Nucleosome loss activates yeast downstream promoters in vivo

doi:10.1016/0092-8674(88)90258-9

Cell

Volume 55, Issue 6, 23 December 1988, Pages 1137-1145

https://doi.org/10.1016/0092-8674(88)90258-9 Get rights and content

Abstract

Nucleosome depletion can be made to occur in yeast by addition of glucose to strains containing the histone H4 gene under GAL promoter control. This leads to the activation of downstream promoter elements (TATA box and initiation, I, region) of three different regulated yeast promoters fused to the E. coli lacZ gene. Nucleosome loss activates the PHO5 downstream element in the presence or absence of the upstream activator sequences (UAS) through which PHO5 induction is normally mediated. The cytochrome C (CYC1) and galactokinase (GAL1) promoters are normally repressed by glucose through their UAS elements. However, when these UAS are deleted, the remaining downstream promoters are also activated by glucose-mediated nucleosome loss. These data suggest that nucleosome loss increases transcription initiation and subsequent elongation in vivo. They also indicate that the proteins which recognize the downstream promoter are activated and functional, at least in part, even in the absence of the UAS complex.

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Citation Excerpt :
The early observations in vitro were followed by studies of transcription in yeast in vivo. Shutdown of histone synthesis led to depletion of nucleosomes and to the transcriptional activation of repressed genes (Han and Grunstein, 1988). Transcription brought about by the depletion of nucleosomes was initiated at the same sites as transcription induced in the normal manner.
Whereas the core nucleosome is thought to serve as a packaging device for the coiling and contraction in length of genomic DNA, we suggest that it serves primarily in the regulation of transcription. A nucleosome on a promoter prevents the initiation of transcription. The association of nucleosomes with most genomic DNA prevents initiation from cryptic promoters. The nucleosome thus serves not only as a general gene repressor, but also as a repressor of all transcription (genic, intragenic, and intergenic). The core nucleosome performs a fundamental regulatory role, apart from the histone “tails,” which modulate gene activity.

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ArticleNucleosome loss activates yeast downstream promoters in vivo

Abstract

Cell

Cell

Cell

Cell

Cell

Cell

Cell

Gene

Cell

Cell

Cell

J. Mol. Biol.

Cell

Cell

Nuclease hypersensitive region with adjacent positioned nucleosomes mark the gene boundaries of the PHO5IPHO3 locus in yeast

EMBO J.

Removal of positioned nucleosomes from the yeast PHO5 promoter upon PHO5 induction releases additional upstream activating DNA elements

EMBO J.

Function of a yeast TATA element binding protein in a mammalian transcription system

Nature

Changes in histone gene dosage after transcription in yeast

Genes Dev.

The amino terminus of the yeast F1-ATPase β-subunit precursor functions as a mitochondrial import signal

J. Cell Biol.

DNA topoisomerases

Annu. Rev. Biochem.

Mutants of GAL4 protein altered in an activation function

Cell

Article
Nucleosome loss activates yeast downstream promoters in vivo