Yeast lacking superoxide dismutase: Isolation of genetic suppressors

Xiu Fen Liu, Ilya Elashvili, Edith Butler Gralla, Joan Selverstone Valentine, Paula Lapinskas, Valeria Cizewski Culotta

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

126 Scopus citations

Abstract

Null mutants of superoxide dismutase (SOD) in Saccharomyces cerevisiae are associated with a number of biochemical defects. In addition to being hypersensitive to oxygen toxicity, strains containing deletions in both the SOD1 (encoding Cu/Zn-SOD) and SOD2 (encoding Mn-SOD) genes are defective in sporulation, are associated with a high mutation rate, and are unable to biosynthesize lysine and methionine. The sod-linked defect in lysine metabolism was explored in detail and was found to occur at an early step in lysine biosynthesis, evidently at the level of the α-amino adipate transaminase. To better understand the role of SOD in cell metabolism, our laboratory has isolated yeast suppressors that have bypassed the SOD defect ("bad" strains), that is, S. cerevisiae cells lacking SOD, yet resistant to oxygen toxicity. Two nuclear bsd complementation groups have been identified, and both suppress a variety of biological defects associated with sod1 and sod2 null mutants. These results demonstrate that a single gene mutation can alleviate the requirement for SOD in cell growth. Both bsd complementation groups are unable to utilize many non-fermentable carbon sources, suggesting a possible suppressor-linked defect in electron transport.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)18298-18302
Number of pages5
JournalJournal of Biological Chemistry
Volume267
Issue number26
StatePublished - Sep 15 1992

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Biochemistry
  • Molecular Biology
  • Cell Biology

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