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J Bacteriol. 1980 June; 142(3): 791-799

Regulatory mutations affecting ornithine decarboxylase activity in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

ABSTRACT

We isolated several strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae containing mutations mapping at a single chromosomal gene (spe10); these strains are defective in the decarboxylation of L-ornithine to form putrescine and consequently do not synthesize spermidine and spermine. The growth of one of these mutants was completely eliminated in a polyamine-deficient medium; the growth rate was restored to normal if putrescine, spermidine, or spermine was added. spe10 is not linked to spe2 (adenosylmethionine decarboxylase) or spe3 (putrescine aminopropyltransferase [spermidine synthease]). spe 10 is probably a regulatory gene rather than the structural gene for ornithine decarboxylase, since we isolated two different mutations which bypassed spe10 mutants; these were spe4, an unliked recessive mutation, and spe40, a dominant mutation linked to spe10. Both spe4 and spe40 mutants exhibited a deficiency of spermidine aminopropyltransferase (spermine synthase), but not of putrescine aminopropyltransferase. This suggests that ornithine decarboxylase activity is negatively controlled by the presence of spermidine aminopropyltransferase.

This article has been cited by other articles:

• Jiang, Y., Roberts, S. C., Jardim, A., Carter, N. S., Shih, S., Ariyanayagam, M., Fairlamb, A. H., Ullman, B. (1999). Ornithine Decarboxylase Gene Deletion Mutants of Leishmania donovani. J. Biol. Chem. 274: 3781-3788 [Abstract] [Full Text]