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It remains a formidable challenge to characterize the diverse complexes of RNA binding proteins and their targets. While crosslink and immunoprecipitation (CLIP) methods are powerful techniques that identify RNA targets on a global scale, the resolution and consistency of these methods is a matter of debate. Here we present a comparative analysis of LIN28-pre-let-7 UV-induced crosslinking using a tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) and deep sequencing interrogation of in vitro crosslinked complexes. Interestingly, analyses by the two methods diverge in their identification of crosslinked nucleotide identity - whereas bioinformatics and sequencing analyses suggest guanine in mammalian cells, MS/MS identifies uridine. This work suggests the need for comprehensive analysis and validation of crosslinking methodologies.

We have used nonessential circular minichromosomes to monitor sister chromatid exchange during yeast meiosis. Genetic analysis shows that a 64-kb circular minichromosome undergoes sister chromatid exchange during 40% of meioses. This frequency is not reduced by the presence of a homologous linear minichromosome. Furthermore, sister chromatid exchange can be stimulated by the presence of a 12-kb ARG4 DNA fragment, which contains initiation sites for meiotic gene conversion. Using physical analysis, we have directly identified a product of sister chromatid exchange: a head-to-tail dimer form of a circular minichromosome. This dimer form is absent in a rad50S mutant strain, which is deficient in processing of the ends of meiosis-specific double-stranded breaks into single-stranded DNA tails. Our studies suggest that meiotic sister chromatid exchange is stimulated by the same mechanism as meiotic homolog exchange.

The Tetrahymena ribozyme has been shown to catalyze an RNA polymerase-like reaction in which an RNA primer is extended by the sequential addition of pN nucleotides derived from GpN dinucleotides, where N = A, C, or U. Here, we show that this reaction is influenced by the presence of a template; bases that can form Watson-Crick base pairs with a template add as much as 25-fold more efficiently than mismatched bases. A mutant enzyme with an altered guanosine binding site can catalyze template-directed primer extension with all four bases when supplied with dinucleotides of the form 2-aminopurine-pN.

An initiation site for meiotic gene conversion is located in the promoter region of the ARG4 locus in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. We have tested the hypothesis that the initiation site is identical with the promoter by making a series of small deletions that remove specific promoter elements. Disruption of most promoter elements does not lower the level of gene conversion in ARG4, and analysis of RNA levels at the time of recombination in meiosis reveals no direct correlation between the level of ARG4 transcript and the level of gene conversion in ARG4. However, deletion of a tract of 14 A residues located at the peak of the gene conversion gradient decreases the number of gene conversion events stimulated by the initiation site to 25 to 35% of the normal level. We conclude that the poly(dA.dT) tract is responsible for most but not all of the high levels of meiotic gene conversion observed in ARG4.

The N-terminal serine and four conserved lysine residues near the N-terminus of yeast histone H4 are acetylated. We found that a mutation that changed the fourth lysine to alanine resulted in specific derepression of the silent mating type locus HML, while mutations that altered the N-terminal serine or the first three lysines had only minor phenotypic effects. Our results support an active role for histone H4 in the silencing of gene expression at this locus.

The minichromosome Ch16 of the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe is derived from the centromeric region of chromosome III. We show that Ch16 and a shorter derivative, Ch12, made by gamma-ray cleavage, are linear molecules of 530 and 280 kilobases, respectively. Each minichromosome has two novel telomeres, as shown by genomic Southern hybridization with an S. pombe telomere probe. Comparison by hybridization of the minichromosomes and their chromosomal counterparts showed no signs of gross rearrangement. Cosmid clones covering the ends of the long arms of Ch16 and Ch12 were isolated, and subcloned fragments that contained the breakage sites were identified. They are apparently unique in the genome. By hybridization and Bal 31 digestion, the ends appear to consist of the broken-end sequences directly associated with short stretches (about 300 base pairs) of new DNA that hybridizes to a cloned S. pombe telomere. They do not contain the telomere-adjacent repeated sequences that are present in the normal chromosomes. The sizes of the short telomeric stretches are roughly the same as those of the normal chromosomes. Our results show that broken chromosomal ends in S. pombe can be healed by the de novo addition of the short telomeric repeats. The formation of Ch16 must have required two breakage-healing events, whereas a single cleavage-healing event in the long arm of Ch16 yielded Ch12.

Mutations in the ARD1 gene prevent yeast cells from displaying G1-specific growth arrest in response to nitrogen deprivation and cause MATa haploids (but not MAT alpha haploids) to be mating defective. Analysis of cell type-specific gene expression by examination of RNA transcripts and measurement of beta-galactosidase activity from yeast gene-lacZ fusions demonstrated that the mating defect of MATa ard1 mutants was due to an inability to express genes required by MATa cells for the mating process. The lack of mating-specific gene expression in MATa cells was found to be due solely to derepression of the normally silent alpha information at the HML locus. The cryptic a information at the HMR locus was only very slightly derepressed in ard1 mutants, to a level insufficient to affect the mating efficiency of MAT alpha cells. The preferential elevation of expression from HML over HMR was also observed in ard1 mutants which contained the alternate arrangement of a information at HML and alpha information at HMR. Hence, the effect of the ard1 mutation was position specific (rather than information specific). Although the phenotype of ard1 mutants resembled that of cells with mutations in the SIR1 gene, both genetic and biochemical findings indicated that ARD1 control of HML expression was independent of the regulation imposed by SIR1 and the other SIR genes. These results suggest that the ARD1 gene encodes a protein product that acts, directly or indirectly, at the HML locus to repress its expression and, by analogy, may control expression of other genes involved in monitoring nutritional conditions.

