeast loci. RESULTS: In order to cast light on the molecular func…
Chromatin structure of transposon Tn903 cloned into a yeast plasmid
Transposon Tn903 contains the APH gene for kanamycin resistance, which is active in yeast [A. Jiménez and J. Davies (1980) Nature (London) 287, 869-871] and is flanked by two inverted repeats (IR) 1057 bp long. When plasmid pAJ50, carrying Tn903 and the 2-microns circle origin of replication, is cloned into Saccharomyces cerevisiae, nucleosomes are assembled in vivo on the prokaryotic DNA of the transposon. Indirect end labeling revealed that three nucleosomes are preferentially positioned on symmetrical sequences from both IRs. DNase I digestion also confirmed that the chromatin structure is symmetrical in both IRs. This suggests that sequence determinants are decisive for chromatin struct…
A rapid method for the screening of plasmids in transformed yeast strains
A method for the rapid screening of plasmids in yeast cells has been developed. The method is an adaptation of the currently used alkaline lysis methods forEscherichia coli plasmids. Following the conditions described, several dozen ofSaccharomyces cerevisiae-transformed clones can be analyzed for their plasmid content in less than 2 h. The plasmids obtained by this procedure are suitable for restriction analysis or forE. coli andS. cerevisiae transformation.
Different pathways for the nuclear import of yeast RNA polymerase II
Recent studies suggest that RNA polymerase II (Pol II) has to be fully assembled before being imported into the nucleus, while other reports indicate a distinct mechanism to import large and small subunits. In yeast, Iwr1 binds to the holoenzyme assembled in the cytoplasm and directs its nuclear entry. However, as IWR1 is not an essential gene, Iwr1-independent pathway(s) for the nuclear import of Pol II must exist. In this paper, we investigate the transport into the nucleus of several large and small Pol II subunits in the mutants of genes involved in Pol II biogenesis. We also analyse subcellular localization in the presence of drugs that can potentially affect Pol II nuclear import. Our…
Pho85 and PI(4,5)P(2) regulate different lipid metabolic pathways in response to cold
Lipid homeostasis allows cells to adjust membrane biophysical properties in response to changes in environmental conditions. In the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, a downward shift in temperature from an optimal reduces membrane fluidity, which triggers a lipid remodeling of the plasma membrane. How changes in membrane fluidity are perceived, and how the abundance and composition of different lipid classes is properly balanced, remain largely unknown. Here, we show that the levels of phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate [PI(4,5)P2], the most abundant plasma membrane phosphoinositide, drop rapidly in response to a downward shift in temperature. This change triggers a signaling cascade trans…
Physical and Genetic Interactions Link the Yeast Protein Zds1p with mRNA Nuclear Export
Eukaryotic gene expression requires the export of mRNA from the nucleus to the cytoplasm. The DEAD box protein Dbp5p is an essential export factor conserved from yeast to man. A fraction of Dbp5p forms a complex with nucleoporins of the cytoplasmic filaments of the nuclear pore complex. Gfd1p was identified originally as a multicopy suppressor of the rat8-2 ts allele of DBP5. Here we reported that Dbp5p and Gfd1p interact with Zds1p, a protein previously identified as a multicopy suppressor in several yeast genetic screens. By using the two-hybrid system, we showed that Zds1p interacts in vivo with both Gfd1p and Dbp5p. In vitro binding experiments revealed that Gfd1p and Dbp5p bind directl…
Iwr1 facilitates RNA polymerase II dynamics during transcription elongation.
Iwr1 is an RNA polymerase II (RNPII) interacting protein that directs nuclear import of the enzyme which has been previously assembled in the cytoplasm. Here we present genetic and molecular evidence that links Iwr1 with transcription. Our results indicate that Iwr1 interacts with RNPII during elongation and is involved in the disassembly of the enzyme from chromatin. This function is especially important in resolving problems posed by damage-arrested RNPII, as shown by the sensitivity of iwr1 mutants to genotoxic drugs and the Iwr1's genetic interactions with RNPII degradation pathway mutants. Moreover, absence of Iwr1 causes genome instability that is enhanced by defects in the DNA repair…
Convergence of the target of rapamycin and the Snf1 protein kinase pathways in the regulation of the subcellular localization of Msn2, a transcriptional activator of STRE (Stress Response Element)-regulated genes.
The subcellular localization of Msn2, a transcriptional activator of STRE (stress response element)-regulated genes, is modulated by carbon source availability. In cells growing in glucose, Msn2 is located mainly in the cytosol, whereas in carbon source-starved cells, Msn2 is located largely inside the nucleus. However, in cells lacking Reg1 (the regulatory subunit of the Reg1/Glc7 protein phosphatase complex), the regulation of subcellular distribution is absent, Msn2 being constitutively present in the cytosol. The localization defect in these mutants is specific for carbon starvation stress, and it is because of the presence of an abnormally active Snf1 protein kinase that inhibits the n…
Sliding-end-labelling
Abstract A method, termed ‘sliding-end-labelling’, has been devised to avoid a frequent artifact in nucleosome positioning by indirect end labelling, namely the appearing of DNA fragments originated by two nuclease cuts, one of them lying within the region covered by the probe. The method is applied to the nucleosome positioning in the yeast SUC2 gene for invertase.
Construction of a Trp commercial baker?s yeast strain by using food-safe-grade dominant drug resistance cassettes
We have designed a food-safe-grade module for gene disruptions in commercial baker's yeast strains, which contains the G418 resistance cassette, KanMX4, flanked by direct repeats from the MEL1 gene of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. This module was used to obtain a Trp(-) auxotrophic mutant of the polyploid HY strain by successive targeting to the TRP1 locus and later in vivo excision of the kan(r) marker. Southern blot analysis indicated that HY contains five copies of the TRP1 gene. However, after four disruption rounds, a strain named HYtrpM(4), unable to grow in the absence of tryptophan, was selected. Southern and Northern analysis of HYtrpM(4) cells showed that a remaining functional wild-t…
The Yeast RNA Polymerase II-associated Factor Iwr1p Is Involved in the Basal and Regulated Transcription of Specific Genes
RNA polymerase II (RNA pol II) is a multisubunit enzyme that requires many auxiliary factors for its activity. Over the years, these factors have been identified using both biochemical and genetic approaches. Recently, the systematic characterization of protein complexes by tandem affinity purification and mass spectroscopy has allowed the identification of new components of well established complexes, including the RNA pol II holoenzyme. Using this approach, a novel and highly conserved factor, Iwr1p, that physically interacts with most of the RNA pol II subunits has been described in yeast. Here we show that Iwr1p genetically interacts with components of the basal transcription machinery …
Specific Defects in Different Transcription Complexes Compensate for the Requirement of the Negative Cofactor 2 Repressor in Saccharomyces cerevisiae
Abstract Negative cofactor 2 (NC2) has been described as an essential and evolutionarily conserved transcriptional repressor, although in vitro and in vivo experiments suggest that it can function as both a positive and a negative effector of transcription. NC2 operates by interacting with the core promoter and components of the basal transcription machinery, like the TATA-binding protein (TBP). In this work, we have isolated mutants that suppress the growth defect caused by the depletion of NC2. We have identified mutations affecting components of three different complexes involved in the control of basal transcription: the mediator, TFIIH, and RNA pol II itself. Mutations in RNA pol II in…
Insights into mRNP biogenesis provided by new genetic interactions among export and transcription factors.
Abstract Background The various steps of mRNP biogenesis (transcription, processing and export) are interconnected. It has been shown that the transcription machinery plays a pivotal role in mRNP assembly, since several mRNA export factors are recruited during transcription and physically interact with components of the transcription machinery. Although the shuttling DEAD-box protein Dbp5p is concentrated on the cytoplasmic fibrils of the NPC, previous studies demonstrated that it interacts physically and genetically with factors involved in transcription initiation. Results We investigated the effect of mutations affecting various components of the transcription initiation apparatus on the…
Hyperphosphorylation of Msn2p and Msn4p in response to heat shock and the diauxic shift is inhibited by cAMP in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.
