Chromosome loss, hyperrecombination, and cell cycle arrest in a yeast mcm1 mutant

The original mcm1-1 mutant was identified by its inability to propagate minichromosomes in an ARS-specific manner, suggesting that it is defective in the initiation of DNA synthesis at ARSs. This mutant is also defective in expression of alpha-mating-type-specific genes. Further genetic and biochemical studies confirmed that Mcm1 is a transcription factor that mediates the transcriptional regulation of a number of genes, including genes outside of the mating type complement, by interacting with different cofactors. Although MCM1 is an essential gene, none of the previously characterized mcm1 mutants exhibits significant growth defects. To assess which of the many roles of Mcm1 is essential for growth, we constructed and characterized a temperature-sensitive conditional mutant of mcm1, mcm1-110L. This mutant exhibits a temperature-dependent cell-cycle arrest, with a large, elongated bud and a single, undivided nucleus that has a DNA content of close to 2n. In addition, it shows elevated levels of chromosome loss and recombination. In spite of the severity of the mcm1-110L mutation, this mutant still retains an ARS-specific pattern of minichromosome instability. All of these phenotypes are precisely those exhibited by mutants in three MCM genes, MCM2, MCM3, and MCM5/CDC46, that have been shown to play interacting roles in the early steps of DNA replication.