New insights into prion biology from the novel [SWI+] system
Year: 2008
Type: review
Abstract: Our laboratory recently reported a novel prion [SWI+], in the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. [SWI+] is the prion form of Swi1, a component of the SWI/SNF chromatin-remodeling complex. Cells harboring [SWI+] exhibit a partial loss-of-function phenotype for SWI/SNF, which can be easily assayed by poor growth on some non-fermentable carbon sources such as raffinose.Swi1 is unique among yeast prion proteins for its nuclear localization and the fact that it comprises part of a large, multi-subunit protein complex. The discovery of [SWI+] demonstrates for the first time a link between prion function and chromatin remodeling,implying a possible role for prions in gene regulation. We believe that the unique features of this novel yeast prion will provide new insight into prion biology.
Source: Prion
DOI: 10.4161/pri.2.4.8069
Authors: Emily Crow, Zhiqiang Du, Liming Li
Institution: Northwestern University
Language: English
Subfield: Molecular Biology
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W1993366516