Yeast Mediator Complex Plays A Role In Telomere Regulation

Telomeres are the DNA–protein complex structure at the eukaryotic linear chromosomal ends, which are essential for chromosomal complete replication and genome stability. Telomere also serves as an important model for studying heterochromatin structure. Recently, ZHOU Jinqiu group at the Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, CAS, provided evidence that a transcriptional regulator, the Mediator complex, plays a direct role in telomere regulation.

 

PENG Jing, a graduate student in Dr. ZHOU lab, found that the tail module of yeast Mediator complex is required for telomere silencing by promoting or stabilizing telomeric binding and spreading of the central heterochromatin component, the Sir proteins, thus maintaining the silencing state of telomere. Mediator binds on telomere and may be a component of telomeric chromatin. Besides, Mediator is also involved in telomere length regulation. These results reveal a specific role of Mediator complex at the heterochromatic telomere other than its canonical function in transcriptional regulation.

 

This work entitled “The tail-module of yeast Mediator complex is required for telomere heterochromatin maintenance” was published in Nucleic Acids Research on September 19^th, 2011.

 

This study was supported by the grants from the Natural Science Foundation of China and the Ministry of Science and Technology. (SIBCB)

 

AUTHOR CONTACT:

ZHOU Jinqiu

Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China

Phone: 86-21-54921076; Email: jqzhou@sibs.ac.cn