A genomewide screen in Saccharomyces cerevisiae for genes that suppress the accumulation of mutations

Abstract

A genomewide screen of a collection of 4,847 yeast gene deletion mutants was carried out to identify the genes required for suppressing mutations in the CAN1 forward-mutation assay. The primary screens and subsequent analysis allowed (i) identification of 18 known mutator mutants, providing a solid means for checking the efficiency of the screen, and (ii) identification of a number of genes not known previously to be involved in suppressing mutations. Among the previously uncharacterized mutation-suppressing genes were six genes of unknown function including four (CSM2, SHU2, SHU1, and YLR376c) encoding proteins that interact with each other and promote resistance to killing by methyl methanesulfonate, one gene (EGL1) previously identified as suppressing Ty1 mobility and recombination between repeated sequences, and one gene (YLR154c) that was not associated with any known processes. In addition, five genes (TSA1, SOD1, LYS7, SKN7, and YAP1) implicated in the oxidative-stress responses were found to play a significant role in mutation suppression. Furthermore, TSA1, which encodes thioredoxin peroxidase, was found to strongly suppress gross chromosomal rearrangements. These results provide a global view of the nonessential genes involved in preventing mutagenesis. Study of such genes should provide useful clues in identification of human genes potentially involved in cancer predisposition and in understanding their mechanisms of action.