Screening a yeast promoter library leads to the isolation of the RP29/L32 and SNR17B/RPL37A divergent promoters and the discovery of a gene encoding ribosomal protein L37

Sequence and analysis of a 26.9 kb fragment from chromosome XV of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae

We have determined the nucleotide sequence of a fragment of chromosome XV of Saccharomyces cerevisiae cloned into cosmid pEOA048. The analysis of the 26,857 bp sequence reveals the presence of 19 open reading frames (ORFs), and of one RNA-coding gene (SNR17A). Six ORFs correspond to previously known genes (MKK1/SSP32, YGE1/GRPE/MGE1, KIN4/KIN31/KIN3, RPL37B, DFR1 and HES1, respectively), all others were discovered in this work. Only five of the new ORFs have significant homologs in public databases, the remaining eight correspond to orphans (two of them are questionable). O5248 is a probable folypolyglutamate synthetase, having two structural homologs already sequenced in the yeast genome. O5273 shows homology with a yeast protein required for vanadate resistance. O5268 shows homology with putative oxidoreductases of different organisms. O5257 shows homology with the SAS2 protein and another hypothetical protein from yeast. The last one, O5245, shows homology with a putative protein of Caenorhabditis elegans of unknown function. The present sequence corresponds to coordinates 772,331 to 799,187 of the entire chromosome XV sequence which can be retrieved by anonymous ftp (ftp. mips. embnet. org).

The sequence of 55 kb on the left arm of yeast chromosome XVI identifies a small nuclear RNA, a new putative protein kinase and two new putative regulators

We have sequenced and analysed a 55786 bp fragment located on the left arm of chromosome XVI of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The sequence contains 29 non-overlapping open reading frames (ORFs) longer than 300 bp, among which 12 genes have previously been sequenced: OYE3, REV3, SVS1, BEM4, CDC60, KIP2, PEP4, SPK1, PAL1, KES1, SNR17B and RPL37A. Three new ORFs, P2591, P2594 and P2597 are highly homologous to the human phosphotyrosyl phosphatase activator PTPA, to the pleiotropic regulator PRL1 of PP1 and PP2a protein phosphatases in plants and to the protein kinase PAR-1 in Caenorhabditis elegans, respectively. Three other ORFs, P2545, P2567 and P2578 have significant homology with ORFs of unknown function located on yeast chromosomes VIII, XVI and IV respectively.

Novel protein families in archaean genomes

In a quest for novel functions in archaea, all archaean hypothetical open reading frames (ORFs), as annotated in the Swiss-Prot protein sequence database, were used to search the latest databases for the identification of characterized homologues. Of the 95 hypothetical archaean ORFs, 25 were found to be homologous to another hypothetical archaean ORF, while 36 were homologous to non-archaean proteins, of which as many as 30 were homologous to a characterized protein family. Thus the level of sequence similarity in this set reaches 64%, while the level of function assignment is only 32%. Of the ORFs with predicted functions, 12 homologies are reported here for the first time and represent nine new functions and one gene duplication at an acetyl-coA synthetase locus. The novel functions include components of the transcriptional and translational apparatus, such as ribosomal proteins, modification enzymes and a translation initiation factor. In addition, new enzymes are identified in archaea, such as cobyric acid synthase, dCTP deaminase and the first archaean homologues of a new subclass of ATP binding proteins found in fungi. Finally, it is shown that the putative laminin receptor family of eukaryotes and an archaean homologue belong to the previously characterized ribosomal protein family S2 from eubacteria. From the present and previous work, the major implication is that archaea seem to have a mode of expression of genetic information rather similar to eukaryotes, while eubacteria may have proceeded into unique ways of transcription and translation. In addition, with the detection of proteins in various metabolic and genetic processes in archaea, we can further predict the presence of additional proteins involved in these processes.

