title: Cloning and characterization of the rad4 gene of Schizosaccharomyces pombe; a gene showing short regions of sequence similarity to the human XRCC1 gene.
abstract: The rad4.116 mutant of the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe is temperature-sensitive for growth, as well as being sensitive to the killing actions of both ultraviolet light and ionizing radiation. We have cloned the rad4 gene by complementation of the temperature sensitive phenotype of the rad4.116 mutant with a S. pombe gene bank. The rad4 gene fully complemented the UV sensitivity of the rad4.116 mutant. The gene is predicted to encode a protein of 579 amino acids with a basic tail, a possible zinc finger and a nuclear location signal. The amino terminal part of the predicted rad4 ORF contains two short regions of similarity to the C-terminal part of the human XRCC1 gene. Codon usage suggests that the gene is very poorly expressed, and this was confirmed by RNA studies. Gene disruption showed that the rad4 gene was essential for the mitotic growth of S. pombe.
authors.affiliation: MRC Cell Mutation Unit, School of Biology, University of Sussex, Falmer, Brighton, UK.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fenech
authors.forename: A M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Carr
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Murray
authors.forename: F Z
authors.initials: FZ
authors.lastname: Watts
authors.forename: A R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Lehmann
mesh_terms: D001483:Base Sequence; D015152:Blotting, Northern; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D003062:Codon / Q000235:genetics; D004260:DNA Repair / Q000235:genetics* / Q000528:radiation effects; D015870:Gene Expression / Q000235:genetics; D005800:Genes, Fungal / Q000235:genetics*; D005816:Genetic Complementation Test; D006801:Humans; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016366:Open Reading Frames / Q000235:genetics; D015183:Restriction Mapping; D012568:Schizosaccharomyces / Q000235:genetics* / Q000528:radiation effects; D012689:Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid; D013696:Temperature; D014466:Ultraviolet Rays
chemical_list: D003062:Codon