CAS-Max Planck Junior Research Group, State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, Yunnan 650223, China.
Cell Res. 2010 Apr;20(4):408-20. doi: 10.1038/cr.2010.31. Epub 2010 Mar 2.
Recent transcription profiling studies have revealed an unexpectedly large proportion of antisense transcripts in eukaryotic genomes. These antisense genes seem to regulate gene expression by interacting with sense genes. Previous studies have focused on the non-coding antisense genes, but the possible regulatory role of the antisense protein is poorly understood. In this study, we found that a protein encoded by the antisense gene ADF1 acts as a transcription suppressor, regulating the expression of sense gene MDF1 in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Based on the evolutionary, genetic, cytological and biochemical evidence, we show that the protein-coding sense gene MDF1 most likely originated de novo from a previously non-coding sequence and can significantly suppress the mating efficiency of baker's yeast in rich medium by binding MATalpha2 and thus promote vegetative growth. These results shed new light on several important issues, including a new sense-antisense interaction mechanism, the de novo origination of a functional gene, and the regulation of yeast mating pathway.
最近的转录谱研究揭示了真核生物基因组中具有出乎意料大比例的反义转录本。这些反义基因似乎通过与有义基因相互作用来调节基因表达。以前的研究主要集中在非编码的反义基因上，但对反义蛋白的可能调节作用知之甚少。在这项研究中，我们发现反义基因 ADF1 编码的蛋白作为转录抑制剂，调节酿酒酵母中有义基因 MDF1 的表达。基于进化、遗传、细胞学和生化证据，我们表明，蛋白编码的有义基因 MDF1 很可能是从头从以前的非编码序列中产生的，并且通过结合 MATalpha2 可以显著抑制丰富培养基中面包酵母的交配效率，从而促进营养生长。这些结果为包括新的有义-反义相互作用机制、功能基因的从头起源以及酵母交配途径的调节在内的几个重要问题提供了新的线索。
