Two portable recombination enhancers direct donor choice in fission yeast heterochromatin

Tadas Jakociunas, Lærke Rebekka Holm, Janne Verhein Hansen, Ala Trusina, Genevieve Thon

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23 Citationer (Scopus)
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Abstract

Mating-type switching in fission yeast results from gene conversions of the active mat1 locus by heterochromatic donors. mat1 is preferentially converted by mat2-P in M cells and by mat3-M in P cells. Here, we report that donor choice is governed by two portable recombination enhancers capable of promoting use of their adjacent cassette even when they are transposed to an ectopic location within the mat2-mat3 heterochromatic domain. Cells whose silent cassettes are swapped to mat2-M mat3-P switch mating-type poorly due to a defect in directionality but cells whose recombination enhancers were transposed together with the cassette contents switched like wild type. Trans-acting mutations that impair directionality affected the wild-type and swapped cassettes in identical ways when the recombination enhancers were transposed together with their cognate cassette, showing essential regulatory steps occur through the recombination enhancers. Our observations lead to a model where heterochromatin biases competitions between the two recombination enhancers to achieve directionality.
OriginalsprogEngelsk
Artikelnummere1003762
TidsskriftP L o S Genetics
Vol/bind9
Udgave nummer10
Antal sider14
ISSN1553-7390
DOI
StatusUdgivet - 2013

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