Yeast amber suppressors corresponding to tRNA3Leu genes

Amber suppressors previously isolated from the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae and belonging to the same phenotypic class (Liebman et al., 1976) were assigned to nine different linkage groups named SUP52 through SUP60. One of these suppressors, SUP52, had been shown to cause the insertion of leucine and had been genetically mapped (Liebman et al., 1977). The following additional amber suppressors were mapped: SUP53 maps near the centromere of chromosome III closely linked to leu2; SUP54 maps on chromosome VII, 6 cM distal to trp5; SUP56 maps on chromosome I, 5.4 cM distal to ade1; SUP57 maps on chromosome VI, closely linked to met10; and SUP58 maps on the left arm of chromosome XI, loosely linked to met14. We show by protein analysis that like SUP52, the suppressors SUP53 through SUP56 are leucine-inserters. Furthermore, by hybridization with a cloned tRNA3Leu probe we demonstrate that at least SUP53, SUP54, SUP55 and SUP56 contain mutations in redundant tRNA3Leu genes because they each generate a new XbaI site in a DNA fragment encompassing a tRNA3Leu gene. These new XbaI sites are predicted by the known sequences of tRNA3Leu genes if the CAA anticodon mutates to the amber suppressing anticodon CTA. It is likely that each of the nine suppressors in this phenotypic class contain similar mutations in different tRNA3Leu genes since we find that there are approximately nine unlinked redundant copies of tRNA3Leu genes in haploid strains.