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Alcohols lower the threshold temperature for the maximal activation of a heat shock expression vector in the yeast
1School of Biological Sciences, Queen Mary and Westfield College, London, UK.
Microbiology (Reading, England)
|September 1, 1994
Abstract:
When the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae is exposed to elevated growth temperatures, genes containing a heat shock element (HSE) in their promoters are activated. This study demonstrates that alcohols lower the temperature required for the maximal activation of such a promoter and that the concentration of alcohol required decreases as its hydrophobicity increases. A similar correlation has been found between the members of this alcohol series and their effect on a range of membrane functions. Our results therefore indicate that perturbation of the cell membrane may play a role in the heat induced activation of this HSE-containing promoter.