Yeast vectors for the controlled expression of heterologous proteins in different genetic backgrounds

An expression system for Saccharomyces cerevisiae (Sc) has been developed which, depending on the chosen vector, allows the constitutive expression of proteins at different levels over a range of three orders of magnitude and in different genetic backgrounds. The expression system is comprised of cassettes composed of a weak CYC1 promoter, the ADH promoter or the stronger TEF and GPD promoters, flanked by a cloning array and the CYC1 terminator. The multiple cloning array based on pBIISK (Stratagene) provides six to nine unique restriction sites, which facilitates the cloning of genes and allows for the directed cloning of cDNAs by the widely used ZAP system (Stratagene). Expression cassettes were placed into both the centromeric and 2 mu plasmids of the pRS series [Sikorski and Hieter, Genetics 122 (1989) 19-27; Christianson et al., Gene 110 (1992) 119-122] containing HIS3, TRP1, LEU2 or URA3 markers. The 32 expression vectors created by this strategy provide a powerful tool for the convenient cloning and the controlled expression of genes or cDNAs in nearly every genetic background of the currently used Sc strains.