The clr1 locus regulates the expression of the cryptic mating-type loci of fission yeast.

Genetics ◽  
1992 ◽  
Vol 131 (2) ◽  
pp. 287-296 ◽  
Author(s):  
G Thon ◽  
A J Klar
Keyword(s):  
Fission Yeast ◽  
Mating Type ◽  
Cold Spot ◽  
Type Region ◽  
Type Locus ◽  
Silent Genes ◽  
The Right ◽  
Chromosome Ii ◽  
Donor Locus ◽  
Type Information

Abstract The mat2-P and mat3-M loci of fission yeast contain respectively the plus (P) and minus (M) mating-type information in a transcriptionally silent state. That information is transposed from the mat2 or mat3 donor locus via recombination into the expressed mating-type locus (mat1) resulting in switching of the cellular mating type. We have identified a gene, named clr1 (for cryptic loci regulator), whose mutations allow expression of the mat2 and mat3 loci. clr1 mutants undergo aberrant haploid meiosis, indicative of transcription of the silent genes. Production of mRNA from mat3 is detectable in clr1 mutants. Furthermore, the ura4 gene inserted near mat3, weakly expressed in wild-type cells, is derepressed in clr1 mutants. The clr1 mutations also permit meiotic recombination in the 15-kb mat2-mat3 interval, where recombination is normally inhibited. The clr1 locus is in the right arm of chromosome II. We suggest that clr1 regulates silencing of the mat2 and mat3 loci, and participates in establishing the "cold spot" for recombination by organizing the chromatin structure of the mating-type region.

scholarly journals swi6, a gene required for mating-type switching, prohibits meiotic recombination in the mat2-mat3 "cold spot" of fission yeast.

Genetics ◽  
1991 ◽  
Vol 129 (4) ◽  
pp. 1033-1042
Author(s):  
A J Klar ◽  
M J Bonaduce
Keyword(s):  
Fission Yeast ◽  
Mating Type ◽  
Meiotic Recombination ◽  
Hot Spot ◽  
Strand Break ◽  
Double Strand Break ◽  
Cold Spot ◽  
Additional Result ◽  
Type Locus ◽  
Mating Type Switching

Abstract Mitotic interconversion of the mating-type locus (mat1) of the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe is initiated by a double-strand break at mat1. The mat2 and mat3 loci act as nonrandom donors of genetic information for mat1 switching such that switches occur primarily (or only) to the opposite mat1 allele. Location of the mat1 "hot spot" for transposition should be contrasted with the "cold spot" of meiotic recombination located within the adjoining mat2-mat3 interval. That is, meiotic interchromosomal recombination in mat2, mat3 and the intervening 15-kilobase region does not occur at all. swi2 and swi6 switching-deficient mutants possess the normal level of double-strand break at mat1, yet they fail to switch efficiently. By testing for meiotic recombination in the cold spot, we found the usual lack of recombination in a swi2 mutant but a significant level of recombination in a swi6 mutant. Therefore, the swi6 gene function is required to keep the donor loci inert for interchromosomal recombination. This finding, combined with the additional result that switching primarily occurs intrachromosomally, suggests that the donor loci are made accessible for switching by folding them onto mat1, thus causing the cold spot of recombination.

scholarly journals rme1 Mutation of Saccharomyces cerevisiae: map position and bypass of mating type locus control of sporulation.

1981 ◽  
Vol 1 (10) ◽  
pp. 958-960 ◽  
Author(s):  
J Rine ◽  
G F Sprague ◽  
I Herskowitz
Keyword(s):  
Saccharomyces Cerevisiae ◽  
Mating Type ◽  
Type Locus ◽  
Mating Type Locus ◽  
Type Information

Sporulation in Saccharomyces cerevisiae normally occurs only in MATa/MAT alpha diploids. We show that mutations in RME1 bypassed the requirements for both a and alpha mating type information in sporulation and therefore allowed MATa/MATa and MAT alpha/MAT alpha diploids to sporulate. RME1 was located on chromosome VII, between LEU1 and ADE6.

Homothallic mating type switching generates lethal chromosome breaks in rad52 strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae

1981 ◽  
Vol 1 (6) ◽  
pp. 522-534
Author(s):  
B Weiffenbach ◽  
J E Haber
Keyword(s):  
Saccharomyces Cerevisiae ◽  
Mating Type ◽  
Deoxyribonucleic Acid ◽  
Type Locus ◽  
Mating Type Switching ◽  
Lethal Event ◽  
Bona Fide ◽  
Chromosome Iii ◽  
Mat Locus ◽  
Type Information

