SGD Paper 
Taylor SD, et al. (2005) The conserved Mec1/Rad53 nuclear checkpoint pathway regulates mitochondrial DNA copy number in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Mol Biol Cell 16(6):3010-8
Abstract: Monitoring Editor: Thomas Fox How mtDNA copy number is determined and modulated according to energetic demands is largely unknown. Our previous investigations of the related DNA helicases Pif1p and Rrm3p uncovered a role for the conserved Mec1/Rad53 nuclear checkpoint pathway in mtDNA mutagenesis and stability in S. cerevisiae. Here we demonstrate another novel function of this pathway in the regulation of mtDNA copy number. Deletion of RRM3 or SML1, or overexpression of RNR1, which recapitulate Mec1/Rad53 pathway activation, resulted in a approximately twofold increase of mtDNA content in otherwise wild-type yeast strains. In addition, deletion of RRM3 or SML1 fully rescued the approximately 50% depletion of mtDNA observed in a pif1 null strain. Furthermore, deletion of SML1 was shown to be epistatic to both a rad53 and an rrm3 null mutation, placing these three genes in the same genetic pathway of mtDNA copy number regulation. Finally, increased mtDNA copy number via the Mec1/Rad53 pathway could occur independently of Abf2p, a mtDNA-binding protein that, like its metazoan homologues, is implicated in mtDNA copy number control. Altogether, these results indicate that signaling through the Mec1/Rad53 pathway increases mtDNA copy number by altering deoxyribonucleoside triphosphate pools through the activity of ribonucleotide reductase. This comprises the first linkage of a conserved signaling pathway to the regulation of mitochondrial genome copy number and suggests that homologous pathways in humans may likewise regulate mtDNA content under physiological conditions.
| Status: Published | Type: Journal Article | PubMed ID: 15829566 |
Topics addressed in this paper
Number of different genes curated to this paper: 6
- To find other papers on a gene and topic, click on the colored ball in the appropriate box.
- displays other papers with information about that topic for that gene.
- displays other papers in SGD that are associated with that topic.
The topic is addressed in these papers but does not describe a specific gene or chromosomal feature.
- To go to the Locus page for a gene, click on the gene name.
