Induction and repression of the urea amidolyase gene in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

The DUR1,2 gene from Saccharomyces cerevisiae has been isolated on recombinant plasmids along with all DNA between the DUR1,2 and MET8 loci. DUR1,2 was found to encode a 5.7-kilobase transcript, which is consistent with our earlier suggestion that the DUR1 and DUR2 loci are two domains of a single multifunctional gene. Steady-state levels of the DUR1,2 transcript responded to induction and nitrogen catabolite repression in the same way as urea amidolyase activity. dal81 mutants (grown with inducer) contained barely detectable amounts of DUR1,2 RNA, whereas dal80 mutants (grown without inducer) contained the same amount as a wild-type induced culture. These observations support our earlier hypothesis that DUR1,2 is transcriptionally regulated, with control being mediated by the DAL80 and DAL81 gene products. We cloned the DUR1,2-Oh mutation and found it to be a Ty insertion near sequences required for complementation of dur1,2 mutations. The ROAM phenotype of the DUR1,2-Oh mutation is sharply different from that of cis-dominant, DUR80 mutations, which enhance DUR1,2 expression but do not affect the normal control pattern of the gene. There is evidence that DUR80 mutations may also be Ty insertions, which generate phenotypes that are different from those in DUR1,2-Oh mutations.