Glucose represses transcription of Saccharomyces cerevisiae nuclear genes that encode mitochondrial components.

By Northern blot hybridization analysis, we demonstrated that the steady-state levels of mRNAs specifying the alpha subunit of ATPase, the beta subunit of ATPase, and the ATP/ADP translocator are all reduced in cells grown in glucose-rich medium. The extent to which glucose represses the levels of alpha, beta, and translocator mRNAs varies from strain to strain, from 2.5- to 7-fold. Furthermore, by hybridization experiments with an excess of DNA, we showed that glucose represses the rates of synthesis of these mRNAs. The kinetics of repression and depression of transcription were also studied. Finally, a mutant was characterized which appears to be defective in depression of transcription of the genes encoding the alpha and beta ATPase subunits as well as the ATP/ADP translocator.