scholarly journals Perturbations of transcription and gene expression-associated processes alter distribution of cell size values in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nairita Maitra ◽  
Jayamani Anandhakumar ◽  
Heidi M. Blank ◽  
Craig D. Kaplan ◽  
Michael Polymenis

ABSTRACTThe question of what determines whether cells are big or small has been the focus of many studies because it is thought that such determinants underpin the coupling of cell growth with cell division. In contrast, what determines the overall pattern of how cell size is distributed within a population of wild type or mutant cells has received little attention. Knowing how cell size varies around a characteristic pattern could shed light on the processes that generate such a pattern and provide a criterion to identify its genetic basis. Here, we show that cell size values of wild type Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells fit a gamma distribution, in haploid and diploid cells, and under different growth conditions. To identify genes that influence this pattern, we analyzed the cell size distributions of all single-gene deletion strains in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. We found that yeast strains which deviate the most from the gamma distribution are enriched for those lacking gene products functioning in gene expression, especially those in transcription or transcription-linked processes. We also show that cell size is increased in mutants carrying altered activity substitutions in Rpo21p/Rpb1, the largest subunit of RNA polymerase II (Pol II). Lastly, the size distribution of cells carrying extreme altered activity Pol II substitutions deviated from the expected gamma distribution. Our results are consistent with the idea that genetic defects in widely acting transcription factors or Pol II itself compromise both cell size homeostasis and how the size of individual cells is distributed in a population.

2008 ◽  
Vol 7 (6) ◽  
pp. 1009-1018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jiyoti Verma-Gaur ◽  
Sudha Narayana Rao ◽  
Toshiki Taya ◽  
Parag Sadhale

ABSTRACT The Rpb4/Rpb7 subcomplex of yeast RNA polymerase II (Pol II) has counterparts in all multisubunit RNA polymerases from archaebacteria to higher eukaryotes. The Rpb4/7 subcomplex in Saccharomyces cerevisiae is unique in that it easily dissociates from the core, unlike the case in other organisms. The relative levels of Rpb4 and Rpb7 in yeasts affect the differential gene expression and stress response. Rpb4 is nonessential in S. cerevisiae and affects expression of a small number of genes under normal growth conditions. Here, using a chromatin immunoprecipitation (“ChIP on-chip”) technique, we compared genomewide binding of Rpb4 to that of a core Pol II subunit, Rpb3. Our results showed that in spite of being nonessential for survival, Rpb4 was recruited on coding regions of most transcriptionally active genes, similar to the case with the core Pol II subunit, Rpb3, albeit to a lesser extent. The extent of Rpb4 recruitment increased with increasing gene length. We also observed Pol II lacking Rpb4 to be defective in transcribing long, GC-rich transcription units, suggesting a role for Rpb4 in transcription elongation. This role in transcription elongation was supported by the observed 6-azauracil (6AU) sensitivity of the rpb4Δ mutant. Unlike most phenotypes of rpb4Δ, the 6AU sensitivity of the rpb4Δ strain was not rescued by overexpression of RPB7. This report provides the first instance of a distinct role for Rpb4 in transcription, which is independent of its interacting partner, Rpb7.


2000 ◽  
Vol 20 (20) ◽  
pp. 7427-7437 ◽  
Author(s):  
Randal J. Shaw ◽  
Daniel Reines

