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Molecular and Cellular Biology, January 1999, p. 882-888, Vol. 19, No. 1
0270-7306/99/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1999, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

Activation of Transcription by Metabolic Intermediates of the Pyrimidine Biosynthetic Pathway

Paul J. Flynn and Richard J. Reece*

School of Biological Sciences, The University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PT, United Kingdom

Received 25 August 1998/Returned for modification 1 October 1998/Accepted 19 October 1998

Saccharomyces cerevisiae responds to pyrimidine starvation by increasing the expression of four URA genes, encoding the enzymes of de novo pyrimidine biosynthesis, three- to eightfold. The increase in gene expression is dependent on a transcriptional activator protein, Ppr1p. Here, we investigate the mechanism by which the transcriptional activity of Ppr1p responds to the level of pyrimidine biosynthetic intermediates. We find that purified Ppr1p is unable to promote activation of transcription in an in vitro system. Transcriptional activation by Ppr1p can be observed, however, if either dihydroorotic acid (DHO) or orotic acid (OA) is included in the transcription reactions. The transcriptional activation function and the DHO/OA-responsive element of Ppr1p localize to the carboxyl-terminal 134 amino acids of the protein. Thus, Ppr1p directly senses the level of early pyrimidine biosynthetic intermediates within the cell and activates the expression of genes encoding proteins required later in the pathway. These results are discussed in terms of (i) regulation of the pyrimidine biosynthetic pathway and (ii) a novel mechanism of regulating gene expression.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: School of Biological Sciences, The University of Manchester, 2.205 Stopford Building, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PT, United Kingdom. Phone: 44-161-275-5317. Fax: 44-161-275-5082. E-mail: Richard.Reece{at}man.ac.uk.

Molecular and Cellular Biology, January 1999, p. 882-888, Vol. 19, No. 1
0270-7306/99/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1999, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.


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