In homothallic cells of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, a or alpha mating type information at the mating type locus (MAT) is replaced by the transposition of the opposite mating type allele from HML alpha or HMRa. The rad52-1 mutation, which reduces mitotic and abolishes meiotic recombination, also affects homothallic switching (Malone and Esposito, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 77:503-507, 1980). We have found that both HO rad52 MATa and HO rad52 MAT alpha cells die. This lethality is suppressed by mutations that substantially reduce but do not eliminate homothallic conversions. These mutations map at or near the MAT locus (MAT alpha inc, MATa-inc, MATa stk1) or are unlinked to MAT (HO-1 and swi1). These results suggest that the switching event itself is involved in the lethality. With the exception of swi1, HO rad52 strains carrying one of the above mutations cannot convert mating type at all. MAT alpha rad52 HO swi1 strains apparently can switch MAT alpha to MATa. However, when we analyzed these a maters, we found that few, if any, of them were bona fide MATa cells. These a-like cells were instead either deleted for part of chromosome III distal to and including MAT or had lost the entire third chromosome. Approximately 30% of the time, an a-like cell could be repaired to a normal MATa genotype if the cell was mated to a RAD52 MAT alpha-inc strain. The effects of rad52 were also studied in mata/MAT alpha-inc rad52/rad52 ho/HO diploids. When this diploid attempted to switch mata to MATa, an unstable broken chromosome was generated in nearly every cell. These studies suggest that homothallic switching involves the formation of a double-stranded deoxyribonucleic acid break or a structure which is labile in rad52 cells and results in a broken chromosome. We propose that the production of a double-stranded deoxyribonucleic acid break is the lethal event in rad52 HO cells.

scholarly journals The fission yeast heterochromatin protein Rik1 is required for telomere clustering during meiosis

2004 ◽  
Vol 165 (6) ◽  
pp. 759-765 ◽  
Author(s):  
Creighton T. Tuzon ◽  
Britta Borgstrom ◽  
Dietmar Weilguny ◽  
Richard Egel ◽  
Julia Promisel Cooper ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fission Yeast ◽  
Mating Type ◽  
Sexual Differentiation ◽  
Histone H3 ◽  
Heterochromatin Protein ◽  
Type Locus ◽  
Heterochromatin Formation ◽  
Mating Type Locus ◽  
Telomere Protein ◽  
Chromosome Movements

Telomeres share the ability to silence nearby transcription with heterochromatin, but the requirement of heterochromatin proteins for most telomere functions is unknown. The fission yeast Rik1 protein is required for heterochromatin formation at centromeres and the mating-type locus, as it recruits the Clr4 histone methyltransferase, whose modification of histone H3 triggers binding by Swi6, a conserved protein involved in spreading of heterochromatin. Here, we demonstrate that Rik1 and Clr4, but not Swi6, are required along with the telomere protein Taz1 for crucial chromosome movements during meiosis. However, Rik1 is dispensable for the protective roles of telomeres in preventing chromosome end-fusion. Thus, a Swi6-independent heterochromatin function distinct from that at centromeres and the mating-type locus operates at telomeres during sexual differentiation.

Mutations in the fission yeast silencing factors clr4+ and rik1+ disrupt the localisation of the chromo domain protein Swi6p and impair centromere function

1996 ◽  
Vol 109 (11) ◽  
pp. 2637-2648 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Ekwall ◽  
E.R. Nimmo ◽  
J.P. Javerzat ◽  
B. Borgstrom ◽  
R. Egel ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fission Yeast ◽  
Mating Type ◽  
Transcriptional Repression ◽  
In Situ Hybridisation ◽  
Chromosome Loss ◽  
Fluorescence In Situ Hybridisation ◽  
Type Region ◽  
Centromere Function ◽  
Mutant Cells

Transcriptional silencing is known to occur at centromeres, telomeres and the mating type region in the nucleus of fission yeast, Schizosaccharomyces pombe. Mating-type silencing factors have previously been shown also to affect transcriptional repression within centromeres and to some extent at telomeres. Mutations in the clr4+, rik1+ and swi6+ genes dramatically reduce silencing at certain centromeric regions and cause elevated chromosome loss rates. Recently, Swi6p was found to co-localise with the three silent chromosomal regions. Here the involvement of clr4+, rik1+ and swi6+ in centromere function is investigated in further detail. Fluorescence in situ hybridisation (FISH) was used to show that, as in swi6 mutant cells, centromeres lag on late anaphase spindles in clr4 and rik1 mutant cells. This phenotype is consistent with a role for these three gene products in fission yeast centromere function. The Swi6 protein was found to be delocalised from all three silent chromosomal regions, and dispersed within the nucleus, in both clr4 and rik1 mutant cells. The phenotypic similarity observed in all three mutants is consistent with the products of both the clr4+ and rik1+ genes being required to recruit Swi6p to the centromere and other silent regions. Mutations in clr4, rik1 and swi6 also result in elevated sensitivity to reagents which destabilise microtubules and show a synergistic interaction with a mutation in the beta-tubulin gene (nda3). These observations suggest that clr4+ and rik1+ must play a role in the assembly of Swi6p into a transcriptionally silent, inaccessible chromatin structure at fission yeast centromeres which is required to facilitate interactions with spindle microtubules and to ensure normal chromosome segregation.

