Fate of <i>mat1</i> DNA strands during mating‐type switching in fission yeast

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  • Benoit Arcangioli
    Unité des Virus Oncogènes, URA 1644 du CNRS, Département des Biotechnologies, Institut Pasteur 25 rue du Dr Roux 75724 Paris cedex 15 France

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Description

<jats:p>The mating‐type switching of the fission yeast, <jats:italic>Schizosaccharomyces pombe</jats:italic>, is highly regulated. Two consecutive asymmetric divisions are required to produce one mating‐type switched cell among the four progeny. Using DNA density‐gradient centrifugation we demonstrate that one‐fourth of the <jats:italic>mat1</jats:italic> DNA is not replicated by the conventional semi‐conservative mode, but instead both DNA strands are synthesized <jats:italic>de novo</jats:italic>. Our data are consistent with a gene conversion event, initiated by a site‐ and strand‐specific DNA break (SSB). We further demonstrate that the virgin switched <jats:italic>mat1</jats:italic>‐containing chromatid no longer contained the nick, while it is reintroduced during the lagging strand synthesis of the <jats:italic>mat1</jats:italic> locus on the sister chromatid. This finding establishes at the molecular level a firm experimental link between the phenotype and genotype in the process of asymmetric mating‐type switching during mitotic divisions.</jats:p>

Journal

  • EMBO reports

    EMBO reports 1 (2), 145-150, 2000-08

    Springer Science and Business Media LLC

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