Skip to main content
PMC home page
Molecular and Cellular Biology logoLink to Molecular and Cellular Biology
. 1992 May;12(5):2154–2164. doi: 10.1128/mcb.12.5.2154

SEN1, a positive effector of tRNA-splicing endonuclease in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

D J DeMarini 1, M Winey 1, D Ursic 1, F Webb 1, M R Culbertson 1
PMCID: PMC364387  PMID: 1569945

Abstract

The SEN1 gene, which is essential for growth in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, is required for endonucleolytic cleavage of introns from all 10 families of precursor tRNAs. A mutation in SEN1 conferring temperature-sensitive lethality also causes in vivo accumulation of pre-tRNAs and a deficiency of in vitro endonuclease activity. Biochemical evidence suggests that the gene product may be one of several components of a nuclear-localized splicing complex. We have cloned the SEN1 gene and characterized the SEN1 mRNA, the SEN1 gene product, the temperature-sensitive sen1-1 mutation, and three SEN1 null alleles. The SEN1 gene corresponds to a 6,336-bp open reading frame coding for a 2,112-amino-acid protein (molecular mass, 239 kDa). Using antisera directed against the C-terminal end of SEN1, we detect a protein corresponding to the predicted molecular weight of SEN1. The SEN1 protein contains a leucine zipper motif, consensus elements for nucleoside triphosphate binding, and a potential nuclear localization signal sequence. The carboxy-terminal 1,214 amino acids of the SEN1 protein are essential for growth, whereas the amino-terminal 898 amino acids are dispensable. A sequence of approximately 500 amino acids located in the essential region of SEN1 has significant similarity to the yeast UPF1 gene product, which is involved in mRNA turnover, and the mouse Mov-10 gene product, whose function is unknown. The mutation that creates the temperature-sensitive sen1-1 allele is located within this 500-amino-acid region, and it causes a substitution for an amino acid that is conserved in all three proteins.

