Abstract
Our laboratory recently reported a novel prion [SWI+], in the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. [SWI+] is the prion form of Swi1, a component of the SWI/SNF chromatin-remodeling complex. Cells harboring [SWI+] exhibit a partial loss-of-function phenotype for SWI/SNF, which can be easily assayed by poor growth on some non-fermentable carbon sources such as raffinose.Swi1 is unique among yeast prion proteins for its nuclear localization and the fact that it comprises part of a large, multi-subunit protein complex. The discovery of [SWI+] demonstrates for the first time a link between prion function and chromatin remodeling,implying a possible role for prions in gene regulation. We believe that the unique features of this novel yeast prion will provide new insight into prion biology.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 141-144 |
Number of pages | 4 |
Journal | Prion |
Volume | 2 |
Issue number | 4 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Oct 2008 |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Infectious Diseases
- Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience
- Biochemistry
- Cell Biology