Coordinate expression of ribosomal protein genes in yeast as a function of cellular growth rate

Abstract

The rate of ribosome formation in yeast is precisely adjusted to the physiological demands of the cell. During all growth conditions a balance is maintained in the production of all ribosomal constituents. Coordinate expression of the ribosomal protein (rp) genes is primarily accomplished at the transcriptional level. Transcription activation of the majority of the rp-genes is mediated through common upstream activating sequences, so-called RPG boxes, which occur usually in a tandem at a distance of 200-500 bp from the start codon. These RPG-boxes represent binding sites for a transcriptional activator, called TUF or RAP. The concentration of TUF parallels the cellular growth rate and evidence exists that the response of rp-genes upon nutritional changes is mediated by this factor. Recent findings indicate that TUF/RAP also activates other gene families involved in cellular growth rate. Furthermore, this multifunctional protein also binds to the mating-type silencer and telomeres in yeast. Some other rp-genes (e.g. those encoding S33 and L45) do not contain an RPG-box. They appear to be activated by another multifunctional protein, called ABF1 or SUF, by binding to another nucleotide motif. This multifunctional protein also activates other gene families, and in addition binds to the mating type silencer and ARS-elements.