A Systematic Mutational Analysis of a Histone H3 Residue in Budding Yeast Provides Insights into Chromatin Dynamics

摘要

In previous work using the Saccharomyces cerevisiae model system, a mutant version of —H3-L61W—was found to confer a variety of abnormal growth phenotypes and defects in specific aspects of the transcription process, including a pronounced alteration in the distribution pattern of the transcription elongation factor across transcribed genes and promotion of cryptic transcription initiation within the gene. To gain insights into the contribution of the H3-L61 residue to chromatin function, we have generated yeast strains expressing versions of harboring all possible natural amino acid substitutions at position 61 (H3-L61X mutants) and tested them in a series of assays. We found that whereas 16 of the 19 H3-L61X mutants support viability when expressed as the sole source of in cells, all 19 confer abnormal phenotypes ranging from very mild to severe, a finding that might in part explain the high degree of conservation of the H3-L61 residue among eukaryotes. An examination of the strength of the defects conferred by each H3-L61X mutant and the nature of the corresponding substituted residue provides insights into structural features of the nucleosome required for proper −gene interactions and for prevention of cryptic transcription initiation events. Finally, we provide evidence that the defects imparted by H3-L61X mutants on −gene interactions and on repression of intragenic transcription initiation are mechanistically related to each other.