Specific contacts between the FLP protein of the yeast 2-micron plasmid and its recombination site

Contact points between the FLP protein of the yeast 2-micron plasmid and its recombination site have been defined. Important features of the region previously defined as the minimal recombination site in vitro include a pair of 13-base pair inverted repeats separated by an 8-base pair spacer. The two FLP protein-binding sites within this region are 12 base pairs in length. In each case they include the internal 11 base pairs of one of the 13-base pair repeats, as well as the adjacent base pair within the spacer. The internal 6 base pairs within the spacer are not involved in binding or recognition by FLP protein. When the size of the spacer is increased or decreased by one base pair, the distance between the cleavage points is also increased or decreased correspondingly by one base pair. Points of cleavage are unaffected by changes in the spacer sequence. Specific contact points involving purine residues, identified by methylation protection and recombination interference experiments, are located in both the major and minor grooves of the DNA. Additional contact points between FLP protein and phosphate groups in the phosphate-deoxyribose backbone are clustered near the cleavage sites.     

Does Ribosomal DNA Get Out of the Micronuclear Chromosome in Paramecium tetraurelia by Means of a Rolling Circle?

The macronuclear genes coding for rRNA (ribosomal DNA [rDNA]) of Paramecium tetraurelia, stock 51, are arranged in polymers consisting of units made up of a transcribed coding region and a nontranscribed spacer region. The whole macronuclear polymer ends with a portion of the spacer on either end followed by a telomere. Six kinds of macronuclear units, or genes, were mapped. Spacers were different, and transcribed regions were the same. These genes are found in markedly different numbers in the macronucleus. The most common gene shows two regions in the spacer where a sequence is followed by a direct repeat. The next most common gene is similar but shows a deletion plus a number of base pair substitutions. Although most cosmid clones contain only a single kind of gene, many contain more than one. These are thought to be produced by somatic crossing over. The four micronuclear genes that have been isolated consist of a single central transcribed region and portions of the spacer on either end. Sequencing indicates that the two ends of the molecule are partially redundant. While the spacer region at the right end of the macronuclear polymer is derived from the micronuclear spacer on the right, the spacer at the left end of the macronuclear polymer is derived from regions of the micronuclear spacer on both the right and the left. To account for this situation, a rolling-circle model for generation of the macronuclear rDNA from the micronuclear DNA is proposed.     

Within- and between-individual length heterogeneity of the rDNA-IGS in Miscanthus sinensis var. glaber (Poaceae): phylogenetic analyses.

The variability in the intergenic spacer (IGS) region between 17S and 25S rRNA genes of ribosomal DNA (rDNA) gene family was surveyed in Miscanthus sinensis var. glaber. Length heterogeneity, with sizes from 1782 to 2212 base pairs, of the IGS resulted from the variation of copy numbers of the A and B subrepeats. These repeated elements were located upstream of the presumptive polymeraseII promoter, which was the region corresponding to the nontranscribed spacer (NTS). Length heterogeneity was detected both within and between individuals of Miscanthus sinensis var. glaber. Neighbor-joining analyses of repetitive A elements indicated that both unequal crossing-over and preferential conversion may have affected the hot-spot regions of the IGS in concert. Within-individual polymorphism and the reconstructed phylogeny suggested that interspecific hybridization has also contributed to length heterogeneity.     

Restriction analysis of spacers in ribosomal DNA of Drosophila melanogaster.

The sequence arrangement of ribosomal DNA (rDNA) spacers in Drosophila melanogaster was analyzed with restriction endonucleases. Spacers, derived from cloned rDNA repeats and from uncloned purified rDNA, are internally repetitive, as demonstrated by the regular 250 base pairs interval between sites recognized by the enzyme Alu I. Length heterogeneity of spacers is due at least in part to varying numbers of repeated sequence elements. All spacers and analyzed, whether derived from X or from Y chromosomal rDNA, have a very similar sequence organization. The distance separating the repeated nontranscribed spacer sequences from the 5' end of the transcribed region is conserved in all ten cloned fragments examined, and is probably less than 150 base pairs, as measured by electron microscopy.     

