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. 1979 Oct;76(10):5264–5268. doi: 10.1073/pnas.76.10.5264

Control of yeast cell types by mobile genes: A test

Peter J Kushner 1,2, Lindley C Blair 1,2, Ira Herskowitz 1,2
PMCID: PMC413121  PMID: 14627013

Abstract

The yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae changes cell types by switching the alleles of the mating type locus (MAT) from a to α and vice versa. In the cassette model, these switches—e.g., from a to α—occur when a replica of silent α information (an α “cassette”) replaces the resident a cassette at the mating type locus and is thereby expressed. We have identified a mutation in the locus postulated to be the silent α information (HMLα) and find that a mutation is introduced into the mating type locus as a result of interconversion: HMLα-MATα cells switch to MATa and then to MATα-. The MATα- mutation leads to defective mating and behaves like some previously identified MATα- mutations. These observations satisfy the prediction of the cassette and controlling element models that genetic information is transmitted from HMLα to the mating type locus.

Keywords: cell type differentiation, cassette model, eukaryotic gene control, gene rearrangement, diploidization

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Selected References

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

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