Molecular analysis of the mitochondrial transcription factor mtf2 of Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Does the study of genetic interactions help predict the function of mitochondrial proteins in Saccharomyces cerevisiae?

Mitochondria are complex organelles of eukaryotic cells that contain their own genome, encoding key subunits of the respiratory complexes. The successive steps of mitochondrial gene expression are intimately linked, and are under the control of a large number of nuclear genes encoding factors that are imported into mitochondria. Investigating the relationships between these genes and their interaction networks, and whether they reveal direct or indirect partners, can shed light on their role in mitochondrial biogenesis, as well as identify new actors in this process. These studies, mainly developed in yeasts, are significant because mammalian equivalents of such yeast genes are candidate genes in mitochondrial pathologies. In practice, studies of physical, chemical and genetic interactions can be undertaken. The search for genetic interactions, either aggravating or alleviating the phenotype of the starting mutants, has proved to be particularly powerful in yeast since even subtle changes in respiratory phenotypes can be screened in a very efficient way. In addition, several high throughput genetic approaches have recently been developed. In this review we analyze the genetic network of three genes involved in different steps of mitochondrial gene expression, from the transcription and translation of mitochondrial RNAs to the insertion of newly synthesized proteins into the inner mitochondrial membrane, and we examine their relevance to our understanding of mitochondrial biogenesis. We find that these genetic interactions are seldom redundant with physical interactions, and thus bring a considerable amount of original and significant information as well as open new areas of research.

Multiple interactions involving the amino-terminal domain of yeast mtRNA polymerase determine the efficiency of mitochondrial protein synthesis

The amino-terminal domain (ATD) of Saccharomyces cerevisiae mitochondrial RNA polymerase has been shown to provide a functional link between transcription and post-transcriptional events during mitochondrial gene expression. This connection is mediated in large part by its interactions with the matrix protein Nam1p and, based on genetic phenotypes, the mitochondrial membrane protein Sls1p. These observations led us to propose previously that mtRNA polymerase, Nam1p, and Sls1p work together to coordinate transcription and translation of mtDNA-encoded gene products. Here we demonstrate by specific labeling of mitochondrial gene products in vivo that Nam1p and Sls1p indeed work together in a pathway that is required globally for efficient mitochondrial translation. Likewise, mutations in the ATD result in similar global reductions in mitochondrial translation efficiency and sensitivity to the mitochondrial translation inhibitor erythromycin. These data, coupled with the observation that the ATD is required to co-purify Sls1p in association with mtDNA nucleoids, suggest that efficient expression of mtDNA-encoded genes in yeast involves a complex series of interactions that localize active transcription complexes to the inner membrane in order to coordinate translation with transcription.

The sequence of a 36.7 kb segment on the left arm of chromosome IV from Saccharomyces cerevisiae reveals 20 non-overlapping open reading frames (ORFs) including SIT4, FAD1, NAM1, RNA11, SIR2, NAT1, PRP9, ACT2 and MPS1 and 11 new ORFs

A 36,688 bp fragment from the left arm of chromosome IV of saccharomyces cerevisiae was sequenced. Sequence analysis identified 20 complete non-overlapping open reading frames (ORFs) of at least 100 amino acids. Nine of these correspond to previously identified and sequenced genes: SIT4/PH1, FAD1, NAM1/MTF2, RNA11, SIR2/MAR1, NAT1/AAA1, PRP9, ACT2 and MPS1/RPK1. Three ORFs show homology to previously sequenced genes. One ORF exhibits a hypothetical yabO/yceC/YfiI family signature and one has the ATP-dependent helicase signature of the DEAD and DEAH box families. Six ORFs show no appreciable homology to any proteins in the database. One of these is identical to yeast expressed sequence tags and therefore corresponds to and expressed gene. In addition, two partial ORFs and 11 ORFs that are totally internal and are not likely to be functional were detected.

Nucleo-mitochondrial interactions in mitochondrial gene expression

All proteins encoded by mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) are dependent on proteins encoded by nuclear genes for their synthesis and function. Recent developments in the identification of these genes and the elucidation of the roles their products play at various stages of mitochondrial gene expression are covered in this review, which focuses mainly on work with the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The high degree of evolutionary conservation of many cellular processes between this yeast and higher eukaryotes, the ease with which mitochondrial biogenesis can be manipulated both genetically and physiologically, and the fact that it will be the first organism for which a complete genomic sequence will be available within the next 2 to 3 years makes it the organism of choice for drawing up an inventory of all nuclear genes involved in mitochondrial biogenesis and for the identification of their counterparts in other organisms.

The NAM1/MTF2 nuclear gene product is selectively required for the stability and/or processing of mitochondrial transcripts of the atp6 and of the mosaic, cox1 and cytb genes in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

The NAM1/MTF2 gene was firstly isolated as a multicopy suppressor of mitochondrial splicing deficiencies and independently as a gene of which a thermosensitive allele affects mitochondrial transcription in organello. To determine which step in mitochondrial RNA metabolism is controlled in vivo by the NAM1 gene, mitochondrial transcripts of seven transcription units from strains carrying an inactive nam1::URA3 gene disruption in various mitochondrial genetic backgrounds were analysed by Northern blot hybridisations. In a strain carrying an intron-containing mitochondrial genome, the inactivation of the NAM1 gene led to a strong decrease in (or total absence of) the mosaic cytb and cox1 mRNAs and in transcripts of the atp6-rf3/ens2 genes, which are co-transcribed with cox1. Neither the accumulation of unspliced cytb or cox1 pre-mRNAs, nor that of excised circular intron molecules of ai1 or ai2 were observed, but the abundance of the bi1 and ai7 lariats was comparable to that observed in the wild-type strain, thus demonstrating that transcription of the cytb and cox1 genes does occur. In strains carrying the intron-less mitochondrial genome with or without the rf3/ens2 sequence, wild-type amounts of cytb and cox1 mRNAs were detected while the amount of the atp6 mRNA was always strongly decreased. The abundance of transcripts from five other genes was either slightly (21S rRNA) or not at all (cox2, cox3, atp9 and 15S rRNA) affected by the nam1 inactivation.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Genetic approaches to the study of mitochondrial biogenesis in yeast

