Reference - PMID:9447985 - Novel factor highly conserved among eukaryotes controls sexual development in fission yeast.
Reference summary
- PubMed ID
- PMID:9447985
- Title
- Novel factor highly conserved among eukaryotes controls sexual development in fission yeast.
- Authors
- Okazaki N, Okazaki K, Watanabe Y, Kato-Hayashi M, Yamamoto M, Okayama H
- Citation
- Mol Cell Biol 1998 Feb;18(2):887-95
- Publication year
- 1998
- Abstract
- In the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe, the onset of sexual development is controlled mainly by two external signals, nutrient starvation and mating pheromone availability. We have isolated a novel gene named rcd1+ as a key factor required for nitrogen starvation-induced sexual development. rcd1+ encodes a 283-amino-acid protein with no particular motifs. However, genes highly homologous to rcd1+ (encoding amino acids with >70% identity) are present at least in budding yeasts, plants, nematodes, and humans. Cells with rcd1+ deleted are sterile if sexual development is induced by nitrogen starvation but fertile if it is induced by glucose starvation. This results largely from a defect in nitrogen starvation-invoked induction of ste11+, a key transcriptional factor gene required for the onset of sexual development. The striking conservation of the gene throughout eukaryotes may suggest the presence of an evolutionarily conserved differentiation controlling system.
