Mechanisms of sod2 gene amplification in Schizosaccharomyces pombe.

ABSTRACT: Gene amplification in eukaryotes plays an important role in drug resistance, tumorigenesis, and evolution. The Schizosaccharomyces pombe sod2 gene provides a useful model system to analyze this process. sod2 is near the telomere of chromosome I and encodes a plasma membrane Na(+)(Li(+))/H(+) antiporter. When sod2 is amplified, S. pombe survives otherwise lethal concentrations of LiCl, and >90% of the amplified sod2 genes are found in 180- and 225-kilobase (kb) linear amplicons. The sequence of the novel joint of the 180-kb amplicon indicates that it is formed by recombination between homologous regions near the telomeres of the long arm of chromosome I and the short arm of chromosome II. The 225-kb amplicon, isolated three times more frequently than the 180-kb amplicon, is a palindrome der

SUBMITTER: Albrecht EB 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC14817 | biostudies-literature | 2000 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature