RNA interference is required for normal centromere function in fission yeast

Volpe, T., Schramke, V., Hamilton, G. L., White, S. A., Teng, G., Martienssen, R. A., Allshire, R. C. (2003) RNA interference is required for normal centromere function in fission yeast. Chromosome research : an international journal on the molecular, supramolecular and evolutionary aspects of chromosome biology, 11 (2). pp. 137-46. ISSN 0967-3849 (Print)0967-3849 (Linking)

URL: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12733640
DOI: 10.1023/A:1022815931524

Abstract

In plants, animals and fungi, active centromeres are associated with arrays of repetitive DNA sequences. The outer repeats at fission yeast (Schizosaccharomyces pombe) centromeres are heterochromatic and are required for the assembly of an active centromere. Components of the RNA interference (RNAi) machinery process transcripts derived from these repeats and mediate the formation of silent chromatin. A subfragment of the repeat (dg) is known to induce silencing of marker genes at euchromatic sites and is required for centromere formation. We show that the RNAi components, Argonaute (Ago1), Dicer (Dcr1) and RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (Rdp1), are required to maintain silencing, lysine 9 methylation of histone H3 and association of Swi6 via this dg ectopic silencer. Deletion of Ago1, Dcr1 or Rdp1 disrupts chromosome segregation leading to a high incidence of lagging chromosomes on late anaphase spindles and sensitivity to a microtubule poison. Analysis of dg transcription indicates that csp mutants, previously shown to abrogate centromere silencing and chromosome segregation, are also defective in the regulation of non-coding centromeric RNAs. In addition, histone H3 lysine 9 methylation at, and recruitment of Swi6 and cohesin to, centromeric repeats is disrupted in these mutants. Thus the formation of silent chromatin on dg repeats and the development of a fully functional centromere is dependent on RNAi.

Item Type: Paper
Uncontrolled Keywords: Centromere genetics physiology Chromosomal Proteins Non-Histone chemistry Chromosome Segregation DNA Methylation Fluorescent Dyes Gene Expression Profiling Gene Silencing Histones chemistry Indoles Kinetochores Precipitin Tests RNA Interference Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction Schizosaccharomyces genetics Schizosaccharomyces pombe Proteins chemistry Terminal Repeat Sequences
Subjects: bioinformatics > genomics and proteomics > genetics & nucleic acid processing > DNA, RNA structure, function, modification
bioinformatics > genomics and proteomics > genetics & nucleic acid processing
bioinformatics > genomics and proteomics > genetics & nucleic acid processing > DNA, RNA structure, function, modification > RNAi
bioinformatics > genomics and proteomics > genetics & nucleic acid processing > DNA, RNA structure, function, modification > chromosome > centromere
bioinformatics > genomics and proteomics > genetics & nucleic acid processing > DNA, RNA structure, function, modification > chromosomes, structure and function > chromosome > centromere
bioinformatics > genomics and proteomics > genetics & nucleic acid processing > DNA, RNA structure, function, modification > chromosome
bioinformatics > genomics and proteomics > genetics & nucleic acid processing > DNA, RNA structure, function, modification > chromosomes, structure and function > chromosome
organism description > yeast
CSHL Authors:
Communities: CSHL labs > Martienssen lab
Depositing User: Matt Covey
Date: 2003
Date Deposited: 26 Jun 2013 19:56
Last Modified: 26 Jun 2013 19:56
Related URLs:
URI: https://repository.cshl.edu/id/eprint/27923

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