title: Yeast SAS silencing genes and human genes associated with AML and HIV-1 Tat interactions are homologous with acetyltransferases.
abstract: Silencing is an epigenetic form of transcriptional regulation whereby genes are heritably, but not necessarily permanently, inactivated. We have identified the Saccharomyces cerevisiae genes SAS2 and SAS3 through a screen for enhancers of sir1 epigenetic silencing defects. SAS2, SAS3 and a Schizosaccharomyces pombe homologue are closely related to several human genes, including one associated with acute myeloid leukaemia arising from the recurrent translocation t(8;16)(p11;p13) and one implicated in HIV-1 Tat interactions. All of these genes encode proteins with an atypical zinc finger and well-conserved similarities to acetyltransferases. Sequence similarities and yeast mutant phenotypes suggest that SAS-like genes function in transcriptional regulation and cell-cycle exit and reveal novel connections between transcriptional silencing and human disease.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology, University of Colorado, Boulder 80309, USA.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Reifsnyder
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lowell
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Clarke
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Pillus
mesh_terms: D000123:Acetyltransferases / Q000235:genetics*; D000208:Acute Disease; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001483:Base Sequence; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D004271:DNA, Fungal; D004742:Enhancer Elements, Genetic; D005656:Fungal Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D015966:Gene Expression Regulation, Fungal; D015696:Gene Products, tat / Q000235:genetics; D015497:HIV-1 / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D007951:Leukemia, Myeloid / Q000235:genetics; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009154:Mutation; D010641:Phenotype; D016192:Resting Phase, Cell Cycle; D012441:Saccharomyces cerevisiae / Q000201:enzymology / Q000235:genetics*; D012568:Schizosaccharomyces / Q000235:genetics; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D038281:Silent Information Regulator Proteins, Saccharomyces cerevisiae; D015534:Trans-Activators / Q000235:genetics; D016335:Zinc Fingers / Q000235:genetics*; D054322:tat Gene Products, Human Immunodeficiency Virus
chemical_list: D004271:DNA, Fungal; D005656:Fungal Proteins; D015696:Gene Products, tat; C084121:SIR1 protein, S cerevisiae; D038281:Silent Information Regulator Proteins, Saccharomyces cerevisiae; D015534:Trans-Activators; D054322:tat Gene Products, Human Immunodeficiency Virus; D000123:Acetyltransferases