Isolation of mutations that act in trans to alter expression from a yeast hsp70 promoter

Transcription of SSA1 (formerly YG100), a member of the hsp70 gene family in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, increases dramatically upon heat shock. An expression vector in which the promoter of SSA1 is fused to the Escherichia coli galactokinase gene (galK) was constructed and transformed into a galactokinase-deficient yeast strain. The transformants grew on galactose at 23 degrees C, but increased expression of the SSA1-galK fusion gene inhibited growth of cells on galactose at 37 degrees C. Selection for survivors under nonpermissive conditions yielded a class of mutants, termed HSR (for heat shock regulation), which showed reduced levels of expression of the hsp70-galK gene fusion as determined by measurement of galactokinase activity. Similar effects on beta-galactosidase activity were obtained when an SSA1-lacZ fusion vector was introduced into the mutants, suggesting action in trans through the SSA1 promoter. Analysis of Northern (RNA) blots demonstrated that the reduction in expression was a result of decreased mRNA levels for the fusion gene. In addition, mRNA levels of the endogenous SSA1 gene are reduced in an HSR mutant. Genetic analysis has shown that these mutations act in trans and affect both transcription from the SSA1 promoter and turnover of the fusion transcript. These are the first trans-acting mutations known to affect directly the transcriptional regulation and transcript stability of heat shock genes in eucaryotes.