Open AccessConstitutive transcription of the gene for metallothionein in a cadmium‐resistant yeast
Author(s) -
Tohoyama Hiroshi,
Inagawa Akira,
Koike Hiroko,
Inouhe Masahiro,
Joho Masanori,
Murayama Tetsuo
Publication year - 1992
Publication title -
fems microbiology letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.899
H-Index - 151
eISSN - 1574-6968
pISSN - 0378-1097
DOI - 10.1111/j.1574-6968.1992.tb05346.x
Subject(s) - metallothionein , cadmium , biology , transcription (linguistics) , gene , saccharomyces cerevisiae , gene expression , yeast , strain (injury) , microbiology and biotechnology , reporter gene , ploidy , biochemistry , chemistry , linguistics , philosophy , organic chemistry , anatomy
A cadmium‐resistant strain of Saccharomyces cerevisiae produces a cadmium metallothionein encoded by the CUP1 gene as does a copper‐resistant strain. The mechanism of expression of the gene is inducible by copper ions in the copper‐resistant strain. However, assays of CUP1 ‐specific mRNA revealed that the transcription of the CUP1 gene in the cadmium‐resistant strain is constitutive and the rate of transcription is further increased by exposure to cadmium or copper ions. This result was confirmed by the appearance of constitutive‐expression segregants from diploid crosses between the cadmium‐resistant strain and a strain with a reporter gene having the promoter of CUP1 .