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TEL+CEN antagonism on plasmids involves telomere repeat sequences tracts and gene products that interact with chromosomal telomeres

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Abstract

In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, circular plasmids that include either a centromere (CEN-plasmids) or a telomere sequence (TEL-plasmids) segregate more efficiently than circular ARS-plasmids. In contrast, circular plasmids that include both telomere and centromere sequences were unstable, a property we term TEL+CEN antagonism. TEL+CEN antagonism required a telomere repeat tract longer than 49 bp although the distance and relative orientation of the centromere and telomere sequences was not critical. TEL+CEN antagonism was alteviated in strains carrying different rap1 alleles including rap1 ts, rap1 s, and rap1 t alleles. Mutations SIR2, SIR3, SIR4, NAT1 and ARD1, genes that influence transcriptional silencing at telomeres and at the silent mating type loci, abolished TEL+CEN antagonism. Mutation of SIR1 also partially alleviated TEL-CEN antagonism. In some sir mutant strains short yeast artificial chromosomes (YACs), which are normally unstable, became more stable, suggesting that the same mechanism that caused TEL+CEN antagonism on circular plasmids may contribute to the instability of short linear plasmids.

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  1. Mark S. Longtine

    Present address: Department of Biology, University of North Carolina, CB #3280 Coker Hall, 27599, Chapel Hill, NC, USA

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  1. Department of Plant Biology, University of Minnesota, 220 Biological Sciences Center, 1445 Gortner Avenue, 55108, St. Paul, MN, USA

    Shinichiro Enomoto, Mark S. Longtine & Judith Berman

  2. Plant Molecular Genetics Institute, University of Minnesota, 220 Biological Sciences Center, 1445 Gortner Avenue, 55108, St. Paul, MN, USA

    Judith Berman

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Enomoto, S., Longtine, M.S. & Berman, J. TEL+CEN antagonism on plasmids involves telomere repeat sequences tracts and gene products that interact with chromosomal telomeres. Chromosoma 103, 237–250 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00352248

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