title: Maximal stimulation of meiotic recombination by a yeast transcription factor requires the transcription activation domain and a DNA-binding domain.
abstract: The DNA sequences located upstream of the yeast HIS4 represent a very strong meiotic recombination hotspot. Although the activity of this hotspot requires the transcription activator Rap1p, the level of HIS4 transcription is not directly related to the level of recombination. We find that the recombination-stimulating activity of Rap1p requires the transcription activation domain of the protein. We show that a hybrid protein with the Gal4p DNA-binding domain and the Rap1p activation domain can stimulate recombination in a strain in which Gal4p-binding sites are inserted upstream of HIS4. In addition, we find recombination hotspot activity associated with the Gal4p DNA-binding sites that is independent of known transcription factors. We suggest that yeast cells have two types of recombination hotspots, alpha (transcription factor dependent) and beta (transcription factor independent).
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Curriculum in Genetics and Molecular Biology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599-3280, USA.
authors.forename: D T
authors.initials: DT
authors.lastname: Kirkpatrick
authors.forename: Q
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Fan
authors.forename: T D
authors.initials: TD
authors.lastname: Petes
mesh_terms: D000199:Actins / Q000378:metabolism; D000429:Alcohol Oxidoreductases; D000619:Aminohydrolases; D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins; D004171:Diploidy; D005656:Fungal Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D016336:Gene Products, vpr / Q000502:physiology*; D006238:Haploidy; D008540:Meiosis / Q000502:physiology*; D018598:Minisatellite Repeats; D008954:Models, Biological; D008957:Models, Genetic; D010957:Plasmids; D011755:Pyrophosphatases; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins; D011995:Recombination, Genetic; D012441:Saccharomyces cerevisiae / Q000235:genetics; D029701:Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: C098619:AAC1 protein, Arabidopsis; D000199:Actins; D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins; D005656:Fungal Proteins; D016336:Gene Products, vpr; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins; D029701:Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins; D014157:Transcription Factors; D000429:Alcohol Oxidoreductases; C092116:HIS4 protein, S cerevisiae; D000619:Aminohydrolases; D011755:Pyrophosphatases