In response to various stresses, as well as during the diauxic transition, the Msn2p and Msn4p transcription factors of Saccharomyces cerevisiae are activated and induce a large set of genes. This activation is inhibited by the Ras/cAMP/PKA (cAMP-dependent protein kinase) pathway. Here we show by immunoblotting experiments that Msn2p and Msn4p are phosphorylated in vivo during growth on glucose, and become hyperphosphorylated at the diauxic transition and upon heat shock. This hyperphosphorylation is correlated with activation of Msn2/4p-dependent transcription. An increased level of cAMP prevents and reverses these hyperphosphorylations, indicating that kinases other than PKA are involved.…
Rtp1p Is a Karyopherin-Like Protein Required for RNA Polymerase II Biogenesis
The assembly and nuclear transport of RNA polymerase II (RNA pol II) are processes that require the participation of many auxiliary factors. In a yeast genetic screen, we identified a previously uncharacterized gene, YMR185w (renamed RTP1), which encodes a protein required for the nuclear import of RNA pol II. Using protein affinity purification coupled to mass spectrometry, we identified interactions between Rtp1p and members of the R2TP complex. Rtp1p also interacts, to a different extent, with several RNA pol II subunits. The pattern of interactions is compatible with a role for Rtp1p as an assembly factor that participates in the formation of the Rpb2/Rpb3 subassembly complex and its bi…
Myriocin-induced adaptive laboratory evolution of an industrial strain of Saccharomyces cerevisiae reveals its potential to remodel lipid composition and heat tolerance
The modification of lipid composition allows cells to adjust membrane biophysical properties in response to changes in environmental temperature. Here, we use adaptive laboratory evolution (ALE) in the presence of myriocin, a sphingolipid (SLs) biosynthesis inhibitor, to remodel the lipid profile of an industrial yeast strain (LH) of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The approach enabled to obtain a heterogeneous population (LHev) of myriocin‐tolerant evolved clones characterized by its growth capacity at high temperature. Myriocin exposure also caused tolerance to soraphen A, an inhibitor of the acetyl‐CoA carboxylase Acc1, the rate‐limiting enzyme in fatty acid de novo production, supporting a ch…
DNase I sensitivity of the chromatin of the yeast SUC2 gene for invertase.
The DNase I sensitivity of chromatin of the yeast SUC2 gene, which encodes two forms of invertase, has been studied both in the genome and in a multicopy plasmid carrying the gene and its flaking sequences. Whereas little if any difference in the DNase I sensitivity of the flanking regions was found between the repressed and the derepressed states, derepression of the gene was accompanied by a large increase in the sensitivity of the transcribed region. A well-defined DNase I hypersensitive site was found centered at approximately 120 bp downstream from the end of the coding region. This site seems to be flanked in the 3' non-coding region by strictly positioned nucleosomes, and the structu…
Gene Expression Analysis of Cold and Freeze Stress in Baker's Yeast
ABSTRACT We used mRNA differential display to assess yeast gene expression under cold or freeze shock stress conditions. We found both up- and down-regulation of genes, although repression was more common. We identified and sequenced several cold-induced genes exhibiting the largest differences. We confirmed, by Northern blotting, the specificity of the response for TPI1 , which encodes triose-phosphate isomerase; ERG10 , the gene for acetoacetyl coenzyme A thiolase; and IMH1 , which encodes a protein implicated in protein transport. These genes also were induced under other stress conditions, suggesting that this cold response is mediated by a general stress mechanism. We determined the ph…
Sphingolipids and Inositol Phosphates Regulate the Tau Protein Phosphorylation Status in Humanized Yeast