Distribution of spacer length classes and the intervening sequence among different nucleolus organizers in Drosophila hydei

Drosophila hydei rRNA genes from different chromosomes and from different stocks have been studied by restriction enzyme analysis. In DNA from wild-type females, about half of the X chromosomal rRNA genes are interrupted by an intervening sequence within the 28S coding region. In contrast to D. melanogaster, the intervening sequences belong to a single size class of 6.0 kb. Although there are two nucleolus organizers on the Y chromosome, genes containing the intervening sequence seem to be restricted to the X chromosome. — As shown in four cloned rDNA fragments, the nontranscribed spacers differ in length by having varying numbers of a 242 base pair sequence located in tandem in the right section of the spacer. In genomic rDNA, the spacers also differ in length by a regular 0.25 kb interval. Spacers with between 5 and 15 subrepeats occur frequently within the X and Y chromosomal nucleolus organizers in different D. hydei stocks; shorter and longer spacers are also present but are relatively rare. — Although each genotype is characterized by different frequencies of some spacer classes, the prominent spacer length heterogeneity pattern is similar among the different nucleolus organizers and, therefore, seems to be conserved during evolution.This paper is dedicated to Professor Dr. W. Beermann on the occasion of his 60th birthday     

Mutations That Improve the ANT Promoter of Salmonella Phage P22

Mutations that increase the activity of the promoter for the antirepressor gene of phage P22 were isolated by pseudoreversion of four severe promoter-down mutations. The sequence changes in these pseudorevertants include single base pair substitutions, single base pair deletions, tandem double base pair deletions and multisite mutations. The single base pair substitutions change nonconsensus base pairs to consensus base pairs at positions -14 and -8. The other mutations provide support for the idea that the length of the spacer region between the conserved -35 and -10 hexamers is an important determinant of promoter strength. Deletions of one or two base pairs in the spacer region apparently activate an alternate -10 hexamer by shifting it from a spacing of 19 base pairs to a spacing of 18 or 17 base pairs, respectively.     

Histones H2A and H2B are neighbors along DNA in chromatin: characterization of subnucleosomal particles containing H2A+H2B.

Two specific slow sedimenting nucleoprotein particles containing equimolar amounts of histones H2A and H2B and 38 or 49 base pair (bp) lengths of DNA have been isolated by centrifugation on sucrose gradients. The 3.4S particles containing 38 bp DNA and H2A+H2B thermally denature at 61 degrees, considerably higher than Proteinase K treated particles (44 degrees), but lower than 11S nucleosomes (76 degrees). Treatment with Proteinase K increases the circular dichroism of 3.4S particles at 280 nm by 63% and decreases the sedimentation coefficient to 2.1S. These results indicate that H2A and H2B are proximate along DNA in nucleosomes and alone can alter the optical activity and perhaps conformation of local regions of DNA.     

Isolation and characterization of a spacerless dinucleosome from H1-deleted chromatin.

Calf thymus chromatin, depleted in histone H1, was digested with micrococcal nuclease and fractionated by column chromatography. 140 base pair nucleosome core particles were isolated along with an unusual particle containing 2 histone octamers and 240 base pairs of DNA. Evidence is presented that the spacer DNA region is absent from these modified dinucleosomes, which appear as stable products of the digestion process. The physical properties of both particles are presented along with brief speculation on their possible origin and function.     

Nucleoprotein chromatin subunit from Physarum polycephalum

The nucleoproteins resulting from digestion of the nuclei of the true slime mold Pysarum polycephalum with micrococcal nuclease have been resolved according to the size classes in linear sucrose gradients containg 0.5 M NaCl, and analysed for DNA, RNA and protein content. The basic nucleoprotein subunit has been found to contain a DNA fragment of about 150--170 base pairs complexed with an approximately equal amount, on a weight basis, of basic proteins and a relatively small amount of non-histone proteins (about 35% of the amount of DNA). Higher nucleoprotein oligomers were shown to contain spacer DNA fragments between adjacent subunits and a considerably higher ratio of non-histone proteins to DNA than the basic subunit. Both the basic subunit and higher nucleoprotein oligomers of Physarum chromatin contain some amount of tightly bound RNA. However, in contrast to the distribution of the non-histone proteins, the ratio of RNA to RNA is similar in both fractions.     

