Constitutive mutations of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae MAL-activator genes MAL23, MAL43, MAL63, and mal64.

We report the sequence of several MAL-activator genes, including inducible, constitutive, and noninducible alleles of MAL23, MAL43, MAL63, and mal64. Constitutive alleles of MAL23 and MAL43 vary considerably from inducible alleles in their C-terminal domain, with many of the alterations clustered and common to both alleles. The 27 alterations from residues 238-461 of Mal43-C protein are sufficient for constitutivity, but the minimal number of alterations needed for the constitutive phenotype could not be determined. The sequence of mal64, a nonfunctional homologue of MAL63, revealed that Mal64p is 85% identical to Mal63p. Two mutations that activate mal64 and cause constitutivity are nonsense mutations resulting in truncated proteins of 306 and 282 residues. We conclude that the C-terminal region of the MAL-activator, from residues 283-470, contains a maltose-responsive negative regulatory domain, and that extensive mutation or deletion of the entire region causes loss of the negative regulatory function. Additionally, certain sequence elements in the region appear to be necessary for efficient induction of the full-length Mal63 activator protein. These studies highlight the role of ectopic recombination as an important mechanism of mutagenesis of the telomere-associated family of MAL loci.