Multiple regulatory mechanisms control the expression of the RAS1 and RAS2 genes of Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Expression of the RAS1 and RAS2 genes of Saccharomyces cerevisiae has been examined at the transcriptional and translational levels. When dextrose is the carbon source, the steady-state amount of RAS1 mRNA and the rate of RAS1 protein synthesis are reduced in parallel as cells approach the mid-exponential phase of growth. RAS1 mRNA levels and protein synthesis are very low at all stages of growth when ethanol rather than dextrose is provided as the sole carbon source. The rate of RAS2 protein synthesis is regulated differently. In cells cultured on dextrose, it is lowest in the early exponential phase, increases approximately 10-fold and remains nearly constant as cells approach stationary phase. By contrast, RAS2 mRNA is found at uniformly high levels at all phases of exponential growth, suggesting that the translational efficiency of RAS2 mRNA is repressed during the early exponential phase. This repression is not observed when ethanol is the sole carbon source. Nutrient starvation, resulting in G1 arrest and sporulation in diploids, leads to greatly decreased amounts of RAS2 mRNA, accomplished in part by selective repression of RAS2 transcripts with particular 5' ends. However, this reduction in RAS2 mRNA levels has little effect on the rate of RAS2 protein synthesis, suggesting that the translational efficiency of RAS2 mRNA is stimulated by nutrient starvation. The combination of transcriptional and translational controls which regulate yeast RAS gene expression seems to ensure that one or the other RAS proteins will be produced over a wide range of physiological states.