Fission Yeast Methylenetetrahydrofolate Reductase Ensures Mitotic and Meiotic Chromosome Segregation Fidelity.

ABSTRACT: Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) is a key enzyme in the folate metabolic pathway, and its loss of function through polymorphisms is often associated with human conditions, including cancer, congenital heart disease, and Down syndrome. MTHFR is also required in the maintenance of heterochromatin, a crucial determinant of genomic stability and precise chromosomal segregation. Here, we characterize the function of a fission yeast gene met11+, which encodes a protein that is highly homologous to the mammalian MTHFR. We show that, although met11+ is not essential for viability, its disruption increases chromosome missegregation and destabilizes constitutive heterochromatic regions at pericentromeric, sub-telomeric and ribosomal DNA (rDNA) loci. Transcriptional silencing at these site

SUBMITTER: Lim KK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7827777 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature