Loss of a yeast telomere: Arrest, recovery, and chromosome loss

Lisa L. Sandell, Virginia A. Zakian

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

712 Scopus citations

Abstract

Yeast strains were constructed in which a single telomere could be eliminated from the end of a dispensable chromosome. In wild-type cells, elimination of a telomere caused a RAD9-mediated cell cycle arrest, indicating that telomeres help cells to distinguish intact chromosomes from damaged DNA. However, many cells recovered from the arrest without repairing the damaged chromosome, replicating and segregating it for as many as ten cell divisions prior to its eventual loss. Telomere elimination caused a dramatic increase in loss of the chromosome in all strains examined, demonstrating that yeast telomeres are also essential for maintaining chromosome stability. Thus, in spite of checkpoint and DNA damage repair systems, many chromosomes that lose a telomere are themselves destined for loss.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)729-739
Number of pages11
JournalCell
Volume75
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - Nov 19 1993

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology

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