A genome-wide screen for Saccharomyces cerevisiae deletion mutants that affect telomere length

Syed H. Askree, Tal Yehuda, Sarit Smolikov, Raya Gurevich, Joshua Hawk, Carrie Coker, Anat Krauskopf, Martin Kupiec, Michael J. McEachern*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

294 Scopus citations

Abstract

Telomeres are nucleoprotein structures present at the ends of eukaryotic chromosomes that play a central role in guarding the integrity of the genome by protecting chromosome ends from degradation and fusion. Length regulation is central to telomere function. To broaden our knowledge about the mechanisms that control telomere length, we have carried out a systematic examination of ≈4,800 haploid deletion mutants of Saccharomyces cerevisiae for telomere-length alterations. By using this screen, we have identified > 150 candidate genes not previously known to affect telomere length. In two-thirds of the identified mutants, short telomeres were observed; whereas in one-third, telomeres were lengthened. The genes identified are very diverse in their functions, but certain categories, including DNA and RNA metabolism, chromatin modification, and vacuolar traffic, are overrepresented. Our results greatly enlarge the number of known genes that affect telomere metabolism and will provide insights into how telomere function is linked to many other cellular processes.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)8658-8663
Number of pages6
JournalProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
Volume101
Issue number23
DOIs
StatePublished - 8 Jun 2004

Funding

FundersFunder number
National Institute of General Medical SciencesR01GM061645

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