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Review
. 2012 Jul-Aug;3(4):193-7.
doi: 10.4161/trns.20884. Epub 2012 Jul 1.

Role of transcription at centromeres in budding yeast

Kentaro Ohkuni  1 , Katsumi Kitagawa
Affiliations
Review

Role of transcription at centromeres in budding yeast

Kentaro Ohkuni et al. Transcription. 2012 Jul-Aug.

Abstract

Centromeres are specialized chromosomal loci that are essential for proper chromosome segregation. Recent data show that a certain level of active transcription, regulated by transcription factors Cbf1 and Ste12, makes a direct contribution to centromere function in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Here, we discuss the requirement and function of transcription at centromeres.

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Figures

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Figure 1. (A) Organization of centromere DNA in different eukaryotes. (B) Effects of CBF1, STE12 or DIG1 deletion and overexpression from the MET25 promoter on centromere transcription. High or low levels of centromere transcription, such as MET25 promoter and cbf1∆ or ste12∆ cells, impair centromere function. The proper, intermediate, level of transcription is indicated by the green bar. (C) Schematic representation of the organization of putative PREs in the pericentromeric region of CEN3. Numbers indicate the spacing in nucleotides between adjacent PREs.
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Figure 2. Model illustrating transcription at point and regional centromeres. In S. cerevisiae, the length of the CEN3 sequence is only 117 bp and contains three DNA elements, CDEI, CDEII and CDEIII. The transcription factor Cbf1 binds the CEN3 CDEI site, and Ste12 binds a site pericentromeric of CEN3. RNA Polymerase II (RNAP II) is required for centromeric transcription regulated by Cbf1 and Ste12. Antagonists such as silencing factors might contribute to transcriptional regulation. In S. pombe, the length of the cen1 sequence is 35 kb, and includes a central core (cnt) of non-repetitive sequence and inner (imr) and outer (comprising dg and dh repeats) repeats. RNA Pol II is required for pericentromeric transcription regulated by opposing activities of Clr3 (histone deacetylase, HDAC) and Epe1 (transcriptional activator). The balance of the antagonists determines the functional status at the pericentromeric heterochromatin. Centromeric transcripts are degraded by RNAi machinery and exosomes. The red bar represents the proposed transcriptional levels at repetitive and non-repetitive sequences of the centromere.
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