Transcriptional Regulation In Yeast Research Articles

A widely distributed putative mammalian transcriptional regulator containing multiple paired amphipathic helices, with similarity to yeast SIN3

The mammalian Sin3 gene ( mSin3) encodes four paired amphipathic helix (PAH) motifs, three of which and an extended region beyond PAH3 share between 59 and 70% sequence similarity with the yeast transcriptional regulator, SIN3. However, mSin3/SIN3 fusion proteins were not able to substitute for the yeast molecule in complementation assays. Transcripts encoding this putative transcriptional regulator, which maps to human chromosome 15q24, were detected in multiple mouse tissues, with highest levels seen in testis, lung, and thymus. Its wide tissue distribution suggests that mSin3, like yeast SIN3, may regulate the transcription of multiple genes.

The mouse Enhancer trap locus 1 ( Etl-1): a novel mammalian gene related to Drosophila and yeast transcriptional regulator genes

A novel mouse gene, Enhancer trap locus 1 ( Etl-1), was identified in close proximity to a lacZ enhancer trap integration in the mouse genome showing a specific β-galactosidase staining pattern during development. In situ analysis revealed a widespread but not ubiquitous expression of Etl-1 throughout development with particularly high levels in the central nervous system and epithelial cells. The amino acid sequence of the Etl-1 protein deduced from the cDNA shows strong similarity, over a stretch of 500 amino acids, to the Drosophila brahma protein involved in the regulation of homeotic genes and to the yeast transcriptional activator protein SNF2/SWI2 as well as to the RAD54 protein and the recently described helicase-related yeast proteins STH1 and MOT1. Etl-1 is the first mammalian member of this group of proteins that are implicated in gene regulation and/or influencing chromatin structure. The homology to the regulatory proteins SNF2/SWI2 and brahma and the expression pattern during embryogenesis suggest that Etl-1 protein might be involved in gene regulating pathways during mouse development.

RPD1 (SIN3/UME4) is required for maximal activation and repression of diverse yeast genes.

We show that the extent of transcriptional regulation of many, apparently unrelated, genes in Saccharomyces cerevisiae is dependent on RPD1 (and RPD3 [M. Vidal and R. F. Gaber, Mol. Cell. Biol. 11:6317-6327, 1991]). Genes regulated by stimuli as diverse as external signals (PHO5), cell differentiation processes (SPO11 and SPO13), cell type (RME1, FUS1, HO, TY2, STE6, STE3, and BAR1), and genes whose regulatory signals remain unknown (TRK2) depend on RPD1 to achieve maximal states of transcriptional regulation. RPD1 enhances both positive and negative regulation of these genes: in rpd1 delta mutants, higher levels of expression are observed under repression conditions and lower levels are observed under activation conditions. We show that several independent genetic screens, designed to identify yeast transcriptional regulators, have detected the RPD1 locus (also known as SIN3, SD11, and UME4). The inferred RPD1 protein contains four regions predicted to take on helix-loop-helix-like secondary structures and three regions (acidic, glutamine rich, and proline rich) reminiscent of the activating domains of transcriptional activators.

RPD1 (SIN3/UME4) Is Required for Maximal Activation and Repression of Diverse Yeast Genes

We show that the extent of transcriptional regulation of many, apparently unrelated, genes in Saccharomyces cerevisiae is dependent on RPD1 (and RPD3 [M. Vidal and R. F. Gaber, Mol. Cell. Biol. 11:6317-6327, 1991]). Genes regulated by stimuli as diverse as external signals (PHO5), cell differentiation processes (SPO11 and SPO13), cell type (RME1, FUS1, HO, TY2, STE6, STE3, and BAR1), and genes whose regulatory signals remain unknown (TRK2) depend on RPD1 to achieve maximal states of transcriptional regulation. RPD1 enhances both positive and negative regulation of these genes: in rpd1 delta mutants, higher levels of expression are observed under repression conditions and lower levels are observed under activation conditions. We show that several independent genetic screens, designed to identify yeast transcriptional regulators, have detected the RPD1 locus (also known as SIN3, SD11, and UME4). The inferred RPD1 protein contains four regions predicted to take on helix-loop-helix-like secondary structures and three regions (acidic, glutamine rich, and proline rich) reminiscent of the activating domains of transcriptional activators.

Transcriptional activation of yeast nucleotide biosynthetic gene ADE4 by GCN4.

The yeast transcriptional regulator protein GCN4 harbors the bZIP DNA binding motif, which is common to a family of DNA-binding proteins in eukaryotic organisms from yeast to man. GCN4 and the mammalian activator protein AP-1 (jun/fos) regulate transcription by binding the same consensus DNA sequence ATGA (C/G)TCAT. GCN4 positively regulates the production of precursors of protein synthesis in yeast cells in response to the environmental signal "amino acid starvation." We find three GCN4 responsive elements (GCREs) in the 5'-flanking region of the purine biosynthetic gene ADE4 and demonstrate that GCN4 efficiently activates transcription of ADE4. Two GCREs are essential to synergistically activate ADE4 transcription by binding GCN4. The distal GCRE1 is also required for basal transcription of ADE4. Therefore, transcription factor GCN4 affects, in addition to protein biosynthesis, also nucleotide biosynthesis and, comparable to its mammalian counterpart AP-1, has a more general function within the yeast cell than previously assumed.