Hyperphosphorylation of protein tau is a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Changes in energy and lipid metabolism have been correlated with the late onset of this neurological disorder. However, it is uncertain if metabolic dysregulation is a consequence of AD or one of the initiating factors of AD pathophysiology. Also, it is unclear whether variations in lipid metabolism regulate the phosphorylation state of tau. Here, we show that in humanized yeast, tau hyperphosphorylation is stimulated by glucose starvation in coincidence with the downregulation of Pho85, the yeast ortholog of CDK5. Changes in inositol phosphate (IP) signaling, which has a central role in energy metabolism, altere…
The formation of hybrid complexes between isoenzymes of glyceraldehyde‐3‐phosphate dehydrogenase regulates its aggregation state, the glycolytic activity and sphingolipid status inSaccharomyces cerevisiae
The glycolytic enzyme glyceraldehyde‐3‐phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) has been traditionally considered a housekeeping protein involved in energy generation. However, evidence indicates that GAPDHs from different origins are tightly regulated and that this regulation may be on the basis of glycolysis‐related and glycolysis‐unrelated functions. In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Tdh3 is the main GAPDH, although two other isoenzymes encoded by TDH1 and TDH2 have been identified. Like other GAPDHs, Tdh3 exists predominantly as a tetramer, although dimeric and monomeric forms have also been isolated. Mechanisms of Tdh3 regulation may thus imply changes in its oligomeric state or be based in its abil…
The yeast putative transcriptional repressor RGM1 is a proline-rich zinc finger protein.
Abstract I have cloned a yeast gene, RGM1, which encodes a proline-rich zinc, finger protein. rgm1 mutants do not show any obvious phenotype but overexpression of RGM1 gene greatly impairs cell growth. The proline-rich region of RGM1 attached to a heterologous DNA binding domain is able to repress the expression of the target gene. RGM1 shares similar zinc finger motifs with the mammalian Egr (early growth response) proteins as well as proline-rich sequences with a high serine and threonine content, suggesting that RGM1 and Egr proteins could have functional similarities.
Stress-controlled transcription factors, stress-induced genes and stress tolerance in budding yeast.
The transcriptional response to environmental changes is a major topic in both basic and applied research. From a basic point of view, to understand this response includes unravelling how the stress signal is sensed and transduced to the nucleus, to identify which genes are induced under each stress condition and, finally, to establish the phenotypic consequences of this induction in stress tolerance. The possibility of using genetic approaches has made the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae a compelling model to study stress response at a molecular level. Moreover, this information can be used to isolate and characterise stress-related proteins in higher eukaryotes and to design strategies to …
Fine analysis of the chromatin structure of the yeast SUC2 gene and of its changes upon derepression. Comparison between the chromosomal and plasmid-inserted genes.
Micrococcal nuclease digestion has been used to investigate some fine details of the chromatin structure of the yeast SUC2 gene for invertase. Precisely positioned nucleosomes have been found on a 2 kb sequence from the 3' non-coding region, and four nucleosomes also seem to occupy fixed positions on the 5' flank. Eleven nucleosomes lie on the coding region, although their positioning is not as precise as in the flanks. When the gene is derepressed, these latter nucleosomes adopt a more open conformation and so do two of the nucleosomes positioned on the 5' flank. A dramatic change occurs in the 3' flank, whose involvement in the structural transitions of chromatin upon gene activation is p…
Functional analysis of 12 ORFs fromSaccharomyces cerevisiae chromosome II
Twelve different ORFs have been deleted from the right arm of Saccharomyces cerevisiae chromosome II; namely YBR193c, YBR194w, YBR197c, YBR198c, YBR201w, YBR203w, YBR207w, YBR209w, YBR210w, YBR211c, YBR217w and YBR228w. Tetrad analysis of heterozygous deletant strains revealed that YBR193c, YBR198c and YBR211c are essential genes for vegetative growth. No effects were detected in any of the haploid deletion mutants for the rest of the ORFs with respect to growth, gross morphology or mating.