title: Structural definition is important for the propagation of the yeast [PSI+] prion.
abstract: Prions are propagated in Saccharomyces cerevisiae with remarkable efficiency, yet we know little about the structural basis of sequence variations in the prion protein that support or prohibit propagation of the prion conformation. We show that certain single-amino-acid substitutions in the prion protein Sup35 impact negatively on the maintenance of the associated prion-based [PSI(+)] trait by combining in vivo phenotypic analysis with solution NMR structural studies. A clear correlation is observed between mutationally induced conformational differences in one of the oligopeptide repeats (R2) in the N terminus of Sup35 and the relative ability to propagate [PSI(+)]. Strikingly, substitution of one of a Gly-Gly pair with highly charged residues that significantly increase structural definition of R2 lead to a severe [PSI(+)] propagation defect. These findings offer a molecular explanation for the dominant-negative effects of such psi-no-more (PNM) mutations and demonstrate directly the importance of localized structural definition in prion propagation.
authors.affiliation: Kent Fungal Group, School of Biosciences, University of Kent, Canterbury, Kent CT2 7NJ, UK.
authors.forename: Ricardo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Marchante
authors.forename: Michelle
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rowe
authors.forename: Jo
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zenthon
authors.forename: Mark J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Howard
authors.forename: Mick F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Tuite
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D019943:Amino Acid Substitution; D017124:Conserved Sequence; D004591:Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel; D009154:Mutation; D019906:Nuclear Magnetic Resonance, Biomolecular; D010454:Peptide Termination Factors / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D010641:Phenotype; D012441:Saccharomyces cerevisiae / Q000502:physiology*; D029701:Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D014443:Tyrosine / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D010454:Peptide Termination Factors; C068068:SUP35 protein, S cerevisiae; D029701:Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins; D014443:Tyrosine