Molecular mechanisms of transcriptional regulation in yeast

Molecular mechanisms of transcriptional regulation in yeast

Molecular mechanisms of transcriptional regulation in yeast.

PERSPECTIVE AND SUMMARY 1051 YEAST PROMOTER ELEMENTS 1052 SPECIFIC DNA-BINDING PROTEINS 1054 TRANSCRIPTIONAL ACTIVATION 1059 REGULATION 1062 MORE CO~vlPLEX PHENOMENA 1063 Multiple Proteins Recognizing the Same Target Sequence 1063 Multiple Proteins Necessary for a Single DNA-Binding Event 1065 Multiple Proteins Necessary for Activation or Repression 1066 Activation and Repression by the Same Protein 1067 Functional Distinctions Between TATA Elements 1068 Poly(dA-dT) Sequences and the Effect of Chromatin 1069 Upstream Activator Proteins Function When Bound at the TATA Position 1070 MOLECULAR MECHANISM OF ACTIVATION AND REPRESSION 1070 EVOLUTION 1073

Molecular Mechanisms Of Transcriptional Regulation In Yeast

The Hippo pathway was initially discovered in Drosophila melanogaster as a key regulator of tissue growth. It is an evolutionarily conserved signaling cascade regulating numerous biological processes, including cell growth and fate decision, organ size ...Read More

A mammalian viral enhancer confers transcriptional regulation in yeast.

Transcriptional enhancers are DNA sequences that regulate RNA transcription from linked promoters by binding to cellular proteins (trans-activators). In the mammalian virus SV40, initiation of transcription is controlled, in part, by a strong 72-base pair enhancer. We show that yeast cells contain a factor that binds specifically to a key DNA motif in the SV40 enhancer, the P element that is essential for viral transcription in mammalian cells. The P element shows sequence similarity to a yeast DNA transcriptional regulatory element, GCN4, that controls transcription of genes that code for amino acid biosynthetic enzymes. Insertion of the SV40 enhancer or single or multiple copies of the P element itself upstream from the cytochrome Cyc-1 promoter places the hybrid viral-yeast transcription unit under metabolic control in yeast cells. These studies suggest that the SV40 P element and its complementary trans-activator represent a conserved transcriptional control mechanism that operates on widely divergent functions in evolution.

Characterization of the yeast HEM2 gene and transcriptional regulation of COX5 and COR1 by heme.

The respiratory deficiency of two noncomplementing mutants of Saccharomyces cerevisiae (C41 and N28) has been shown to be due to mutations in HEM2, the structural gene for delta-aminolevulinate dehydratase. The mutants are unable to convert delta-aminolevulinic acid to porphobilinogen and are not complemented by the hem2 mutant GL4 (Gollub, E. G., Liu, K.-P., Dagan, J., Adlersberg, M., and Sprinson, D. B. (1977) J. Biol. Chem. 252, 2846-2854). A gene capable of complementing the respiratory deficiency of C41 and N28 has been cloned by transformation of a hem2 mutant with a recombinant plasmid library of wild type yeast nuclear DNA. The sequence of the protein encoded by the cloned gene exhibits extensive homology to the recently reported sequence of human delta-aminolevulinate dehydratase (Wetmur, J. G., Bishop, D. F., Cantelmo, C., and Desnick, R. J. (1986) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 83, 7703-7707). Several approaches were taken to study the effect of heme on transcription of PET genes known to code for subunit components of respiratory enzymes and of mitochondrial ATPase. The first involved measurements of the steady state levels of mRNAs for subunit 5 of cytochrome oxidase and the beta subunit of F1 ATPase in wild type and in a hem2 mutant. Secondly, transcription of the genes coding for the cytochrome oxidase and ATPase subunits as well as of the COR1 gene coding for the 44-kDa core 1 subunit of coenzyme QH2-cytochrome c reductase was quantitated by fusing the 5'-flanking and part of the coding region of each gene to the lacZ gene of Escherichia coli in vectors capable of integrating into yeast chromosomal DNA. The different lacZ fusions were integrated into nuclear DNA of a wild type strain and of hem2 mutants allowing expression of beta-galactosidase to be studied as a function of intracellular heme. These experiments indicate that the promoters of the genes for subunits of the respiratory complexes are regulated by heme. In contrast, the expression of the ATPase subunit appears to be heme-independent. Because neither subunit 5 of cytochrome oxidase nor the core 1 subunit of coenzyme QH2-cytochrome c reductase are hemoproteins, transcriptional regulation by heme may be a general mechanism for controlling the synthesis of mitochondrial proteins involved in respiration.