The URE2 protein regulates nitrogen catabolic gene expression through the GATAA-containing UASNTR element in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Abstract

Many of the gene products that participate in nitrogen metabolism are sensitive to nitrogen catabolite repression (NCR), i.e., their expression is decreased to low levels when readily used nitrogen sources such as asparagine are provided. Previous work has shown this NCR sensitivity requires the cis-acting UASNTR element and trans-acting GLN3. Here, we extend the analysis to include the response of their expression to deletion of the URE2 locus. The expression of these nitrogen catabolic genes becomes, to various degrees, NCR insensitive in the ure2 deletion. This response is shown to be mediated through the GATAA-containing UASNTR element and supports the current idea that the NCR regulatory circuit involves the following steps: environmental signal-->URE2-->GLN3-->UASNTR operation-->NCR-sensitive gene expression. The various responses of the nitrogen catabolic genes' expression to deletion of the URE2 locus also indicate that not all NCR is mediated through URE2.