Identification of potential target genes for Adr1p through characterization of essential nucleotides in UAS1

Adr1p is a regulatory protein in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae that binds to and activates transcription from two sites in a perfect 22-bp inverted repeat, UAS1, in the ADH2 promoter. Binding requires two C2H2 zinc fingers and a region amino terminal to the fingers. The importance for DNA binding of each position within UAS1 was deduced from two types of assays. Both methods led to an identical consensus sequence containing only four essential base pairs: GG(A/G)G. The preferred sequence, TTGG(A/G)GA, is found in both halves of the inverted repeat. The region of Adr1p amino terminal to the fingers is important for phosphate contacts in the central region of UAS1. However, no base-specific contacts in this portion of UAS1 are important for DNA binding or for ADR1-dependent transcription in vivo. When the central 6 bp were deleted, only a single monomer of Adr1p was able to bind in vitro and activation in vivo was severely reduced. On the basis of these results and previous knowledge about the DNA binding site requirements, including constraints on the spacing and orientation of sites that affect activation in vivo, a consensus binding site for Adr1p was derived. By using this consensus site, potential Adr1p binding sites were located in the promoters of genes known to show ADR1-dependent expression. In addition, this consensus allowed the identification of new potential target genes for Adr1p.

Prevalence and distribution of introns in non-ribosomal protein genes of yeast

Relatively few genes in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae are known to contain intervening sequences. As a group, yeast ribosomal protein genes exhibit a higher prevalence of introns when compared to non-ribosomal protein genes. In an effort to quantify this bias we have estimated the prevalence of intron sequences among non-ribosomal protein genes by assessing the number of prp2-sensitive mRNAs in an in vitro translation assay. These results, combined with an updated survey of the GenBank DNA database, support an estimate of 2.5% for intron-containing non-ribosomal protein genes. Furthermore, our observations reveal an intriguing distinction between the distributions of ribosomal protein and non-ribosomal protein intron lengths, suggestive of distinct, gene class-specific evolutionary pressures.

Saccharomyces cerevisiae ribosomal protein L37 is encoded by duplicate genes that are differentially expressed

A duplicate copy of the RPL37A gene (encoding ribosomal protein L37) was cloned and sequenced. The coding region of RPL37B is very similar to that of RPL37A, with only one conservative amino-acid difference. However, the intron and flanking sequences of the two genes are extremely dissimilar. Disruption experiments indicate that the two loci are not functionally equivalent: disruption of RPL37B was insignificant, but disruption of RPL37A severely impaired the growth rate of the cell. When both RPL37 loci are disrupted, the cell is unable to grow at all, indicating that rpL37 is an essential protein. The functional disparity between the two RPL37 loci could be explained by differential gene expression. The results of two experiments support this idea: gene fusion of RPL37A to a reporter gene resulted in six-fold higher mRNA levels than was generated by the same reporter gene fused to RPL37B, and a modest increase in gene dosage of RPL37B overcame the lack of a functional RPL37A gene.

Identification of potential target genes for Adr1p through characterization of essential nucleotides in UAS1

Adr1p is a regulatory protein in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae that binds to and activates transcription from two sites in a perfect 22-bp inverted repeat, UAS1, in the ADH2 promoter. Binding requires two C2H2 zinc fingers and a region amino terminal to the fingers. The importance for DNA binding of each position within UAS1 was deduced from two types of assays. Both methods led to an identical consensus sequence containing only four essential base pairs: GG(A/G)G. The preferred sequence, TTGG(A/G)GA, is found in both halves of the inverted repeat. The region of Adr1p amino terminal to the fingers is important for phosphate contacts in the central region of UAS1. However, no base-specific contacts in this portion of UAS1 are important for DNA binding or for ADR1-dependent transcription in vivo. When the central 6 bp were deleted, only a single monomer of Adr1p was able to bind in vitro and activation in vivo was severely reduced. On the basis of these results and previous knowledge about the DNA binding site requirements, including constraints on the spacing and orientation of sites that affect activation in vivo, a consensus binding site for Adr1p was derived. By using this consensus site, potential Adr1p binding sites were located in the promoters of genes known to show ADR1-dependent expression. In addition, this consensus allowed the identification of new potential target genes for Adr1p.

The human ribosomal protein S6 gene: isolation, primary structure and location in chromosome 9

Using PCR cloning we isolated the first intron of the human ribosomal protein S6 gene (hRPS6). By screening the human HeLa cell cDNA library in lambda ZAPII vector (Stratagene, La Jolla, CA), we identified and sequenced a partially spliced pre mRNA copy of hRPS6. The complete hRPS6 gene was isolated from a lambda DASH library with an intron-specific probe. The gene and flanking regions were sequenced, and the mRNA 5' end was mapped by primer extension experiments. The hRPS6 gene has 6 exons and 5 introns and is 3.6 kb long. Using intron-specific primers in PCR and a panel of human-hamster cell lines we localized the hRPS6 gene in human chromosome 9.