scholarly journals Genetic analysis argues for a coactivator function for the Saccharomyces cerevisiae Tup1 corepressor

Genetics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emily J Parnell ◽  
Timothy J Parnell ◽  
David J Stillman

Abstract The Tup1-Cyc8 corepressor complex of Saccharomyces cerevisiae is recruited to promoters by DNA-binding proteins to repress transcription of genes, including the a-specific mating type genes. We report here a tup1(S649F) mutant that displays mating irregularities and an α-predominant growth defect. RNA-Seq and ChIP-Seq were used to analyze gene expression and Tup1 occupancy changes in mutant vs. wild-type in both a and α cells. Increased Tup1(S649F) occupancy tended to occur upstream of upregulated genes, whereas locations with decreased occupancy usually did not show changes in gene expression, suggesting this mutant not only loses corepressor function but also behaves as a coactivator. Based upon studies demonstrating a dual role of Tup1 in both repression and activation, we postulate that the coactivator function of Tup1(S649F) results from diminished interaction with repressor proteins, including α2. We also found that large changes in mating type-specific gene expression between a and α or between mutant and wild-type were not easily explained by the range of Tup1 occupancy levels within their promoters, as predicted by the classic model of a-specific gene repression by Tup1. Most surprisingly, we observed Tup1 occupancy upstream of the a-specific gene MFA2 and the α-specific gene MF(ALPHA)1 in cells in which each gene was expressed rather than repressed. These results, combined with identification of additional mating related genes upregulated in the tup1(S649F) α strain, illustrate that the role of Tup1 in distinguishing mating types in yeast appears to be both more comprehensive and more nuanced than previously appreciated.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emily J Parnell ◽  
Timothy J Parnell ◽  
David J. Stillman

The Tup1-Cyc8 corepressor complex of Saccharomyces cerevisiae is recruited to promoters by DNA-binding proteins to repress transcription of genes, including the a-specific mating type genes. We report here a tup1(S649F) mutant that displays mating irregularities similar to a tup1 null and an -predominant growth defect. RNA-Seq and ChIP-Seq were used to analyze gene expression and Tup1 occupancy changes in mutant vs. wild-type in both a and cells. Increased Tup1(S649F) occupancy tended to occur upstream of upregulated genes, whereas locations with decreased occupancy usually did not show changes in gene expression, suggesting this mutant not only loses corepressor function but also behaves as a coactivator. Based upon studies demonstrating a dual role of Tup1 in both repression and activation, we postulate that the coactivator function of Tup1(S649F) results from diminished interaction with repressor proteins, including 2. We also found that large changes in mating type-specific gene expression between a and or between mutant and wild-type were not easily explained by the range of Tup1 occupancy levels within their promoters, as predicted by the classic model of a-specific gene repression by Tup1. Most surprisingly, we observed Tup1 occupancy upstream of the a-specific gene MFA2 and the -specific gene MF(ALPHA)1 in cells in which each gene was expressed rather than repressed. These results, combined with identification of additional mating related genes upregulated in the tup1(S649F) strain, illustrate that the role of Tup1 in distinguishing mating types in yeast appears to be both more comprehensive and more nuanced than previously appreciated.


2021 ◽  
pp. mbc.E20-12-0757
Author(s):  
Corrina G. Robertson ◽  
Manuella R. Clark-Cotton ◽  
Daniel J. Lew

Haploid cells of the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae communicate using secreted pheromones and mate to form diploid zygotes. Mating is monogamous, resulting in the fusion of precisely one cell of each mating type. Monogamous mating in crowded conditions, where cells have access to more than one potential partner, raises the question of how multiple-mating outcomes are prevented. Here we identify mutants capable of mating with multiple partners, revealing the mechanisms that ensure monogamous mating. Before fusion, cells develop polarity foci oriented towards potential partners. Competition between these polarity foci within each cell leads to disassembly of all but one focus, thus favoring a single fusion event. Fusion promotes the formation of heterodimeric complexes between subunits that are uniquely expressed in each mating type. One complex shuts off haploid-specific gene expression, and the other shuts off the ability to respond to pheromone. Zygotes able to form either complex remain monogamous, but zygotes lacking both can re-mate.


1997 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 303-312 ◽  
Author(s):  
S A Louis ◽  
G B Spiegelman ◽  
G Weeks

It has been previously demonstrated that the expression of an activated rasD gene in wild-type Dictyostelium cells results in formation of aggregates with multitips, instead of the normal single tips, and a block in further development. In an attempt to better understand the role of activated RasD development, we examined cell-type-specific gene expression in a strain stably expressing high levels of RasD[G12T]. We found that the expression of prestalk cell-specific genes ecmA and tagB was markedly enhanced, whereas the expression of the prespore cell-specific gene cotC was reduced to very low levels. When the fate of cells in the multitipped aggregate was monitored with an ecmA/lacZ fusion, it appeared that most of the cells eventually adopted prestalk gene expression characteristics. When mixtures of the [G12T]rasD cells and Ax3 cells were induced to differentiate, chimeric pseudoplasmodia were not formed. Thus, although the [G12T]rasD transformant had a marked propensity to form prestalk cells, it could not supply the prestalk cell population when mixed with wild-type cells. Both stalk and spore cell formation occurred in low cell density monolayers of the [G12T]rasD strain, suggesting that at least part of the inhibition of stalk and spore formation during multicellular development involved inhibitory cell interactions within the cell mass. Models for the possible role of rasD in development are discussed.


