Article
- The EMBO Journal (2000) 19, 1907 - 1917
- doi:10.1093/emboj/19.8.1907
Conservation of polyamine regulation by translational frameshifting from yeast to mammals
Ivaylo P. Ivanov1, Senya Matsufuji2, Yasuko Murakami2, Raymond F. Gesteland1 and John F. Atkins1
- Department of Human Genetics, University of Utah, 2030 E 15N, Salt Lake City, UT 84112-5330, USA
- Department of Biochemistry II, Jikei University School of Medicine, Minato-ku, Tokyo 105-8461, Japan
Correspondence to:
John F. Atkins, E-mail: john.atkins@genetics.utah.edu
Received 4 January 2000; Accepted 7 March 2000; Revised 7 March 2000
Abstract
Regulation of ornithine decarboxylase in vertebrates involves a negative feedback mechanism requiring the protein antizyme. Here we show that a similar mechanism exists in the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe. The expression of mammalian antizyme genes requires a specific +1 translational frameshift. The efficiency of the frameshift event reflects cellular polyamine levels creating the autoregulatory feedback loop. As shown here, the yeast antizyme gene and several newly identified antizyme genes from different nematodes also require a ribosomal frameshift event for their expression. Twelve nucleotides around the frameshift site are identical between S.pombe and the mammalian counterparts. The core element for this frameshifting is likely to have been present in the last common ancestor of yeast, nematodes and mammals.
Keywords:
- antizyme,
- frameshifting,
- polyamines,
- yeast