We have examined the replication and segregation of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae 2 microns circle. The amplification of the plasmid at low copy numbers requires site-specific recombination between the 2 microns inverted repeat sequences catalyzed by the plasmid-encoded FLP gene. No other 2 microns gene products are required. The overexpression of FLP in a strain carrying endogenous 2 microns leads to uncontrolled plasmid replication, longer cell cycles, and cell death. Two different assays show that the level of Flp activity decreases with increasing 2 microns copy number. This regulation requires the products of the REP1 and REP2 genes. These gene products also act together to ensure that 2 microns molecules are randomly segregated between mother and daughter cells at cell division.

When exposed to DNA-damaging agents, the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae induces the expression of at least six specific genes. We have previously identified one damage inducible (DIN) gene as a gene fusion (din-lacZ fusion) whose expression increases in response to DNA-damaging treatments. We describe here the identification of five additional DIN genes as din-lacZ fusions and the responses of all six DIN genes to DNA-damaging agents. Northern blot analyses of the transcripts of two of the DIN genes show that their levels increase after exposure to DNA-damaging agents. Five of the din-lacZ fusions are induced in S. cerevisiae cells exposed to UV light, gamma rays, methotrexate, or alkylating agents. One of the din-lacZ fusions is induced by either UV or methotrexate but not by the other agents. This finding suggests that there are sets of DIN genes that are regulated differently.

The self-splicing sunY intron from bacteriophage T4 has the smallest conserved core secondary structure of any of the active group I introns. Here we show that several nonconserved regions can be deleted from this intron without complete loss of catalytic activity. The 3' stems P9, P9.1, and P9.2 can be deleted while retaining 5' cleaving activity. Two base-paired stems (P7.1 and P7.2) that are peculiar to the group IA introns can also be deleted; however, the activities of the resulting derivatives depend greatly on the choice of replacement sequences and their lengths. The smallest active derivative is less than 180 nucleotides long. These experiments help to define the minimum structural requirements for catalysis.

The repair of double-strand breaks and gaps can be studied in vegetative yeast cells by transforming the DNA with restriction enzyme-cut plasmids. Postulated models for this repair process require the formation of heteroduplex DNA on either side of the region of break or gap repair. We describe the use of restriction site mutations in the his3 gene to detect conversion events flanking but outside of a region of a double-strand break repair. The frequency with which a mutation was converted declined with increasing distance between the mutation and the edge of the gap repair region. The data are consistent with heteroduplex DNA tracts of at least several hundred base pairs adjacent to regions of double-strand break repair.

Nonreplicating plasmids transform Saccharomyces cerevisiae by recombining with a homologous site in the genome. Frequently, multiple copies of the plasmid integrate in a tandem array. We show that, after transformation with restriction enzyme-cut plasmids, most, if not all, multimers arise by sequential integration of plasmid molecules into the same genomic location.

We developed techniques that allow us to construct novel variants of Saccharomyces cerevisiae chromosomes. These modified chromosomes have precisely determined structures. A metacentric derivative of chromosome III which lacks the telomere-associated X and Y' elements, which are found at the telomeres of most yeast chromosomes, behaves normally in both mitosis and meiosis. We made a circularly permuted telocentric version of yeast chromosome III whose closest telomere was 33 kilobases from the centromere. This telocentric chromosome was lost at a frequency of 1.6 X 10(-5) per cell compared with a frequency of 4.0 X 10(-6) for the natural metacentric version of chromosome III. An extremely telocentric chromosome whose closet telomere was only 3.5 kilobases from the centromere was lost at a frequency of 6.0 X 10(-5). The mitotic stability of telocentric chromosomes shows that the very high frequency of nondisjunction observed for short linear artificial chromosomes is not due to inadequate centromere-telomere separation.

We have investigated two reactions that occur on telomeric sequences introduced into Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells by transformation. The elongation reaction added repeats of the yeast telomeric sequence C1-3A to telomeric sequences at the end of linear DNA molecules. The reaction worked on the Tetrahymena telomeric sequence C4A2 and also on the simple repeat CA. The reaction was orientation specific: it occurred only when the GT-rich strand ran 5' to 3' towards the end of the molecule. Telomere elongation occurred by non-template-directed DNA synthesis rather than any type of recombination with chromosomal telomeres, because C1-3A repeats could be added to unrelated DNA sequences between the CA-rich repeats and the terminus of the transforming DNA. The elongation reaction was very efficient, and we believe that it was responsible for maintaining an average telomere length despite incomplete replication by template-directed DNA polymerase. The resolution reaction processed a head-to-head inverted repeat of telomeric sequences into two new telomeres at a frequency of 10(-2) per cell division.