IDENTIFICATION OF A FISSION YEAST DYNAMIN-RELATED PROTEIN INVOLVED INMITOCHONDRIAL-DNA MAINTENANCE

Members of the dynamin-related proteins family have been identified in a wide range of organisms, however their precise functions remain elu sive. We have identified a new member of that GTPase family in the fis sion yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe. We show that Msp1(+) is an essen tial nuclear gene encoding a 101 kDa protein whose closest homologue i s the S. cerevisiae MGM1 gene product. We also report that msp1 condit ional loss of function affects the maintenance of mitochondrial DNA an d leads to growth arrest associated with respiratory deficiency. (C) 1 998 Academic Press.