1993 ◽  
Vol 4 (6) ◽  
pp. 204-209 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wolfgang Schmid ◽  
Doris Nitsch ◽  
Michael Boshart ◽  
Günther Schütz

Genetics ◽  
1998 ◽  
Vol 149 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-56
Author(s):  
Luther Davis ◽  
JoAnne Engebrecht

Abstract The DOM34 gene of Saccharomyces cerevisiae is similar togenes found in diverse eukaryotes and archaebacteria. Analysis of dom34 strains shows that progression through the G1 phase of the cell cycle is delayed, mutant cells enter meiosis aberrantly, and their ability to form pseudohyphae is significantly diminished. RPS30A, which encodes ribosomal protein S30, was identified in a screen for high-copy suppressors of the dom34Δ growth defect. dom34Δ mutants display an altered polyribosome profile that is rescued by expression of RPS30A. Taken together, these data indicate that Dom34p functions in protein translation to promote G1 progression and differentiation. A Drosophila homolog of Dom34p, pelota, is required for the proper coordination of meiosis and spermatogenesis. Heterologous expression of pelota in dom34Δ mutants restores wild-type growth and differentiation, suggesting conservation of function between the eukaryotic members of the gene family.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Anastasia Ricci ◽  
Sara Orazi ◽  
Federica Biancucci ◽  
Mauro Magnani ◽  
Michele Menotta

AbstractAtaxia telangiectasia (AT) is a rare genetic neurodegenerative disease. To date, there is no available cure for the illness, but the use of glucocorticoids has been shown to alleviate the neurological symptoms associated with AT. While studying the effects of dexamethasone (dex) in AT fibroblasts, by chance we observed that the nucleoplasmic Lamin A/C was affected by the drug. In addition to the structural roles of A-type lamins, Lamin A/C has been shown to play a role in the regulation of gene expression and cell cycle progression, and alterations in the LMNA gene is cause of human diseases called laminopathies. Dex was found to improve the nucleoplasmic accumulation of soluble Lamin A/C and was capable of managing the large chromatin Lamin A/C scaffolds contained complex, thus regulating epigenetics in treated cells. In addition, dex modified the interactions of Lamin A/C with its direct partners lamin associated polypeptide (LAP) 2a, Retinoblastoma 1 (pRB) and E2F Transcription Factor 1 (E2F1), regulating local gene expression dependent on E2F1. These effects were differentially observed in both AT and wild type (WT) cells. To our knowledge, this is the first reported evidence of the role of dex in Lamin A/C dynamics in AT cells, and may represent a new area of research regarding the effects of glucocorticoids on AT. Moreover, future investigations could also be extended to healthy subjects or to other pathologies such as laminopathies since glucocorticoids may have other important effects in these contexts as well.


2014 ◽  
Vol 25 (12) ◽  
pp. 1916-1924 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Öling ◽  
Rehan Masoom ◽  
Kristian Kvint

Ubp3 is a conserved ubiquitin protease that acts as an antisilencing factor in MAT and telomeric regions. Here we show that ubp3∆ mutants also display increased silencing in ribosomal DNA (rDNA). Consistent with this, RNA polymerase II occupancy is lower in cells lacking Ubp3 than in wild-type cells in all heterochromatic regions. Moreover, in a ubp3∆ mutant, unequal recombination in rDNA is highly suppressed. We present genetic evidence that this effect on rDNA recombination, but not silencing, is entirely dependent on the silencing factor Sir2. Further, ubp3∆ sir2∆ mutants age prematurely at the same rate as sir2∆ mutants. Thus our data suggest that recombination negatively influences replicative life span more so than silencing. However, in ubp3∆ mutants, recombination is not a prerequisite for aging, since cells lacking Ubp3 have a shorter life span than isogenic wild-type cells. We discuss the data in view of different models on how silencing and unequal recombination affect replicative life span and the role of Ubp3 in these processes.


1998 ◽  
Vol 18 (10) ◽  
pp. 5744-5749 ◽  
Author(s):  
Irene Verkerke-Van Wijk ◽  
Ji-Yun Kim ◽  
Raymond Brandt ◽  
Peter N. Devreotes ◽  
Pauline Schaap

ABSTRACT Serpentine receptors such as smoothened and frizzled play important roles in cell fate determination during animal development. InDictyostelium discoideum, four serpentine cyclic AMP (cAMP) receptors (cARs) regulate expression of multiple classes of developmental genes. To understand their function, it is essential to know whether each cAR is coupled to a specific gene regulatory pathway or whether specificity results from the different developmental regulation of individual cARs. To distinguish between these possibilities, we measured gene induction in car1 car3 double mutant cell lines that express equal levels of either cAR1, cAR2, or cAR3 under a constitutive promoter. We found that all cARs efficiently mediate both aggregative gene induction by cAMP pulses and induction of postaggregative and prespore genes by persistent cAMP stimulation. Two exceptions to this functional promiscuity were observed. (i) Only cAR1 can mediate adenosine inhibition of cAMP-induced prespore gene expression, a phenomenon that was found earlier in wild-type cells. cAR1’s mediation of adenosine inhibition suggests that cAR1 normally mediates prespore gene induction. (ii) Only cAR2 allows entry into the prestalk pathway. Prestalk gene expression is induced by differentiation-inducing factor (DIF) but only after cells have been prestimulated with cAMP. We found that DIF-induced prestalk gene expression is 10 times higher in constitutive cAR2 expressors than in constitutive cAR1 or cAR3 expressors (which still have endogenous cAR2), suggesting that cAR2 mediates induction of DIF competence. Since in wild-type slugs cAR2 is expressed only in anterior cells, this could explain the so far puzzling observations that prestalk cells differentiate at the anterior region but that DIF levels are actually higher at the posterior region. After the initial induction of DIF competence, cAMP becomes a repressor of prestalk gene expression. This function can again be mediated by cAR1, cAR2, and cAR3.


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