Three independent forms of regulation affect expression of HO, CLN1 and CLN2 during the cell cycle of Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

The G1 cyclins (CLNs) bind to and activate the CDC28 kinase during the G1 to S transition in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Two G1 cyclins are regulated at the RNA level so that their RNAs peak at the G1/S boundary. In this report we show that the cell cycle regulation of CLN1 and CLN2 is partially determined by the restricted expression of SW14, a known trans-activator of SCB elements. When SWI4 is constitutively expressed or deleted, cell cycle regulation of CLN1/2 is reduced but not eliminated. In the absence of SwI6, another known regulator of both SCB and MCB elements, cell cycle regulation of the CLNs is also reduced, and the Start-dependence of HO transcription is eliminated. This indicates that SwI6 also plays an important role in the normal cell cycle regulation of all three promoters. When both SwI6 activity and the transcriptional regulation of SW14 are eliminated, cell cycle regulation is further reduced, indicating that these are two independent pathways of regulation. However, a twofold fluctuation in transcript levels still persists under these conditions. This reveals a third source of cell cycle control, which could affect SwI4 activity post-transcriptionally, or reflect the existence of another unidentified regulator of these promoters.