Isolation and expression analysis of two yeast regulatory genes involved in the derepression of glucose-repressible enzymes.

Yeast strains carrying one of the two regulatory mutations cat1 and cat3 are defective in derepression of several glucose-repressible enzymes that are necessary for utilizing non-fermentable carbon sources. Hence, these strains fail to grow on ethanol, glycerol or acetate. The synthesis of isocitrate lyase, malate synthase, malate dehydrogenase and fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase is strongly affected in cat1 and cat3 strains. Genes CAT1 and CAT3 have been isolated by complementation of the cognate mutations after transformation with an episomal plasmid gene library. The restriction map of CAT1 proved its allelism to the earlier isolated SNF1 gene. Both genes appear to exist as single-copy genes per haploid genome as indicated by Southern hybridization. Northern analysis has shown that the 1.35 kb CAT3 mRNA is constitutively expressed, independent of the carbon source in the medium. Derepression studies with CAT3 transformants using a multi-copy plasmid showed over-expression of glyoxylate cycle enzymes. This result would be consistent with a direct effector function for the CAT3 gene product.