Rpd3L histone deacetylase complex subunit; key transcriptional regulator of early meiotic genes; involved in chromatin remodeling and transcriptional repression via DNA looping; binds URS1 upstream regulatory sequence, represses transcription by recruiting conserved histone deacetylase Rpd3p (through co-repressor Sin3p) and chromatin-remodeling factor Isw2p; couples metabolic responses to nutritional cues with initiation and progression of meiosis