Molecular cloning, characterization and analysis of the regulation of the ARO2 gene, encoding chorismate synthase, of Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

We describe here the cloning, characterization and analysis of the regulation of the ARO2 gene of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the first reported study of a eukaryotic gene encoding chorismate synthase (E.C. 4.6.1.4). The gene contains an ORF of 1128 bp, encoding a protein with a calculated molecular mass of 40.8 kDa. ARO2 is regulated under the 'general control system' for amino acid biosynthesis by the transcriptional activator GCN4 which binds in vitro at three sites within the ARO2 promoter. The ARO2 gene product is highly similar to its Escherichia coli counterpart, with a 47% identity distributed over the entire length of the peptide. We therefore suggest that the S. cerevisiae chorismate synthase, in contrast to the Neurospora crassa enzyme, but like other chorismate synthases, is a monofunctional peptide, solely possessing chorismate synthase activity.