ABSTRACT IMP dehydrogenase (IMPDH) is the rate-limiting enzyme in the de novo synthesis of guanine nucleotides. It is a target of therapeutically useful drugs and is implicated in the regulation of cell growth rate. In the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, mutations in components of the RNA polymerase II (Pol II) transcription elongation machinery confer increased sensitivity to a drug that inhibits IMPDH, 6-azauracil (6AU), by a mechanism that is poorly understood. This phenotype is thought to reflect the need for an optimally functioning transcription machinery under conditions of lowered intracellular GTP levels. Here we show that in response to the application of IMPDH inhibitors such as 6AU, wild-type yeast strains induce transcription of PUR5, one of four genes encoding IMPDH-related enzymes. Yeast elongation mutants sensitive to 6AU, such as those with a disrupted gene encoding elongation factor SII or those containing amino acid substitutions in Pol II subunits, are defective inPUR5 induction. The inability to fully inducePUR5 correlates with mutations that effect transcription elongation since 6AU-sensitive strains deleted for genes not related to transcription elongation are competent to induce PUR5. DNA encompassing the PUR5 promoter and 5′ untranslated region supports 6AU induction of a luciferase reporter gene in wild-type cells. Thus, yeast sense and respond to nucleotide depletion via a mechanism of transcriptional induction that restores nucleotides to levels required for normal growth. An optimally functioning elongation machinery is critical for this response.


2020 ◽  
Vol 477 (16) ◽  
pp. 3091-3104 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luciana E. Giono ◽  
Alberto R. Kornblihtt

Gene expression is an intricately regulated process that is at the basis of cell differentiation, the maintenance of cell identity and the cellular responses to environmental changes. Alternative splicing, the process by which multiple functionally distinct transcripts are generated from a single gene, is one of the main mechanisms that contribute to expand the coding capacity of genomes and help explain the level of complexity achieved by higher organisms. Eukaryotic transcription is subject to multiple layers of regulation both intrinsic — such as promoter structure — and dynamic, allowing the cell to respond to internal and external signals. Similarly, alternative splicing choices are affected by all of these aspects, mainly through the regulation of transcription elongation, making it a regulatory knob on a par with the regulation of gene expression levels. This review aims to recapitulate some of the history and stepping-stones that led to the paradigms held today about transcription and splicing regulation, with major focus on transcription elongation and its effect on alternative splicing.


2002 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 448-457 ◽  
Author(s):  
Toshimitsu Takagi ◽  
Eun-Jung Cho ◽  
Rozmin T. K. Janoo ◽  
Vladimir Polodny ◽  
Yasutaka Takase ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT The Saccharomyces cerevisiae mRNA capping enzyme consists of two subunits: an RNA 5′-triphosphatase (RTPase) and GTP::mRNA guanylyltransferase (GTase). The GTase subunit (Ceg1) binds to the phosphorylated carboxyl-terminal domain of the largest subunit (CTD-P) of RNA polymerase II (pol II), coupling capping with transcription. Ceg1 bound to the CTD-P is inactive unless allosterically activated by interaction with the RTPase subunit (Cet1). For purposes of comparison, we characterize here the related GTases and RTPases from the yeasts Schizosaccharomyces pombe and Candida albicans. Surprisingly, the S. pombe capping enzyme subunits do not interact with each other. Both can independently interact with CTD-P of pol II, and the GTase is not repressed by CTD-P binding. The S. pombe RTPase gene (pct1 +) is essential for viability. Pct1 can replace the S. cerevisiae RTPase when GTase activity is supplied by the S. pombe or mouse enzymes but not by the S. cerevisiae GTase. The C. albicans capping enzyme subunits do interact with each other. However, this interaction is not essential in vivo. Our results reveal an unexpected diversity among the fungal capping machineries.


2001 ◽  
Vol 276 (15) ◽  
pp. 12266-12273 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wenxiang Wei ◽  
Dorjbal Dorjsuren ◽  
Yong Lin ◽  
Weiping Qin ◽  
Takahiro Nomura ◽  
...  

The general transcription factor IIF (TFIIF) assembled in the initiation complex, and RAP30 of TFIIF, have been shown to associate with RNA polymerase II (pol II), although it remains unclear which pol II subunit is responsible for the interaction. We examined whether TFIIF interacts with RNA polymerase II subunit 5 (RPB5), the exposed domain of which binds transcriptional regulatory factors such as hepatitis B virus X protein and a novel regulatory protein, RPB5-mediating protein. The results demonstrated that RPB5 directly binds RAP30in vitrousing purified recombinant proteins andin vivoin COS1 cells transiently expressing recombinant RAP30 and RPB5. The RAP30-binding region was mapped to the central region (amino acids (aa) 47–120) of RPB5, which partly overlaps the hepatitis B virus X protein-binding region. Although the middle part (aa 101–170) and the N-terminus (aa 1–100) of RAP30 independently bound RPB5, the latter was not involved in the RPB5 binding when RAP30 was present in TFIIF complex. Scanning of the middle part of RAP30 by clustered alanine substitutions and then point alanine substitutions pinpointed two residues critical for the RPB5 binding inin vitroandin vivoassays. Wild type but not mutants Y124A and Q131A of RAP30 coexpressed with FLAG-RAP74 efficiently recovered endogenous RPB5 to the FLAG-RAP74-bound anti-FLAG M2 resin. The recovered endogenous RPB5 is assembled in pol II as demonstrated immunologically. Interestingly, coexpression of the central region of RPB5 and wild type RAP30 inhibited recovery of endogenous pol II to the FLAG-RAP74-bound M2 resin, strongly suggesting that the RAP30-binding region of RPB5 inhibited the association of TFIIF and pol II. The exposed domain of RPB5 interacts with RAP30 of TFIIF and is important for the association between pol II and TFIIF.


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.


2021 ◽  
pp. gr.275750.121
Author(s):  
Debasish Sarkar ◽  
Z. Iris Zhu ◽  
Elisabeth R. Knoll ◽  
Emily Paul ◽  
David Landsman ◽  
...  

The Mediator complex is central to transcription by RNA polymerase II (Pol II) in eukaryotes. In budding yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae), Mediator is recruited by activators and associates with core promoter regions, where it facilitates pre-initiation complex (PIC) assembly, only transiently prior to Pol II escape. Interruption of the transcription cycle by inactivation or depletion of Kin28 inhibits Pol II escape and stabilizes this association. However, Mediator occupancy and dynamics have not been examined on a genome-wide scale in yeast grown in nonstandard conditions. Here we investigate Mediator occupancy following heat shock or CdCl2 exposure, with and without depletion of Kin28. We find that Pol II occupancy exhibits similar dependence on Mediator under normal and heat shock conditions. However, while Mediator association increases at many genes upon Kin28 depletion under standard growth conditions, little or no increase is observed at most genes upon heat shock, indicating a more stable association of Mediator after heat shock. Mediator remains associated upstream of the core promoter at genes repressed by heat shock or CdCl2 exposure whether or not Kin28 is depleted, suggesting that Mediator is recruited by activators but is unable to engage PIC components at these repressed targets. This persistent association is strongest at promoters that bind the HMGB family member Hmo1, and is reduced but not eliminated in hmo1∆ yeast. Finally, we show a reduced dependence on PIC components for Mediator occupancy at promoters after heat shock, further supporting altered dynamics or stronger engagement with activators under these conditions.


2006 ◽  
Vol 26 (8) ◽  
pp. 3149-3163 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christophe Leroy ◽  
Laëtitia Cormier ◽  
Laurent Kuras

ABSTRACT Mediator is a key RNA polymerase II (Pol II) cofactor in the regulation of eukaryotic gene expression. It is believed to function as a coactivator linking gene-specific activators to the basal Pol II initiation machinery. In support of this model, we provide evidence that Mediator serves in vivo as a coactivator for the yeast activator Met4, which controls the gene network responsible for the biosynthesis of sulfur-containing amino acids and S-adenosylmethionine. In addition, we show that SAGA (Spt-Ada-Gcn5-acetyltransferase) is also recruited to Met4 target promoters, where it participates in the recruitment of Pol II by a mechanism involving histone acetylation. Interestingly, we find that SAGA is not required for Mediator recruitment by Met4 and vice versa. Our results provide a novel example of functional interplay between Mediator and coactivators involved in histone modification.


2007 ◽  
Vol 189 (21) ◽  
pp. 7829-7840 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tina C. Summerfield ◽  
Louis A. Sherman

ABSTRACT We report on differential gene expression in the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. strain PCC 6803 after light-dark transitions in wild-type, ΔsigB, and ΔsigD strains. We also studied the effect of day length in the presence of glucose on a ΔsigB ΔsigE mutant. Our results indicated that the absence of SigB or SigD predominately altered gene expression in the dark or in the light, respectively. In the light, approximately 350 genes displayed transcript levels in the ΔsigD strain that were different from those of the wild type, with over 200 of these up-regulated in the mutant. In the dark, removal of SigB altered more than 150 genes, and the levels of 136 of these were increased in the mutant compared to those in the wild type. The removal of both SigB and SigE had a major impact on gene expression under mixotrophic growth conditions and resulted in the inability of cells to grow in the presence of glucose with 8-h light and 16-h dark cycles. Our results indicated the importance of group II σ factors in the global regulation of transcription in this organism and are best explained by using the σ cycle paradigm with the stochastic release model described previously (R. A. Mooney, S. A. Darst, and R. Landick, Mol. Cell 20:335-345, 2005). We combined our results with the total protein levels of the σ factors in the light and dark as calculated previously (S. Imamura, S. Yoshihara, S. Nakano, N. Shiozaki, A. Yamada, K. Tanaka, H. Takahashi, M. Asayama, and M. Shirai, J. Mol. Biol. 325:857-872, 2003; S. Imamura, M. Asayama, H. Takahashi, K. Tanaka, H. Takahashi, and M. Shirai, FEBS Lett. 554:357-362, 2003). Thus, we concluded that the control of global transcription is based on the amount of the various σ factors present and able to bind RNA polymerase.


1991 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 2593-2608 ◽  
Author(s):  
D X Tishkoff ◽  
A W Johnson ◽  
R D Kolodner

Vegetatively grown Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells contain an activity that promotes a number of homologous pairing reactions. A major portion of this activity is due to strand exchange protein 1 (Sep1), which was originally purified as a 132,000-Mr species (R. Kolodner, D. H. Evans, and P. T. Morrison, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 84:5560-5564, 1987). The gene encoding Sep1 was cloned, and analysis of the cloned gene revealed a 4,587-bp open reading frame capable of encoding a 175,000-Mr protein. The protein encoded by this open reading frame was overproduced and purified and had a relative molecular weight of approximately 160,000. The 160,000-Mr protein was at least as active in promoting homologous pairing as the original 132,000-Mr species, which has been shown to be a fragment of the intact 160,000-Mr Sep1 protein. The SEP1 gene mapped to chromosome VII within 20 kbp of RAD54. Three Tn10LUK insertion mutations in the SEP1 gene were characterized. sep1 mutants grew more slowly than wild-type cells, showed a two- to fivefold decrease in the rate of spontaneous mitotic recombination between his4 heteroalleles, and were delayed in their ability to return to growth after UV or gamma irradiation. Sporulation of sep1/sep1 diploids was defective, as indicated by both a 10- to 40-fold reduction in spore formation and reduced spore viability of approximately 50%. The majority of sep1/sep1 diploid cells arrested in meiosis after commitment to recombination but prior to the meiosis I cell division. Return-to-growth experiments showed that sep1/sep1 his4X/his4B diploids exhibited a five- to sixfold greater meiotic induction of His+ recombinants than did isogenic SEP1/SEP1 strains. sep1/sep1 mutants also showed an increased frequency of exchange between HIS4, LEU2, and MAT and a lack of positive interference between these markers compared with wild-type controls. The interaction between sep1, rad50, and spo13 mutations suggested that SEP1 acts in meiosis in a pathway that is parallel to the RAD50 pathway.


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