Using the DHFR heat-inducible degron for protein inactivation in Schizosaccharomyces pombe

Inactivating a specific protein in vivo can yield important information about its function. One strategy previously developed in Saccharomyces cerevisiae by the Varshavsky group involves fusing a degron, derived from mouse dihydrofolate reductase, to the N-terminus of the target protein, which thereby confers temperature-sensitive degradation at the restrictive temperature. We describe here the application of this technique in the fission yeast, Schizosaccharomyces pombe.