Structure and assembly of the Nup84p complex.

The Nup84p complex consists of five nucleoporins (Nup84p, Nup85p, Nup120p, Nup145p-C, and Seh1p) and Sec13p, a bona fide subunit of the COPII coat complex. We show that a pool of green fluorescent protein-tagged Sec13p localizes to the nuclear pores in vivo, and identify sec13 mutant alleles that are synthetically lethal with nup85Delta and affect the localization of a green fluorescent protein-Nup49p reporter protein. In the electron microscope, sec13 mutants exhibit structural defects in nuclear pore complex (NPC) and nuclear envelope organization. For the assembly of the complex, Nup85p, Nup120p, and Nup145p-C are essential. A highly purified Nup84p complex was isolated from yeast under native conditions and its molecular mass was determined to be 375 kD by quantitative scanning transmission electron microscopy and analytical ultracentrifugation, consistent with a monomeric complex. Furthermore, the Nup84p complex exhibits a Y-shaped, triskelion-like morphology 25 nm in diameter in the transmission electron microscope. Thus, the Nup84p complex constitutes a paradigm of an NPC structural module with distinct composition, structure, and a role in nuclear mRNA export and NPC bio- genesis.

A novel complex of membrane proteins required for formation of a spherical nucleus.

Two membrane proteins were identified through their genetic interaction with the nucleoporin Nup84p and shown to participate in nuclear envelope morphogenesis in yeast. One component is a known sporulation factor Spo7p, and the other, Nem1p, a novel protein whose C-terminal domain is conserved during eukaryotic evolution. Spo7p and Nem1p localize to the nuclear/ER membrane and behave biochemically as integral membrane proteins. Nem1p binds to Spo7p via its conserved C-terminal domain. Although cells without Spo7p or Nem1p are viable, they exhibit a drastically altered nuclear morphology with long, pore-containing double nuclear membrane extensions. These protrusions emanate from a core nucleus which contains the DNA, and penetrate deeply into the cytoplasm. Interestingly, not only Spo7(-) and Nem1(-), but also several nucleoporin mutants are defective in sporulation. Thus, Spo7p and Nem1p, which exhibit a strong genetic link to nucleoporins of the Nup84p complex, fulfil an essential role in formation of a spherical nucleus and meiotic division.

Nuclear mRNA export requires complex formation between Mex67p and Mtr2p at the nuclear pores.

We have identified between Mex67p and Mtr2p a complex which is essential for mRNA export. This complex, either isolated from yeast or assembled in Escherichia coli, can bind in vitro to RNA through Mex67p. In vivo, Mex67p requires Mtr2p for association with the nuclear pores, which can be abolished by mutating either MEX67 or MTR2. In all cases, detachment of Mex67p from the pores into the cytoplasm correlates with a strong inhibition of mRNA export. At the nuclear pores, Nup85p represents one of the targets with which the Mex67p-Mtr2p complex interacts. Thus, Mex67p and Mtr2p constitute a novel mRNA export complex which can bind to RNA via Mex67p and which interacts with nuclear pores via Mtr2p.

The yeast HRS1 gene encodes a polyglutamine-rich nuclear protein required for spontaneous and hpr1-induced deletions between direct repeats.

The hrs1-1 mutation was isolated as an extragenic suppressor of the hyperrecombination phenotype of hpr1 delta cells. We have cloned, sequenced and deleted from the genome the HRS1 gene. The DNA sequence of the HRS1 gene reveals that it is identical to PGD1, a gene with no reported function, and that the Hrs1p protein contains polyglutamine stretches typically found in transcription factors. We have purified a His(6) tagged version of Hrs1p protein from E. coli and have obtained specific anti-Hrs1p polyclonal antibodies. We show that Hrs1p is a 49-kD nuclear protein, as determined by indirect immunofluorescence microscopy and Western blot analysis. The hrs1 delta null mutation reduces the frequency of deletions in wild-type and hpr1 delta backgrounds sevenfold below wild-type and rad52 levels. Furthermore, hrs1 delta cells show reduced induction of the GAL1,10 promoter relative to wild-type cells. Our results suggest that Hrs1p is required for the formation of deletions between direct repeats and that it may function in gene expression. This suggests a connection between gene expression and direct repeat recombination. In this context, we discuss the possible roles of Hrs1p and Hpr1p in initiation of direct-repeat recombination.

Isolation and genetic analysis of extragenic suppressors of the hyper-deletion phenotype of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae hpr1 delta mutation.

The HPR1 gene of Saccharomyces cerevisiae is involved in maintaining low levels of deletions between DNA repeats. To understand how deletions initiate in the absence of the Hpr1 protein and the mechanisms of recombination leading to deletions in S. cerevisiae, we have isolated mutations as suppressors of the hyper-deletion phenotype of the hpr1 delta mutation. The mutations defined five different genes called HRS for hyper-recombination suppression. They suppress the hyper-deletion phenotype of hpr1 delta strains for three direct repeat systems tested. The mutations eliminated the hyper-deletion phenotype of hpr1 delta strains either completely (hrs1-1 and hrs2-1) or significantly (hrs3-1, hrs4-1 and hrs5-1). None of the mutations has a clear effect on the levels of spontaneous and double-strand break-induced deletions. Among other characteristics we have found are the following: (1) one mutation, hrs1-1, reduces the frequency of deletions in rad52-1 strains 20-fold, suggesting that the HRS1 gene is involved in the formation of RAD52-independent deletions; (2) the hrs2-1 hpr1 delta mutant is sensitive to methyl-methane-sulfonate and the single mutants hpr1 delta and hrs2-1 are resistant, which suggests that the HPR1 and HRS2 proteins may have redundant DNA repair functions; (3) the hrs4-1 mutation confers a hyper-mutator phenotype and (4) the phenotype of lack of activation of gene expression observed in hpr1 delta strains is only partially suppressed by the hrs2-1 mutation, which suggests that the possible functions of the Hpr1 protein in gene expression and recombination repair can be separated. We discuss the possible relationship between the HPR1 and the HRS genes and their involvement in initiation of the events responsible for deletion formation.

Increase in incidence of chromosome instability and non-conservative recombination between repeats in Saccharomyces cerevisiae hpr1 delta strains.

Null hpr1 delta strains show a large increase (up to 2000-fold) over wild type in the frequency of occurrence of deletions between direct repeats on three different chromosomes. However, we show that hpr1 delta mutations have little or no effect on reciprocal exchange, gene conversion or unequal sister chromatid exchange, as determined using intrachromosomal, interchromosomal and plasmid-chromosome assay systems. A novel intrachromosomal recombination system has allowed us to determine that over 95% of deletions in hpr1 delta strains do not occur by reciprocal exchange. On the other hand, hpr1 delta strains show chromosome loss frequencies of up to 100 times the wild-type level. Our results suggest that yeast cells have a very efficient non-conservative recombination mechanism, dependent on RAD1 and RAD52, that causes deletions between direct DNA repeats, and this mechanism is strongly stimulated in hpr1 delta strains. The results indicate that the Hpr1 protein is required for stability of DNA repeats and chromosomes. We propose that in the absence of the Hpr1 protein the cell destabilizes the genome by allowing the initiation of events that lead to deletions of sequences between repeats, and to chromosome instability. We discuss the roles that proteins such as Hpr1 have in maintaining direct repeats and in preventing non-conservative recombination and consider the importance of these functions for chromosome stability.