SSN20 is an essential gene with mutant alleles that suppress defects in SUC2 transcription in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Dominant and recessive mutations at the SSN20 locus were previously isolated as extragenic suppressors of mutations in three genes (SNF2, SNF5, and SNF6) that are required in trans to derepress invertase expression. All ssn20 alleles cause recessive, temperature-sensitive lethality. In this study we cloned the SSN20 gene, identified a 4.6-kilobase poly(A)-containing RNA, and showed that disruption of the gene is lethal in a haploid cell. Genetic mapping of SSN20 to a locus on chromosome VII 10 centimorgans distal to cly8 led to the finding that SSN20 is the same gene as SPT6, which affects expression of delta insertions in the 5' noncoding region of HIS4 (F. Winston, D. T. Chaleff, B. Valent, and G. R. Fink, Genetics 107:179-197, 1984). We also showed that an ssn20 mutation restored expression of secreted invertase from deletions of the SUC2 upstream regulatory region; ssn20 restored derepression of SUC2 mRNA in strains with a SUC2 upstream region deletion or a snf2 mutation. Increased or decreased gene dosage of SSN20 also suppressed defects that are suppressed by ssn20 missense mutations. These findings suggest that SSN20 plays a role in general transcriptional processes.