Transposition of a tandem duplication of yeast mating-type genes

Coconversion of flanking sequences with homothallic switching

Homothallic switching in S. cerevisiae involves replacing the DNA of the expressed allele at the mating type locus (MAT) with a duplicate of sequences from the unexpressed loci HML or HMR. The MATa and MAT alpha alleles differ by a DNA substitution that is flanked by sequences in common to MAT, and the donor loci HML and HMR. Using restriction site polymorphisms between MAT and the donor loci, we demonstrate that the extent of MAT DNA that is replaced during switching is variable and that there is a gradient of coconversion across the X region. Coconversion events occur on both sides of the double-strand cleavage by the HO gene product. The two cells produced after a switch often differ at the flanking site, indicating a DNA heteroduplex intermediate.

Differentiated parental DNA strands confer developmental asymmetry on daughter cells in fission yeast

The two strands of the DNA molecule are complementary but not identical. Hence, upon semiconservative replication, different parental DNA strands are segregated to daughter cells. A molecular analysis suggests that the process of fission yeast mating-type interconversion uses asymmetry of the DNA strands to generate a regular lineage of cellular differentiation.

Homothallic switching of Saccharomyces cerevisiae mating type genes by using a donor containing a large internal deletion

Homothallic switching of the mating type genes of Saccharomyces cerevisiae occurs by a gene conversion event, replacing sequences at the expressed MAT locus with a DNA segment copied from one of two unexpressed loci, HML or HMR. The transposed Ya or Y alpha sequences are flanked by homologous regions that are believed to be essential for switching. We examined the transposition of a mating type gene (hmr alpha 1-delta 6) which contains a 150-base-pair deletion spanning the site where the HO endonuclease generates a double-stranded break in MAT that initiates the gene conversion event. Despite the fact that the ends of the cut MAT region no longer share homology with the donor hmr alpha 1-delta 6, switching of MATa or MAT alpha to mat alpha 1-delta 6 was efficient. However, there was a marked increase in the number of aberrant events, especially the formation of haploid-inviable fusions between MAT and the hmr alpha 1-delta 6 donor locus.

Homothallic switching of Saccharomyces cerevisiae mating type genes by using a donor containing a large internal deletion

Homothallic switching of the mating type genes of Saccharomyces cerevisiae occurs by a gene conversion event, replacing sequences at the expressed MAT locus with a DNA segment copied from one of two unexpressed loci, HML or HMR. The transposed Ya or Y alpha sequences are flanked by homologous regions that are believed to be essential for switching. We examined the transposition of a mating type gene (hmr alpha 1-delta 6) which contains a 150-base-pair deletion spanning the site where the HO endonuclease generates a double-stranded break in MAT that initiates the gene conversion event. Despite the fact that the ends of the cut MAT region no longer share homology with the donor hmr alpha 1-delta 6, switching of MATa or MAT alpha to mat alpha 1-delta 6 was efficient. However, there was a marked increase in the number of aberrant events, especially the formation of haploid-inviable fusions between MAT and the hmr alpha 1-delta 6 donor locus.

TU elements: a heterogeneous family of modularly structured eucaryotic transposons

We describe here a family of foldback transposons found in the genome of the higher eucaryote, the sea urchin Strongylocentrotus purpuratus. Two major classes of TU elements have been identified by analysis of genomic DNA and TU element clones. One class consists of largely similar elements with long terminal inverted repeats (IVRs) containing outer and inner domains and sharing a common middle segment that can undergo deletions. Some of these elements contain insertions. The second class is highly heterogeneous, with many different middle segments nonhomologous to those of the first-class and variable-sized inverted repeats that contain only an outer domain. The middle and insertion segments of both classes carry sequences that also are found unassociated from the inverted repeats at many other genomic locations. We conclude that the TU elements are modular structures composed of inverted repeats plus other sequence domains that are themselves members of different families of dispersed repetitive sequences. Such modular elements may have a role in the dispersion and rearrangement of genomic DNA segments.

TU elements: a heterogeneous family of modularly structured eucaryotic transposons

We describe here a family of foldback transposons found in the genome of the higher eucaryote, the sea urchin Strongylocentrotus purpuratus. Two major classes of TU elements have been identified by analysis of genomic DNA and TU element clones. One class consists of largely similar elements with long terminal inverted repeats (IVRs) containing outer and inner domains and sharing a common middle segment that can undergo deletions. Some of these elements contain insertions. The second class is highly heterogeneous, with many different middle segments nonhomologous to those of the first-class and variable-sized inverted repeats that contain only an outer domain. The middle and insertion segments of both classes carry sequences that also are found unassociated from the inverted repeats at many other genomic locations. We conclude that the TU elements are modular structures composed of inverted repeats plus other sequence domains that are themselves members of different families of dispersed repetitive sequences. Such modular elements may have a role in the dispersion and rearrangement of genomic DNA segments.