Sporulation and rna2 lower ribosomal protein mRNA levels by different mechanisms in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the levels of ribosomal protein mRNAs are regulated coordinately. Vegetative strains carrying the temperature-sensitive rna2 mutation exhibit a dramatic decrease in the levels of most ribosomal protein mRNAs at the restrictive temperature. Similarly, in wild-type cells induced to sporulate by nitrogen starvation, there is a fivefold reduction in the relative synthesis rate of ribosomal proteins. Using Northern gel analysis and cloned ribosomal protein genes, we compared the way in which ribosomal protein mRNA is affected under these two conditions. In vegetative rna2 cells, incubation at 34 degrees C led to the disappearance of ribosomal protein mRNAs and the accumulation of higher-molecular-weight precursor RNAs. A different phenotype was observed during sporulation. Although sporulating conditions led to a significant reduction in the relative abundance of ribosomal protein mRNA, there was no detectable accumulation of precursor RNAs even in rna2/rna2 diploids at 34 degrees C. A suppressor of rna2 and of other rna mutations, SRN1, at least partially relieved the block in the splicing of the ribosomal protein 51 intron in vegetative rna2 cells but did not detectably affect the level of ribosomal protein mRNA in sporulating cells. We concluded that the rna2 mutation and sporulation conditions affected ribosomal protein mRNA metabolism in two quite different ways. In vegetative cells the mutant rna2 effected a block which occurred primarily in post-transcriptional processing, whereas in sporulating cells the ribosomal protein mRNA levels were decreased by some other mechanism, presumably a change in the relative rate of transcription or mRNA turnover. Furthermore, the data suggest that the mutation rna2 has no additional effect on ribosomal protein mRNA metabolism in sporulating cells.