Factors affecting Saccharomyces cerevisiae ADH2 chromatin remodeling and transcription

The chromatin structure of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae ADH2 gene is modified during the switch from repressing (high glucose) to derepressing (low glucose) conditions of growth. Loss of protection toward micrococcal nuclease cleavage for the nucleosomes covering the TATA box and the RNA initiation sites (-1 and +1, respectively) is the major modification taking place and is strictly dependent on the presence of the transcriptional activator ADR1. To identify separate functions involved in the transition from a repressed to a transcribing promoter, we have analyzed the ADH2 chromatin organization in various genetic backgrounds. Deletion of the CCR4 gene coding for a general transcription factor impaired ADH2 expression without affecting chromatin remodeling. Growing yeast at 37°C also resulted in chromatin remodeling at the ADH2 locus even under glucose repressing conditions. However, although this temperature-induced remodeling was dependent on the ADR1 protein, no ADH2 mRNA was observed. In addition, inactivating RNA polymerase II (and therefore, elongation) was found to have no effect on the ability to reconfigure nucleosomes. Taken together, these data indicate that chromatin remodeling by itself is insufficient to induce transcription at the ADH2 promoter.