Effect of chromosome tethering on nuclear organization in yeast

Interphase chromosomes in Saccharomyces cerevisiae are tethered to the nuclear envelope at their telomeres and to the spindle pole body (SPB) at their centromeres. Using a polymer model of yeast chromosomes that includes these interactions, we show theoretically that telomere attachment to the nucle...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:PloS one 2014-07, Vol.9 (7), p.e102474-e102474
Main Authors: Avşaroğlu, Barış, Bronk, Gabriel, Gordon-Messer, Susannah, Ham, Jungoh, Bressan, Debra A, Haber, James E, Kondev, Jane
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Analysis
Baking yeast
Biology
Biology and Life Sciences
Cell cycle
Cell Nucleus - metabolism
Cell Nucleus - ultrastructure
Centromeres
Chromosome 3
Chromosome III
Chromosomes
Chromosomes, Fungal - metabolism
Chromosomes, Fungal - ultrastructure
Deoxyribonucleic acid
DNA
Gene expression
Genetic research
Genetics
Genomes
Interphase
Models, Biological
Nuclear Envelope - metabolism
Nuclear Envelope - ultrastructure
Nuclei
Physics
Polymers
Predictions
Probability distribution
Proteins
Recombination
Ribosomal DNA
Saccharomyces cerevisiae
Saccharomyces cerevisiae - genetics
Saccharomyces cerevisiae - ultrastructure
Spindle Apparatus - metabolism
Spindle Apparatus - ultrastructure
Telomerase
Telomere - metabolism
Telomere - ultrastructure
Telomeres
Tethering
Yeast
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Summary:Interphase chromosomes in Saccharomyces cerevisiae are tethered to the nuclear envelope at their telomeres and to the spindle pole body (SPB) at their centromeres. Using a polymer model of yeast chromosomes that includes these interactions, we show theoretically that telomere attachment to the nuclear envelope is a major determinant of gene positioning within the nucleus only for genes within 10 kb of the telomeres. We test this prediction by measuring the distance between the SPB and the silent mating locus (HML) on chromosome III in wild-type and mutant yeast strains that contain altered chromosome-tethering interactions. In wild-type yeast cells we find that disruption of the telomere tether does not dramatically change the position of HML with respect to the SPB, in agreement with theoretical predictions. Alternatively, using a mutant strain with a synthetic tether that localizes an HML-proximal site to the nuclear envelope, we find a significant change in the SPB-HML distance, again as predicted by theory. Our study quantifies the importance of tethering at telomeres on the organization of interphase chromosomes in yeast, which has been shown to play a significant role in determining chromosome function such as gene expression and recombination.
ISSN:1932-6203
1932-6203
DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0102474