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The evolutionary conserved BER1 gene is involved in microtubule stability in yeast

Fiechter, Vincent ; Cameroni, Elisabetta ; Cerutti, Lorenzo ; De Virgilio, Claudio ; Barral, Yves ; Fankhauser, Christian

In: Current Genetics, 2008, vol. 53, no. 2, p. 107-115

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    Title
    • The evolutionary conserved BER1 gene is involved in microtubule stability in yeast
    Author
    • Fiechter, Vincent. Center for Integrative Genomics, University of Lausanne, 1015, Lausanne, Switzerland
    • Cameroni, Elisabetta. Division of Biochemistry, Department of Medicine, University of Fribourg, 1700, Fribourg, Switzerland
    • Cerutti, Lorenzo. Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, UNIL-Sorge, 1015, Lausanne, Switzerland
    • De Virgilio, Claudio. Division of Biochemistry, Department of Medicine, University of Fribourg, 1700, Fribourg, Switzerland
    • Barral, Yves. Institute of Biochemistry, Biology Department, ETH Zurich, 8093, Zürich, Switzerland
    • Fankhauser, Christian. Center for Integrative Genomics, University of Lausanne, 1015, Lausanne, Switzerland
    Document Type
    • Postprint
    OAI-PMH Identifier
    • oai:doc.rero.ch:315065
    Summary
    In yeast, microtubules are dynamic filaments necessary for spindle and nucleus positioning, as well as for proper chromosome segregation. We identify a function for the yeast gene BER1 (Benomyl REsistant 1) in microtubule stability. BER1 belongs to an evolutionary conserved gene family whose founding member Sensitivity to Red light Reduced is involved in red-light perception and circadian rhythms in Arabidopsis. Here, we present data showing that the ber1Δ mutant is affected in microtubule stability, particularly in presence of microtubule-depolymerising drugs. The pattern of synthetic lethal interactions obtained with the ber1Δ mutant suggests that Ber1 may function in N-terminal protein acetylation. Our work thus suggests that microtubule stability might be regulated through this post-translational modification on yet-to-be determined proteins