scholarly journals The Fission Yeast Ubiquitin-Conjugating Enzymes UbcP3, Ubc15, and Rhp6 Affect Transcriptional Silencing of the Mating-Type Region

2002 ◽  
Vol 1 (4) ◽  
pp. 613-625 ◽  
Author(s):  
Inga Sig Nielsen ◽  
Olaf Nielsen ◽  
Johanne M. Murray ◽  
Geneviève Thon
Keyword(s):  
Fission Yeast ◽  
Rna Polymerase Ii ◽  
Mating Type ◽  
26S Proteasome ◽  
Obvious Effect ◽  
Type Region ◽  
Ubiquitin Conjugating Enzyme ◽  
Conjugating Enzymes ◽  
Ubiquitin Conjugating Enzymes ◽  
Active Site Mutants

ABSTRACT Genes transcribed by RNA polymerase II are silenced when introduced near the mat2 or mat3 mating-type loci of the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe. Silencing is mediated by a number of gene products and cis-acting elements. We report here the finding of novel trans-acting factors identified in a screen for high-copy-number disruptors of silencing. Expression of cDNAs encoding the putative E2 ubiquitin-conjugating enzymes UbcP3, Ubc15 (ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme), or Rhp6 (Rad homolog pombe) from the strong nmt1 promoter derepressed the silent mating-type loci mat2 and mat3 and reporter genes inserted nearby. Deletion of rhp6 slightly derepressed an ade6 reporter gene placed in the mating-type region, whereas disruption of ubcP3 or ubc15 had no obvious effect on silencing. Rhp18 is the S. pombe homolog of Saccharomyces cerevisiae Rad18p, a DNA-binding protein that physically interacts with Rad6p. Rhp18 was not required for the derepression observed when UbcP3, Ubc15, or Rhp6 was overproduced. Overexpressing Rhp6 active-site mutants showed that the ubiquitin-conjugating activity of Rhp6 is essential for disruption of silencing. However, high dosage of UbcP3, Ubc15, or Rhp6 was not suppressed by a mutation in the 26S proteasome, suggesting that loss of silencing is not due to an increased degradation of silencing factors but rather to the posttranslational modification of proteins by ubiquitination. We discuss the implications of these results for the possible modes of action of UbcP3, Ubc15, and Rhp6.

Transient inhibition of histone deacetylase activity overcomes silencing in the mating-type region in fission yeast

1999 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
pp. 82-87 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. G. S. Olsson ◽  
Rebecca A. Silverstein ◽  
Karl Ekwall ◽  
Per Sunnerhagen
Keyword(s):  
Fission Yeast ◽  
Histone Deacetylase ◽  
Mating Type ◽  
Type Region

scholarly journals Homothallic mating type switching generates lethal chromosome breaks in rad52 strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

1981 ◽  
Vol 1 (6) ◽  
pp. 522-534 ◽  
Author(s):  
B Weiffenbach ◽  
J E Haber
Keyword(s):  
Saccharomyces Cerevisiae ◽  
Mating Type ◽  
Deoxyribonucleic Acid ◽  
Type Locus ◽  
Mating Type Switching ◽  
Lethal Event ◽  
Bona Fide ◽  
Chromosome Iii ◽  
Mat Locus ◽  
Type Information

In homothallic cells of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, a or alpha mating type information at the mating type locus (MAT) is replaced by the transposition of the opposite mating type allele from HML alpha or HMRa. The rad52-1 mutation, which reduces mitotic and abolishes meiotic recombination, also affects homothallic switching (Malone and Esposito, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 77:503-507, 1980). We have found that both HO rad52 MATa and HO rad52 MAT alpha cells die. This lethality is suppressed by mutations that substantially reduce but do not eliminate homothallic conversions. These mutations map at or near the MAT locus (MAT alpha inc, MATa-inc, MATa stk1) or are unlinked to MAT (HO-1 and swi1). These results suggest that the switching event itself is involved in the lethality. With the exception of swi1, HO rad52 strains carrying one of the above mutations cannot convert mating type at all. MAT alpha rad52 HO swi1 strains apparently can switch MAT alpha to MATa. However, when we analyzed these a maters, we found that few, if any, of them were bona fide MATa cells. These a-like cells were instead either deleted for part of chromosome III distal to and including MAT or had lost the entire third chromosome. Approximately 30% of the time, an a-like cell could be repaired to a normal MATa genotype if the cell was mated to a RAD52 MAT alpha-inc strain. The effects of rad52 were also studied in mata/MAT alpha-inc rad52/rad52 ho/HO diploids. When this diploid attempted to switch mata to MATa, an unstable broken chromosome was generated in nearly every cell. These studies suggest that homothallic switching involves the formation of a double-stranded deoxyribonucleic acid break or a structure which is labile in rad52 cells and results in a broken chromosome. We propose that the production of a double-stranded deoxyribonucleic acid break is the lethal event in rad52 HO cells.

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