New insights into prion biology from the novel [SWI+] system.

Emily Crow*, Zhiqiang Du, Liming Li

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

10 Scopus citations

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 languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)141-144
Number of pages4
JournalPrion
Volume2
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - Oct 2008

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Infectious Diseases
  • Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience
  • Biochemistry
  • Cell Biology

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