ACR1, a yeast ATF/CREB repressor

Mol Cell Biol. 1992 Dec;12(12):5394-405. doi: 10.1128/mcb.12.12.5394-5405.1992.

Abstract

Members of the mammalian ATF/CREB family of transcription factors, which are associated with regulation by cyclic AMP and viral oncogenes, bind common DNA sequences (consensus TGACGTCA) via a bZIP domain. In the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, ATF/CREB-like sequences confer either repression or activation of transcription, depending on the promoter context. By isolating mutations that alleviate the repression mediated by ATF/CREB sites, we define a new yeast gene, ACR1, which encodes an ATF/CREB transcriptional repressor. ACR1 contains a bZIP domain that is necessary for homodimer formation and specific DNA binding to an ATF/CREB site. Within the bZIP domain, ACR1 most strongly resembles the mammalian cyclic AMP-responsive transcriptional regulators CREB and CREM; it is less similar to GCN4 and YAP1, two previously described yeast bZIP transcriptional activators that recognize the related AP-1 sequence (consensus TGACTCA). Interestingly, deletion of the ACR1 gene causes increased transcription through ATF/CREB sites that does not depend on GCN4 or YAP1. Moreover, extracts from acr1 deletion strains contain one or more ATF/CREB-like DNA-binding activities. These genetic and biochemical observations suggest that S. cerevisiae contains a family of ATF/CREB proteins that function as transcriptional repressors or activators.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Amino Acid Sequence
  • Base Sequence
  • Basic-Leucine Zipper Transcription Factors
  • Cloning, Molecular
  • Cyclic AMP Response Element-Binding Protein / genetics
  • Cyclic AMP Response Element-Binding Protein / metabolism*
  • DNA, Fungal
  • DNA-Binding Proteins / genetics*
  • DNA-Binding Proteins / metabolism
  • Genes, Fungal
  • Genes, Regulator*
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Mutagenesis
  • Repressor Proteins / genetics*
  • Repressor Proteins / metabolism
  • Restriction Mapping
  • Saccharomyces cerevisiae / genetics
  • Saccharomyces cerevisiae / metabolism*
  • Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins*
  • Sequence Homology, Amino Acid
  • Transcription, Genetic

Substances

  • Basic-Leucine Zipper Transcription Factors
  • Cyclic AMP Response Element-Binding Protein
  • DNA, Fungal
  • DNA-Binding Proteins
  • Repressor Proteins
  • SKO1 protein, S cerevisiae
  • Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins