The fission yeast copper-sensing transcription factor Cuf1 regulates the copper transporter gene expression through an Ace1/Amt1-like recognition sequence
J. Beaudoin et S. Labbe, The fission yeast copper-sensing transcription factor Cuf1 regulates the copper transporter gene expression through an Ace1/Amt1-like recognition sequence, J BIOL CHEM, 276(18), 2001, pp. 15472-15480
Transcriptional regulation of genes encoding critical components of copper
transport is essential for copper homeostasis and growth in yeast. Analysis
of regulatory regions in the promoter of the ctr4(+) copper transporter ge
ne in fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe reveals the identity of a con
served copper-signaling element (CuSE), which is recognized by the transcri
ption factor Cuf1. We demonstrate that CuSE is necessary for transcriptiona
l activation in response to copper deprivation conditions. Interestingly, t
he CuSE element bears a strong sequence similarity to the recognition site,
denoted MRE (metal regulatory element), which is recognized by a distinct
class of copper sensors required for copper detoxification, including Ace1
from Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Amt1 from Candida glabrata. When a consen
sus MRE from S. cerevisiae is introduced into S. pombe, transcription is in
duced by copper deprivation in a Cuf1-dependent manner, similar to regulati
on by Mad, the nuclear sensor for regulating the expression of genes encodi
ng components involved in copper transport in S. cerevisiae. UV-cross-linki
ng experiments show that the Cuf1 protein directly binds the CuSE. These re
sults demonstrate that the Cuf1 nutritional copper-sensing factor possesses
a module that functions similarly to domains found in the Ace1/Amt1 class
of metalloregulatory factors, which allows the protein to act through a clo
sely related MRE-like sequence to regulate copper transport gene expression
in S. pombe.