RESUMEN
This report describes experiments designed to demonstrate the suitability of the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe as a host for antisense RNA regulation. A lacZ gene-expressing yeast strain was constructed and used as a host for the expression of a series of antisense RNAs complementary to various regions of the target lacZ mRNA. All lacZ antisense genes were placed under control of the thiamine-repressible nmt1 promoter of S. pombe and expressed from episomal plasmids. For each antisense plasmid a corresponding sense control plasmid was constructed. All lacZ antisense genes were shown to express antisense RNAs of the expected size at equivalent steady-state levels. beta-Galactosidase activity in transformed cells expressing the long, short 5' or short 3' lacZ antisense RNAs was shown to be reduced by 45%, 20%, and 10%, respectively, relative to control transformants. Further experiments indicated that antisense RNA regulation in this system was conditional and reversible, with the observed reduction of beta-galactosidase activity being dependent on the transcription of lacZ antisense RNA. Our results represent the first successful example of antisense RNA regulation of gene expression in yeast and establish S. pombe as an experimental model for the biochemical analysis of antisense RNA regulation.
Asunto(s)
Escherichia coli/genética , Regulación Fúngica de la Expresión Génica , Genes Bacterianos , ARN sin Sentido/genética , Proteínas de Schizosaccharomyces pombe , Schizosaccharomyces/genética , Secuencia de Bases , Proteínas Fúngicas/genética , Datos de Secuencia Molecular , Fenotipo , Plásmidos/genética , Regiones Promotoras Genéticas , ARN sin Sentido/biosíntesis , ARN sin Sentido/farmacología , Schizosaccharomyces/efectos de los fármacos , Schizosaccharomyces/enzimología , Transcripción Genética , Transformación Genética , beta-Galactosidasa/antagonistas & inhibidores , beta-Galactosidasa/genética , beta-Galactosidasa/metabolismoRESUMEN
In this report, we have compared the physical properties and actin-binding characteristics of several bacterially produced nonmuscle and striated muscle tropomyosins, and we have examined the effects of these isoforms on the interactions of actin with two structurally distinct classes of myosin: striated muscle myosin-II and brush border (BB) myosin-I. All of the bacterially produced nonmuscle tropomyosins bind to F-actin with the expected stoichiometry and with affinities comparable to that of a tissue produced alpha-tropomyosin, although the striated muscle tropomyosin CTm7 has a lower affinity for F-actin than a tissue-purified striated muscle alpha tropomyosin. The bacterially produced isoforms also protect F-actin from severing by villin as effectively as tissue-purified striated muscle alpha-tropomyosin. The bacterially produced 284 amino acid striated muscle tropomyosin isoform CTm7, the 284 amino acid nonmuscle tropomyosin isoform CTm4, and two chimeric tropomyosins (CTm47 and CTm74) all inhibit the actin-activated MgATPase activity of muscle myosin S1 by approximately 70-85%, comparable to the inhibition seen with tissue-purified striated muscle alpha tropomyosin. The 248 amino acid tropomyosin XTm4 stimulated the actin-activated MgATPase activity of muscle myosin S1 approximately two- to threefold. The in vitro sliding of actin filaments translocated by muscle myosin-II (2.4 microns/sec at 19 degrees C, 5.0 microns/s at 24 degrees C) increased 25-65% in the presence of XTm4. Tropomyosins CTm4, CTm7, CTm47, and CTm74 had no detectable effect on myosin-II motility. The actin-activated MgATPase activity of BB myosin-I was inhibited 75-90% by all of the tropomyosin isoforms tested, including the 248 amino acid tropomyosin XTm4. BB myosin-I motility (50 nm/s) was completely inhibited by both the 248 and 284 amino acid tropomyosins. These results demonstrate that bacterially produced tropomyosins can differentially regulate myosin enzymology and mechanochemistry, and suggest a role for tropomyosin in the coordinated regulation of myosin isoforms in vivo.