SKY1 and IXR1 interactions, their effects on cisplatin and spermine resistance in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

The yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae has been previously used as a model eukaryotic system to identify genes related to drug resistance. Deletion of the IXR1 gene increases resistance to cisplatin, and deletion of the SKY1 gene increases resistance to cisplatin and spermine. Three S. cerevisiae strains and their derivatives, carrying single Δixr1 and Δsky1 and double Δixr1Δsky1 deletions, were compared in terms of resistance against these compounds. We found that the effects of these deletions are highly dependent on the genetic background of the selected strains. These results are valuable in the selection of yeast strains to be used in genetic screenings of compounds with putative pharmacological interest.