title: Conservation of a portion of the S. cerevisiae Ure2p prion domain that interacts with the full-length protein.
abstract: The [URE3] prion of Saccharomyces cerevisiae is a self-propagating inactive amyloid form of the Ure2 protein. Ure2p residues 1-65 constitute the prion domain, and the remaining C-terminal portion regulates nitrogen catabolism. We have examined the URE2 genes of wild-type isolates of S. cerevisiae and those of several pathogenic yeasts and a filamentous fungus. We find that the normal function of the S. cerevisiae Ure2p in nitrogen regulation is fully complemented by the Ure2p of Candida albicans, Candida glabrata, Candida kefyr, Candida maltosa, Saccharomyces bayanus, and Saccharomyces paradoxus, all of which have high homology in the C-terminal nitrogen regulation domain. However, there is considerable divergence of their N-terminal domains from that of Ure2p of S. cerevisiae. [URE3(Sc)] showed efficient transmission into S. cerevisiae ure2Delta cells if expressing a Ure2p of species within Saccharomyces. However, [URE3(Sc)] did not seed self-propagating inactivation of the Ure2p's from the other yeasts. When overexpressed as a fusion with green fluorescent protein, residues 5-47 of the S. cerevisiae prion domain are necessary for curing the [URE3] prion. Residues 11-39 are necessary for an inactivating interaction with the full-length Ure2p. A nearly identical region is highly conserved among many of the yeasts examined in this study, despite the wide divergence of sequences found in other parts of the N-terminal domains.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Biochemistry and Genetics, National Institute of Diabetes, Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892-0830, USA.
authors.forename: Herman K
authors.initials: HK
authors.lastname: Edskes
authors.forename: Reed B
authors.initials: RB
authors.lastname: Wickner
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001483:Base Sequence; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D017931:DNA Primers; D005816:Genetic Complementation Test; D005979:Glutathione Peroxidase; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D011328:Prions / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D011485:Protein Binding; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D012441:Saccharomyces cerevisiae / Q000378:metabolism*; D029701:Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D013045:Species Specificity
chemical_list: D017931:DNA Primers; D011328:Prions; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins; D029701:Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins; D005979:Glutathione Peroxidase; C067020:URE2 protein, S cerevisiae