Full text

PDF
2154

Images in this article

2159Image
on p.2159
2160Image
on p.2160
2160Image
on p.2160

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Boeke J. D., LaCroute F., Fink G. R. A positive selection for mutants lacking orotidine-5'-phosphate decarboxylase activity in yeast: 5-fluoro-orotic acid resistance. Mol Gen Genet. 1984;197(2):345–346. doi: 10.1007/BF00330984. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Bourne H. R., Sanders D. A., McCormick F. The GTPase superfamily: a conserved switch for diverse cell functions. Nature. 1990 Nov 8;348(6297):125–132. doi: 10.1038/348125a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Broek D., Toda T., Michaeli T., Levin L., Birchmeier C., Zoller M., Powers S., Wigler M. The S. cerevisiae CDC25 gene product regulates the RAS/adenylate cyclase pathway. Cell. 1987 Mar 13;48(5):789–799. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(87)90076-6. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Burns P. A., Gordon A. J., Glickman B. W. Influence of neighbouring base sequence on N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine mutagenesis in the lacI gene of Escherichia coli. J Mol Biol. 1987 Apr 5;194(3):385–390. doi: 10.1016/0022-2836(87)90668-1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Cigan A. M., Donahue T. F. Sequence and structural features associated with translational initiator regions in yeast--a review. Gene. 1987;59(1):1–18. doi: 10.1016/0378-1119(87)90261-7. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Clark M. W., Abelson J. The subnuclear localization of tRNA ligase in yeast. J Cell Biol. 1987 Oct;105(4):1515–1526. doi: 10.1083/jcb.105.4.1515. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Culbertson M. R., Winey M. Split tRNA genes and their products: a paradigm for the study of cell function and evolution. Yeast. 1989 Nov-Dec;5(6):405–427. doi: 10.1002/yea.320050602. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Dever T. E., Glynias M. J., Merrick W. C. GTP-binding domain: three consensus sequence elements with distinct spacing. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1987 Apr;84(7):1814–1818. doi: 10.1073/pnas.84.7.1814. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Gaber R. F., Culbertson M. R. Frameshift suppression in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. IV. New suppressors among spontaneous co-revertants of the Group II his4-206 and leu 2-3 frameshift mutations. Genetics. 1982 Jul-Aug;101(3-4):345–367. doi: 10.1093/genetics/101.3-4.345. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Hartwell L. H. Macromolecule synthesis in temperature-sensitive mutants of yeast. J Bacteriol. 1967 May;93(5):1662–1670. doi: 10.1128/jb.93.5.1662-1670.1967. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Hill J. E., Myers A. M., Koerner T. J., Tzagoloff A. Yeast/E. coli shuttle vectors with multiple unique restriction sites. Yeast. 1986 Sep;2(3):163–167. doi: 10.1002/yea.320020304. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Ho C. K., Rauhut R., Vijayraghavan U., Abelson J. Accumulation of pre-tRNA splicing '2/3' intermediates in a Saccharomyces cerevisiae mutant. EMBO J. 1990 Apr;9(4):1245–1252. doi: 10.1002/j.1460-2075.1990.tb08232.x. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Hoffman C. S., Winston F. A ten-minute DNA preparation from yeast efficiently releases autonomous plasmids for transformation of Escherichia coli. Gene. 1987;57(2-3):267–272. doi: 10.1016/0378-1119(87)90131-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Hopper A. K., Banks F. A yeast mutant which accumulates precursor tRNAs. Cell. 1978 Jun;14(2):211–219. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(78)90108-3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Hopper A. K. Genetic methods for study of trans-acting genes involved in processing of precursors to yeast cytoplasmic transfer RNAs. Methods Enzymol. 1990;181:400–421. doi: 10.1016/0076-6879(90)81139-l. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Hopper A. K., Schultz L. D., Shapiro R. A. Processing of intervening sequences: a new yeast mutant which fails to excise intervening sequences from precursor tRNAs. Cell. 1980 Mar;19(3):741–751. doi: 10.1016/s0092-8674(80)80050-x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Ito H., Fukuda Y., Murata K., Kimura A. Transformation of intact yeast cells treated with alkali cations. J Bacteriol. 1983 Jan;153(1):163–168. doi: 10.1128/jb.153.1.163-168.1983. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Johnston M., Davis R. W. Sequences that regulate the divergent GAL1-GAL10 promoter in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Mol Cell Biol. 1984 Aug;4(8):1440–1448. doi: 10.1128/mcb.4.8.1440. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Laemmli U. K. Cleavage of structural proteins during the assembly of the head of bacteriophage T4. Nature. 1970 Aug 15;227(5259):680–685. doi: 10.1038/227680a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Landschulz W. H., Johnson P. F., McKnight S. L. The leucine zipper: a hypothetical structure common to a new class of DNA binding proteins. Science. 1988 Jun 24;240(4860):1759–1764. doi: 10.1126/science.3289117. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Leeds P., Peltz S. W., Jacobson A., Culbertson M. R. The product of the yeast UPF1 gene is required for rapid turnover of mRNAs containing a premature translational termination codon. Genes Dev. 1991 Dec;5(12A):2303–2314. doi: 10.1101/gad.5.12a.2303. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Leeds P., Wood J. M., Lee B. S., Culbertson M. R. Gene products that promote mRNA turnover in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Mol Cell Biol. 1992 May;12(5):2165–2177. doi: 10.1128/mcb.12.5.2165. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. Lindquist S. Regulation of protein synthesis during heat shock. Nature. 1981 Sep 24;293(5830):311–314. doi: 10.1038/293311a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  24. Mooslehner K., Müller U., Karls U., Hamann L., Harbers K. Structure and expression of a gene encoding a putative GTP-binding protein identified by provirus integration in a transgenic mouse strain. Mol Cell Biol. 1991 Feb;11(2):886–893. doi: 10.1128/mcb.11.2.886. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  25. Nehrbass U., Kern H., Mutvei A., Horstmann H., Marshallsay B., Hurt E. C. NSP1: a yeast nuclear envelope protein localized at the nuclear pores exerts its essential function by its carboxy-terminal domain. Cell. 1990 Jun 15;61(6):979–989. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(90)90063-k. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  26. O'Connor J. P., Peebles C. L. In vivo pre-tRNA processing in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Mol Cell Biol. 1991 Jan;11(1):425–439. doi: 10.1128/mcb.11.1.425. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  27. Orr-Weaver T. L., Szostak J. W., Rothstein R. J. Yeast transformation: a model system for the study of recombination. