Yeast as a model to study palindromic gene amplification.
Anne J. Welcker, Alison J. Rattray, Brenda K. Shafer, Jeffrey N. Strathern
GRCBL, NCI-FCRDC, PO Box B, Frederick, MD, 21702, USA
We are using yeast as a model system to study the mechanisms of DNA double-strand break (DSB) repair. We have developed a substrate, integrated in chromosome III, that allows us to monitor the repair of a site-specific DSB. This substrate consists of an 'head-to-head' inverted repeat of truncated but overlapping sequences (each about 400bp long), separated by 3 different selectable markers, representing about 4.6 kb of unrelated DNA ( -> {DSB} A B C <- ). While looking for mutants affecting the repair of DSBs, we uncovered a mutant background where the repair event gave rise to a certain class of genomic rearrangements. Physical analysis of these events showed they are gene amplification, with a palindromic structure, at least 5 kb long ( -> C B a a B C <- ). We are currently analyzing the genetic requirements for palindrome formation and maintenance.
Return to YGM 2004 Home at SGD