Mild temperature shock alters the transcription of a discrete class of Saccharomyces cerevisiae genes.

In Saccharomyces cerevisiae the synthesis of ribosomal proteins declines temporarily after a culture has been subjected to a mild temperature shock, i.e., a shift from 23 to 36 degrees C, each of which support growth. Using cloned genes for several S. cerevisiae ribosomal proteins, we found that the changes in the synthesis of ribosomal proteins parallel the changes in the concentration of mRNA of each. The disappearance and reappearance of the mRNA is due to a brief but severe inhibition of the transcription of each of the ribosomal protein genes, although the total transcription of mRNA in the cells is relatively unaffected by the temperature shock. The precisely coordinated response of these genes, which are scattered throughout the genome, suggests that either they or the enzyme which transcribes them has unique properties. In certain S. cerevisiae mutants, the synthesis of ribosomal proteins never recovers from a temperature shift. Yet both the decline and the resumption of transcription of these genes during the 30 min after the temperature shift are indistinguishable from those in wild-type cells. The failure of the mutant cells to grow at the restrictive temperature appears to be due to their inability to process the RNA transcribed from genes which have introns (Rosbash et al., Cell 24:679-686, 1981), a large proportion of which appear to be ribosomal protein genes.