A role for the Saccharomyces cerevisiae RENT complex protein Net1 in HMR silencing

Silencing in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae is known in three classes of loci: in the silent mating-type loci HML and HMR, in subtelomeric regions, and in the highly repetitive rDNA locus, which resides in the nucleolus. rDNA silencing differs markedly from the other two classes of silencing in that it requires a DNA-associated protein complex termed RENT. The Net1 protein, a central component of RENT, is required for nucleolar integrity and the control of exit from mitosis. Another RENT component is the NAD(+)-dependent histone deacetylase Sir2, which is the only silencing factor known to be shared among the three classes of silencing. Here, we investigated the role of Net1 in HMR silencing. The mutation net1-1, as well as NET1 expression from a 2micro-plasmid, restored repression at silencing-defective HMR loci. Both effects were strictly dependent on the Sir proteins. We found overexpressed Net1 protein to be directly associated with the HMR-E silencer, suggesting that Net1 could interact with silencer binding proteins and recruit other silencing factors to the silencer. In agreement with this, Net1 provided ORC-dependent, Sir1-independent silencing when artificially tethered to the silencer. In contrast, our data suggested that net1-1 acted indirectly in HMR silencing by releasing Sir2 from the nucleolus, thus shifting the internal competition for Sir2 from the silenced loci toward HMR.     

Analyses of SUM1-1-mediated long-range repression

In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, local repression is promoter specific and localized to a small region on the DNA, while silencing is promoter nonspecific, encompasses large domains of chromatin, and is stably inherited for multiple generations. Sum1p is a local repressor protein that mediates repression of meiosis-specific genes in mitotic cells while the Sir proteins are long-range repressors that stably silence genes at HML, HMR, and telomeres. The SUM1-1 mutation is a dominant neomorphic mutation that enables the mutant protein to be recruited to the HMR locus and repress genes, even in the absence of the Sir proteins. In this study we show that the mutation in Sum1-1p enabled it to spread, and the native HMR barrier blocked it from spreading. Thus, like the Sir proteins, Sum1-1p was a long-range repressor, but unlike the Sir proteins, Sum1-1p-mediated repression was more promoter specific, repressing certain genes better than others. Furthermore, repression mediated by Sum1-1p was not stably maintained or inherited and we therefore propose that Sum1-1p-mediated long-range repression is related but distinct from silencing.     

The Role of Sas2, an Acetyltransferase Homologue of Saccharomyces Cerevisiae, in Silencing and Orc Function

Silencing at the cryptic mating-type loci HML and HMR of Saccharomyces cerevisiae requires regulatory sites called silencers. Mutations in the Rap1 and Abf1 binding sites of the HMR-E silencer (HMRa-e**) cause the silencer to be nonfunctional, and hence, cause derepression of HMR. Here, we have isolated and characterized mutations in SAS2 as second-site suppressors of the silencing defect of HMRa-e**. Silencing conferred by the removal of SAS2 (sas2Δ) depended upon the integrity of the ARS consensus sequence of the HMR-E silencer, thus arguing for an involvement of the origin recognition complex (ORC). Restoration of silencing by sas2Δ required ORC2 and ORC5, but not SIR1 or RAP1. Furthermore, sas2Δ suppressed the temperature sensitivity, but not the silencing defect of orc2-1 and orc5-1. Moreover, sas2Δ had opposing effects on silencing of HML and HMR. The putative Sas2 protein bears similarities to known protein acetyltransferases. Several models for the role of Sas2 in silencing are discussed.     

A yeast sir2 mutant temperature sensitive for silencing

A screen for Saccharomyces cerevisiae temperature-sensitive silencing mutants identified a strain with a point mutation in the SIR2 gene. The mutation changed Ser276 to Cys. This amino acid is in the highly conserved NAD(+) binding pocket of the Sir2 family of proteins. Haploid strains of either mating type carrying the mutation were severely defective at mating at 37 degrees but normal at 25 degrees . Measurements of RNA from the HMR locus demonstrated that silencing was lost rapidly upon shifting the mutant from the low to the high temperature, but it took >8 hours to reestablish silencing after a shift back to 25 degrees . Silencing at the rDNA locus was also temperature sensitive. On the other hand, telomeric silencing was totally defective at both temperatures. Enzymatic activity of the recombinant wild-type and mutant Sir2 protein was compared by three different assays. The mutant exhibited less deacetylase activity than the wild-type protein at both 37 degrees and 25 degrees . Interestingly, the mutant had much more NAD(+)-nicotinamide exchange activity than wild type, as did a mutation in the same region of the protein in the Sir2 homolog, Hst2. Thus, mutations in this region of the NAD(+) binding pocket of the protein are able to carry out cleavage of NAD(+) to nicotinamide but are defective at the subsequent deacetylation step of the reaction.     

Control of replication initiation by the Sum1/Rfm1/Hst1 histone deacetylase

Background  

Replication initiation at origins of replication in the yeast genome takes place on chromatin as a template, raising the question how histone modifications, for instance histone acetylation, influence origin firing. Initiation requires binding of the replication initiator, the Origin Recognition Complex (ORC), to a consensus sequence within origins. In addition, other proteins bind to recognition sites in the vicinity of ORC and support initiation. In previous work, we identified Sum1 as an origin-binding protein that contributes to efficient replication initiation. Sum1 is part of the Sum1/Rfm1/Hst1 complex that represses meiotic genes during vegetative growth via histone deacetylation by the histone deacetylase (HDAC) Hst1.     

Sir2 regulates histone H3 lysine 9 methylation and heterochromatin assembly in fission yeast

Hypoacetylated histones are a hallmark of heterochromatin in organisms ranging from yeast to humans. Histone deacetylation is carried out by both NAD(+)-dependent and NAD(+)-independent enzymes. In the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, deacetylation of histones in heterochromatic chromosomal domains requires Sir2, a phylogenetically conserved NAD(+)-dependent deacetylase. In the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe, NAD(+)-independent histone deacetylases are required for the formation of heterochromatin, but the role of Sir2-like deacetylases in this process has not been evaluated. Here, we show that spSir2, the S. pombe Sir2-like protein that is the most closely related to the S. cerevisiae Sir2, is an NAD(+)-dependent deacetylase that efficiently deacetylates histone H3 lysine 9 (K9) and histone H4 lysine 16 (K16) in vitro. In sir2 Delta cells, silencing at the donor mating-type loci, telomeres, and the inner centromeric repeats (imr) is abolished, while silencing at the outer centromeric repeats (otr) and rDNA is weakly reduced. Furthermore, Sir2 is required for hypoacetylation and methylation of H3-K9 and for the association of Swi6 with the above loci in vivo. Our findings suggest that the NAD(+)-dependent deacetylase Sir2 plays an important and conserved role in heterochromatin assembly in eukaryotes.     

Separable Functions of Orc5 in Replication Initiation and Silencing in Saccharomyces Cerevisiae

Origin recognition complex (ORC) is a six subunit complex that functions as the replication initiator and is required for silencing the HML and HMR loci in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The roles of ORC5 in replication initiation and silencing were investigated to determine whether the two roles were mechanistically coincident or separable. Some spontaneous revertants of orc5-1 were functional for replication initiation, but not silencing. Other alleles of ORC5 were obtained that were nonfunctional for replication initiation, but fully competent for silencing. The two types of alleles, when put in the same cell, complemented, establishing two separable functions for ORC5. These data implied that replication initiation at HMR-E was not required for silencing. The data were consistent with a model in which different ORC species functioned at different origins within the genome and that only one Orc5p subunit functioned at any given origin.