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PLoS One

Title:		"The fission yeast GATA factor, Gaf1, modulates sexual development via direct down-regulation of ste11+ expression in response to nitrogen starvation"
Author(s):		Kim L; Hoe KL; Yu YM; Yeon JH; Maeng PJ;
Address:		"Department of Microbiology and Molecular Biology, Chungnam National University, Daejeon, Korea"
Journal Title:		PLoS One
Year:		2012
Volume:		20120810
Issue:		8
Page Number:		e42409 -
DOI:		10.1371/journal.pone.0042409
ISSN/ISBN:		1932-6203 (Electronic) 1932-6203 (Linking)
Abstract:		"Gaf1 is the first GATA family zinc-finger transcription factor identified in Schizosaccharomyces pombe. Here, we report that Gaf1 functions as a negatively acting transcription factor of ste11(+), delaying the entrance of cells exposed to transient nitrogen starvation into the meiotic cycle. gaf1Delta strains exhibited accelerated G(1)-arrest upon nitrogen starvation. Moreover, gaf1Delta mutation caused increased mating and sporulation frequency under both nitrogen-starved and unstarved conditions, while overexpression of gaf1(+) led to a significant impairment of sporulation. By microarray analysis, we found that approximately 63% (116 genes) of the 183 genes up-regulated in unstarved gaf1Delta cells were nitrogen starvation-responsive genes, and furthermore that 25 genes among the genes up-regulated by gaf1Delta mutation are Ste11 targets (e.g., gpa1(+), ste4(+), spk1(+), ste11(+), and mei2(+)). The phenotype caused by gaf1Delta mutation was masked by ste11Delta mutation, indicating that ste11(+) is epistatic to gaf1(+) with respect to sporulation efficiency, and accordingly that gaf1(+) functions upstream of ste11(+) in the signaling pathway governing sexual development. gaf1Delta strains showed accelerated ste11(+) expression under nitrogen starvation and increased ste11(+) expression even under normal conditions. Electrophoretic mobility shift assay analysis demonstrated that Gaf1 specifically binds to the canonical GATA motif (5'-HGATAR-3') spanning from -371 to -366 in ste11(+) promoter. Consequently, Gaf1 provides the prime example for negative regulation of ste11(+) transcription through direct binding to a cis-acting motif of its promoter"
Keywords:		"Base Sequence Binding Sites/genetics Down-Regulation Epistasis, Genetic G1 Phase Cell Cycle Checkpoints/genetics GATA Transcription Factors/*metabolism Gene Deletion Gene Expression Profiling *Gene Expression Regulation, Fungal Mutation Nitrogen/*metaboli;"
Notes:		"MedlineKim, Lila Hoe, Kwang-Lae Yu, Yeong Man Yeon, Ji-Hyun Maeng, Pil Jae eng Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't 2012/08/18 PLoS One. 2012; 7(8):e42409. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0042409. Epub 2012 Aug 10"