Document Type
Article
Language
eng
Format of Original
7 p.
Publication Date
1-2006
Publisher
Wiley
Source Publication
Yeast
Source ISSN
0749-503x
Original Item ID
DOI: 10.1002/yea.1341, PubMed Central: PMC2600413
Abstract
Common methods to identify yeast cells containing the prion form of the Sup35 translation termination factor, [PSI+], involve a nonsense suppressor phenotype. Decreased function of Sup35p in [PSI+] cells leads to readthrough of certain nonsense mutations in a few auxotrophic markers, for example, ade1-14. This readthrough results in growth on adenine deficient media. While this powerful tool has dramatically facilitated the study of [PSI+], it is limited to a narrow range of laboratory strains and cannot easily be used to screen for cells that have lost the [PSI+] prion. Therefore we have engineered a nonsense mutation in the widely used URA3 gene, termed the ura3-14 allele. Introduction of the ura3-14 allele into an array of genetic backgrounds, carrying a loss-of-function URA3 mutation and [PSI+], allows for growth on media lacking uracil, indicative of decreased translational termination efficiency. This ura3-14 allele is able to distinguish various forms of the [PSI+] prion, called variants and is able to detect the de novo appearance of [PSI+] in strains carrying the prion form of Rnq1p, [PIN+]. Furthermore, 5-fluoorotic acid, which kills cells making functional Ura3p, provides a means to select for [psi−] derivatives in a population of [PSI+] cells marked with the ura3-14 allele, making this system much more versatile than previous methods.
Recommended Citation
Manogaran, Anita L.; Kirkland, Kathryn T.; and Liebman, Susan W., "An Engineered Nonsense URA3 Allele Provides a Versatile System to Detect the Presence, Absence and Appearance of the [em>PSI+] Prion in Saccharomyces cerevisiae" (2006). Biological Sciences Faculty Research and Publications. 521.
https://epublications.marquette.edu/bio_fac/521
Comments
Accepted version. Yeast, Vol 23, No. 2 (January 2006): 141-147. DOI. © 2006 Wiley. Used with permission.
This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: "An Engineered Nonsense URA3 Allele Provides a Versatile System to Detect the Presence, Absence and Appearance of the [PSI+] Prion in Saccharomyces cerevisiae," Yeast, Vol 23, No. 2 (January 2006): 141-147, which has been published in final form at DOI. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance With Wiley Terms and Conditions for self-archiving.
Anita L. Manogaran was affiliated with the University of Illinois at Chicago at time of publication.