In contrast to most other organisms, the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae can survive without functional mitochondria. This ability has been exploited in genetic approaches to the study of mitochondrial biogenesis. In the last two decades, mitochondrial genetics have made major contributions to the identification of genes on the mitochondrial genome, the mapping of these genes and the establishment of structure-function relationships in the products they encode. In parallel, more than 200 complementation groups, corresponding to as many nuclear genes necessary for mitochondrial function or biogenesis have been described. Many of the latter are required for post-transcriptional events in mitochondrial gene expression, including the processing of mitochondrial pre-RNAs, the translation of mitochondrial mRNAs, or the assembly of mitochondrial translation products into the membrane. The aim of this review is to describe the genetic approaches used to unravel the intricacies of mitochondrial biogenesis and to summarize recent insights gained from their application.

Regulation of mitochondrial transcription during the stringent response in yeast

In yeast (S. cerevisiae) the stringent response is known to include rapid, selective, and severe transcriptional curtailment for genes specifying cytoplasmic rRNAs and r-proteins. We have shown that transcription of the mitochondrial 21S rRNA gene is also congruently and selectively curtailed during the yeast stringent response. Using an in vitro transcription assay with intact organelles from both rho+ and rho- strains, we show here that the mitochondrial stringent response includes not only transcription of the 21S and 16S rRNA genes, but also that of organellar genes specifying non-mitoribosome-related products. Stringent organellar transcriptional curtailment is identical when cells are starved for a required (marker) amino acid or when they are subjected to nutritional downshift, and the relative level of that transcriptional curtailment following either perturbation is the same in cells growing on fermentative (repressing) or purely respiratory carbon sources. These results confirm that the mechanism governing mitochondrial gene expression during a stringent response is specified outside the organelle, and they show that this transcriptional control mechanism is not immediately subject to glucose repression. In all strains examined, stringent organellar gene expression requires a mitochondrial promoter, suggesting that the regulatory mechanism which functions during the stringent response operates primarily at transcriptional initiation.

MRS3 and MRS4, two suppressors of mtRNA splicing defects in yeast, are new members of the mitochondrial carrier family

When present in high copy number plasmids, the nuclear genes MRS3 and MRS4 from Saccharomyces cerevisiae can suppress the mitochondrial RNA splicing defects of several mit- intron mutations. Both genes code for closely related proteins of about Mr 32,000; they are 73% identical. Sequence comparisons indicate that MRS3 and MRS4 may be related to the family of mitochondrial carrier proteins. Support for this notion comes from a structural analysis of these proteins. Like the ADP/ATP carrier protein (AAC), the mitochondrial phosphate carrier protein (PiC) and the uncoupling protein (UCP), the two MRS proteins have a tripartite structure; each of the three repeats consists of two hydrophobic domains that are flanked by specific amino acid residues. The spacing of these specific residues is identical in all domains of all proteins of the family, whereas spacing between the hydrophobic domains is variable. Like the AAC protein, the MRS3 and MRS4 proteins are imported into mitochondria in vitro and without proteolytic cleavage of a presequence and they are located in the inner mitochondrial membrane. In vivo studies support this mitochondrial localization of the MRS proteins. Overexpression of the MRS3 and MRS4 proteins causes a temperature-dependent petite phenotype; this is consistent with a mitochondrial function of these proteins. Disruption of these genes affected neither mitochondrial functions nor cellular viability. Their products thus have no essential function for mitochondrial biogenesis or for whole yeast cells that could not be taken over by other gene products. The findings are discussed in relation to possible functions of the MRS proteins in mitochondrial solute translocation and RNA splicing.

PET genes of Saccharomyces cerevisiae

We describe a collection of nuclear respiratory-defective mutants (pet mutants) of Saccharomyces cerevisiae consisting of 215 complementation groups. This set of mutants probably represents a substantial fraction of the total genetic information of the nucleus required for the maintenance of functional mitochondria in S. cerevisiae. The biochemical lesions of mutants in approximately 50 complementation groups have been related to single enzymes or biosynthetic pathways, and the corresponding wild-type genes have been cloned and their structures have been determined. The genes defined by an additional 20 complementation groups were identified by allelism tests with mutants characterized in other laboratories. Mutants representative of the remaining complementation groups have been assigned to one of the following five phenotypic classes: (i) deficiency in cytochrome oxidase, (ii) deficiency in coenzyme QH2-cytochrome c reductase, (iii) deficiency in mitochondrial ATPase, (iv) absence of mitochondrial protein synthesis, and (v) normal composition of respiratory-chain complexes and of oligomycin-sensitive ATPase. In addition to the genes identified through biochemical and genetic analyses of the pet mutants, we have cataloged PET genes not matched to complementation groups in the mutant collection and other genes whose products function in the mitochondria but are not necessary for respiration. Together, this information provides an up-to-date list of the known genes coding for mitochondrial constituents and for proteins whose expression is vital for the respiratory competence of S. cerevisiae.