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1981 Oct;78(10):6354–6358. doi: 10.1073/pnas.78.10.6354. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  28. Peebles C. L., Gegenheimer P., Abelson J. Precise excision of intervening sequences from precursor tRNAs by a membrane-associated yeast endonuclease. Cell. 1983 Feb;32(2):525–536. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(83)90472-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  29. Peebles C. L., Ogden R. C., Knapp G., Abelson J. Splicing of yeast tRNA precursors: a two-stage reaction. Cell. 1979 Sep;18(1):27–35. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(79)90350-7. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  30. Phizicky E. M., Schwartz R. C., Abelson J. Saccharomyces cerevisiae tRNA ligase. Purification of the protein and isolation of the structural gene. J Biol Chem. 1986 Feb 25;261(6):2978–2986. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  31. Rauhut R., Green P. R., Abelson J. Yeast tRNA-splicing endonuclease is a heterotrimeric enzyme. J Biol Chem. 1990 Oct 25;265(30):18180–18184. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  32. Robbins J., Dilworth S. M., Laskey R. A., Dingwall C. Two interdependent basic domains in nucleoplasmin nuclear targeting sequence: identification of a class of bipartite nuclear targeting sequence. Cell. 1991 Feb 8;64(3):615–623. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(91)90245-t. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  33. Rose M. D., Novick P., Thomas J. H., Botstein D., Fink G. R. A Saccharomyces cerevisiae genomic plasmid bank based on a centromere-containing shuttle vector. Gene. 1987;60(2-3):237–243. doi: 10.1016/0378-1119(87)90232-0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  34. Rothstein R. J. One-step gene disruption in yeast. Methods Enzymol. 1983;101:202–211. doi: 10.1016/0076-6879(83)01015-0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  35. Rüther U., Müller-Hill B. Easy identification of cDNA clones. EMBO J. 1983;2(10):1791–1794. doi: 10.1002/j.1460-2075.1983.tb01659.x. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  36. Sandbaken M. G., Culbertson M. R. Mutations in elongation factor EF-1 alpha affect the frequency of frameshifting and amino acid misincorporation in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Genetics. 1988 Dec;120(4):923–934. doi: 10.1093/genetics/120.4.923. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  37. Sanger F., Nicklen S., Coulson A. R. DNA sequencing with chain-terminating inhibitors. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1977 Dec;74(12):5463–5467. doi: 10.1073/pnas.74.12.5463. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  38. Sauer R. T., Yocum R. R., Doolittle R. F., Lewis M., Pabo C. O. Homology among DNA-binding proteins suggests use of a conserved super-secondary structure. Nature. 1982 Jul 29;298(5873):447–451. doi: 10.1038/298447a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  39. Sikorski R. S., Hieter P. A system of shuttle vectors and yeast host strains designed for efficient manipulation of DNA in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Genetics. 1989 May;122(1):19–27. doi: 10.1093/genetics/122.1.19. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  40. Struhl K. Promoters, activator proteins, and the mechanism of transcriptional initiation in yeast. Cell. 1987 May 8;49(3):295–297. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(87)90277-7. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  41. Tanner N. K., Hanna M. M., Abelson J. Binding interactions between yeast tRNA ligase and a precursor transfer ribonucleic acid containing two photoreactive uridine analogues. Biochemistry. 1988 Nov 29;27(24):8852–8861. doi: 10.1021/bi00424a025. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  42. Towbin H., Staehelin T., Gordon J. Electrophoretic transfer of proteins from polyacrylamide gels to nitrocellulose sheets: procedure and some applications. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1979 Sep;76(9):4350–4354. doi: 10.1073/pnas.76.9.4350. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  43. Ullmann A., Jacob F., Monod J. Characterization by in vitro complementation of a peptide corresponding to an operator-proximal segment of the beta-galactosidase structural gene of Escherichia coli. J Mol Biol. 1967 Mar 14;24(2):339–343. doi: 10.1016/0022-2836(67)90341-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  44. Ursic D., Culbertson M. R. The yeast homolog to mouse Tcp-1 affects microtubule-mediated processes. Mol Cell Biol. 1991 May;11(5):2629–2640. doi: 10.1128/mcb.11.5.2629. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  45. Vallee B. L., Coleman J. E., Auld D. S. Zinc fingers, zinc clusters, and zinc twists in DNA-binding protein domains. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1991 Feb 1;88(3):999–1003. doi: 10.1073/pnas.88.3.999. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  46. Vinson C. R., Sigler P. B., McKnight S. L. Scissors-grip model for DNA recognition by a family of leucine zipper proteins. Science. 1989 Nov 17;246(4932):911–916. doi: 10.1126/science.2683088. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  47. Wang S. S., Hopper A. K. Isolation of a yeast gene involved in species-specific pre-tRNA processing. Mol Cell Biol. 1988 Dec;8(12):5140–5149. doi: 10.1128/mcb.8.12.5140. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  48. Westaway S. K., Phizicky E. M., Abelson J. Structure and function of the yeast tRNA ligase gene. J Biol Chem. 1988 Mar 5;263(7):3171–3176. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  49. Winey M., Culbertson M. R. Mutations affecting the tRNA-splicing endonuclease activity of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Genetics. 1988 Apr;118(4):609–617. doi: 10.1093/genetics/118.4.609. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  50. Woolford J. L., Jr Nuclear pre-mRNA splicing in yeast. Yeast. 1989 Nov-Dec;5(6):439–457. doi: 10.1002/yea.320050604. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  51. Yanisch-Perron C., Vieira J., Messing J. Improved M13 phage cloning vectors and host strains: nucleotide sequences of the M13mp18 and pUC19 vectors. Gene. 1985;33(1):103–119. doi: 10.1016/0378-1119(85)90120-9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  52. Zaret K. S., Sherman F. DNA sequence required for efficient transcription termination in yeast. Cell. 1982 Mar;28(3):563–573. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(82)90211-2. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  53. van Zyl W. H., Wills N., Broach J. R. A general screen for mutant of Saccharomyces cerevisiae deficient in tRNA biosynthesis. Genetics. 1989 Sep;123(1):55–68. doi: 10.1093/genetics/123.1.55. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Molecular and Cellular Biology are provided here courtesy of Taylor & Francis

RESOURCES