Cookies on this website

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you click 'Accept all cookies' we'll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies and you won't see this message again. If you click 'Reject all non-essential cookies' only necessary cookies providing core functionality such as security, network management, and accessibility will be enabled. Click 'Find out more' for information on how to change your cookie settings.

Cell divisions that produce progeny differing in their patterns of gene expression are key to the development of multicellular organisms. In the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, mother cells but not daughter cells can switch mating type because they selectively express the HO endonuclease gene. This asymmetry is due to the preferential accumulation of an unstable transcriptional repressor protein, Ash1p, in daughter cell nuclei. Here it is shown that ASH1 messenger RNA (mRNA) preferentially accumulates in daughter cells by a process that is dependent on actin and myosin. A cis-acting element in the 3'-untranslated region of ASH1 mRNA is sufficient to localize a chimeric RNA to daughter cells. These results suggest that localization of mRNA may have been an early property of the eukaryotic lineage.

Type

Journal article

Journal

Science

Publication Date

18/07/1997

Volume

277

Pages

383 - 387

Keywords

Actins, Cell Cycle, Cell Nucleus, DNA-Binding Proteins, Deoxyribonucleases, Type II Site-Specific, Fungal Proteins, Genes, Fungal, Genes, Mating Type, Fungal, In Situ Hybridization, Fluorescence, Microtubules, Mutation, Myosin Heavy Chains, Myosin Type V, Myosins, RNA, Fungal, RNA, Messenger, Repressor Proteins, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins, Transcription Factors, Transformation, Genetic, Tropomyosin, Zinc Fingers