title: Possible regulatory function of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae Ty1 retrotransposon core protein.
abstract: The yeast Ty1 retrotransposon encodes proteins and RNA that assemble into virus-like particles (VLPs) as part of the life cycle of the retro-element. The Tya protein, which is equivalent to the retroviral Gag, is the major structural component of these particles. In this work, we demonstrate that Tya proteins fulfil other functions apart from their structural role. We show that Tya interacts in vitro with the Ty1 RNA domain required for RNA packaging, suggesting that this RNA-protein interaction may direct the packaging process. Furthermore, the overexpression of both Tya proteins, i.e. p1, the primary translation product, and p2, the mature form, increases endogenous Ty1 RNA levels in trans without increasing translation significantly. These observations suggest that Tya may exert a regulatory function during transposition. Interestingly, however, only p2, the mature form of Tya, trans-activates transposition of a marked genomic Ty element. This confirms that processing is required for transposition.
authors.affiliation: Retrovirus Molecular Biology Group, Department of Biochemistry, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3QU, UK.
authors.forename: J F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Roth
authors.forename: S M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Kingsman
authors.forename: A J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Kingsman
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Martin-Rendon
mesh_terms: D005656:Fungal Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D015966:Gene Expression Regulation, Fungal; D015683:Gene Products, gag / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D012331:RNA, Fungal / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D011995:Recombination, Genetic; D018626:Retroelements; D012441:Saccharomyces cerevisiae / Q000235:genetics*; D015534:Trans-Activators; D014771:Virion / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D005656:Fungal Proteins; D015683:Gene Products, gag; D012331:RNA, Fungal; D018626:Retroelements; D015534:Trans-Activators; C094737:p1 protein, yeast