title: New insights into prion biology from the novel [SWI+] system.
abstract: Our laboratory recently reported a novel prion [SWI+], in the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. [SWI+] is the prion form of Swi1, a component of the SWI/SNF chromatin-remodeling complex. Cells harboring [SWI+] exhibit a partial loss-of-function phenotype for SWI/SNF, which can be easily assayed by poor growth on some non-fermentable carbon sources such as raffinose.Swi1 is unique among yeast prion proteins for its nuclear localization and the fact that it comprises part of a large, multi-subunit protein complex. The discovery of [SWI+] demonstrates for the first time a link between prion function and chromatin remodeling,implying a possible role for prions in gene regulation. We believe that the unique features of this novel yeast prion will provide new insight into prion biology.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Pharmacology and Biological Chemistry, The Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois 60611, USA.
authors.forename: Emily
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Crow
authors.forename: Zhiqiang
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Du
authors.forename: Liming
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Li
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D042002:Chromatin Assembly and Disassembly / Q000235:genetics; D015966:Gene Expression Regulation, Fungal / Q000235:genetics; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D011328:Prions / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D012441:Saccharomyces cerevisiae / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D011328:Prions