DNA damage and heat shock dually regulate genes in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Two Saccharomyces cerevisiae genes isolated in a differential hybridization screening for DNA damage regulation (DDR genes) were also transcriptionally regulated by heat shock treatment. A 0.45-kilobase transcript homologous to the DDRA2 gene and a 1.25-kilobase transcript homologous to the DDR48 gene accumulated after exposure of cells to 4-nitroquinoline-1-oxide (NQO; 1 to 1.5 microgram/ml) or brief heat shock (20 min at 37 degrees C). The DDRA2 transcript, which was undetectable in untreated cells, was induced to high levels by these treatments, and the DDR48 transcript increased more than 10-fold as demonstrated by Northern hybridization analysis. Two findings argue that dual regulation of stress-responsive genes is not common in S. cerevisiae. First, two members of the heat shock-inducible hsp70 family of S. cerevisiae, YG100 and YG102, were not induced by exposure to NQO. Second, at least one other DNA-damage-inducible gene, DIN1, was not regulated by heat shock treatment. We examined the structure of the induced RNA homologous to DDRA2 after heat shock and NQO treatments by S1 nuclease protection experiments. Our results demonstrated that the DDRA2 transcript initiates equally frequently at two sites separated by 5 base pairs. Both transcriptional start sites were utilized when cells were exposed to either NQO or heat shock treatment. These results indicate that DDRA2 and DDR48 are members of a unique dually regulated stress-responsive family of genes in S. cerevisiae.