Protein factors specifically binding to the regulatory elements of non-transcribed spacer of rat ribosomal genes

Mouse, rat and human protein factors recognizing regulatory elements of nontranscribed spacer of rat ribosomal genes were studied by gel retardation assay. Protein factors bind specifically to the DNA fragments containing the core promoter sequence of RNA-polymerase I, to "spacer" promoter and to a putative enhancer sequence. Factors of mouse, rat and human nuclear extracts that recognize the region containing the core promoter sequence have similar molecular masses and are not identical to the previously described protein factor TIF-1B. Two factors that bind the "spacer" promoter region differ from the factors of the core promoter. "Spacer" promoter factors of mouse and rat nuclear extracts are probably identical, but differ from those of human extract. Protein factors, recognizing the putative enhancer region of rat and human extracts are alike but were not detected in mouse extract. Regions of nontranscribed spacer containing dispersed and tandem repeats do not bind any specific protein factors.     

DNA sequence of the 16S rRNA/23S rRNA intercistronic spacer of two rDNA operons of the archaebacterium Methanococcus vannielii

The DNA sequence of the spacer (plus flanking) regions separating the 16S rRNA and 23S rRNA genes of two presumptive rDNA operons of the archaebacterium Methanococcus vannielii was determined. The spacers are 156 and 242 base pairs in size and they share a sequence homology of 49 base pairs following the 3' terminus of the 16S rRNA gene and of about 60 base pairs preceding the 5' end of the 23S rRNA gene. The 242 base pair spacer, in addition contains a sequence which can be transcribed into tRNAAla, whereas no tRNA-like secondary structure can be delineated from the 156 base pair spacer region. Almost complete sequence homology was detected between the end of the 16S rRNA gene and the 3' termini of either Escherichia coli or Halobacterium halobium 16S rRNA, whereas the putative 5' terminal 23S rRNA sequence shared partial homology with E. coli 23S rRNA and eukaryotic 5.8S rRNA.     

DNA strand specificity for UV-induced mutations in mammalian cells.

The influence of DNA repair on the molecular nature of mutations induced by UV light (254 nm) was investigated in UV-induced hprt mutants from UV-sensitive Chinese hamster cells (V-H1) and the parental line (V79). The nature of point mutations in hprt exon sequences was determined for 19 hprt mutants of V79 and for 17 hprt mutants of V-H1 cells by sequence analysis of in vitro-amplified hprt cDNA. The mutation spectrum in V79 cells consisted of single- and tandem double-base pair changes, while in V-H1 cells three frameshift mutations were also detected. All base pair changes in V-H1 mutants were due to GC----AT transitions. In contrast, in V79 all possible classes of base pair changes except the GC----CG transversion were present. In this group, 70% of the mutations were transversions. Since all mutations except one did occur at dipyrimidine sites, the assumption was made that they were caused by UV-induced photoproducts at these sites. In V79 cells, 11 out of 17 base pair changes were caused by photoproducts in the nontranscribed strand of the hprt gene. However, in V-H1 cells, which are completely deficient in the removal of pyrimidine dimers from the hprt gene and which show a UV-induced mutation frequency enhanced seven times, 10 out of 11 base pair changes were caused by photoproducts in the transcribed strand of the hprt gene. We hypothesize that this extreme strand specificity in V-H1 cells is due to differences in fidelity of DNA replication of the leading and the lagging strand. Furthermore, we propose that in normal V79 cells two processes determine the strand specificity of UV-induced mutations in the hprt gene, namely preferential repair of the transcribed strand of the hprt gene and a higher fidelity of DNA replication of the nontranscribed strand compared with the transcribed strand.