Inositol-excreting yeast

Abstract: A yeast cell, preferably Saccharomyces cerevisiae , which contains a functional stable recombinant DNA sequence that does not allow for the encoding of a negative regulator of phospholipid biosynthesis therein and which has multiple copies of an INO1 gene. In a preferred embodiment, the recombinant DNA sequence is an OPI1 gene deletion which results in the deregulation of inositol or inositol-containing metabolites such as inositol-1-phosphate synthase. Moreover, there is a method for obtaining inositol, inositol-containing metabolites or phospholipids such as myo-inositol or inositol-1-phosphate. The method comprises the steps of genetically engineering a stable yeast cell, preferably Saccharomyces cerevisiae , to continually produce inositol, inositol-containing metabolites or phospholipids. Additionally, there is the step of then generating the inositol, inositol-containing metabolites or phospholipids. In a preferred embodiment, the genetically engineering step includes the step of altering the negative regulatory step involved in phospholipid biosynthesis to overproduce inositol, inositol-containing metabolites or phospholipids such as myo-inositol.

Description: FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention is related to the negative regulation of phospholipid biosynthesis in a yeast strain to produce excess inositol. More specifically, the present invention is related to the production of excess inositol from a diploid yeast strain, baker's yeast ( Saccharomyces cerevisiae ), for human or animal consumption. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Phospholipid biosynthesis in Saccharomyces cerevisiae is regulated in a coordinated fashion. Inositol 1-phosphate synthase [I1PS], Cytidine diphosphate diacylglycerol synthase [CDP-DGS], phosphatidylserine synthase [PSS], phosphatidylserine decarboxylase [PSD] and the phospholipid methyltransferases (PMTs) which convert phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) to phosphatidylcholine (PC), are all subject to regulation by inositol and choline (See Figure 1). All of these enzymes show various degrees of repression in cells grown in the presence of inositol, and all display maximal repression when cells are grown in the presence of inositol and choline. However, the enzyme ultimately responsible for the production of PI, phosphatidylinositol synthase (PIS), is not regulated in response to phospholipid precursors. Several of the phospholipid biosynthetic enzyme activities have been shown to be regulated at the level of transcription of structural genes. The steady-state levels of INO1 mRNA and CHOI mRNA encoding for I1PS and PSS respectively, are reduced when wild type cells are grown in the presence of inositol. The mRNA levels are further reduced when both inositol and choline are present in the growth medium. A similar response has also been observed with the CHO2 and OP13 genes encoding the PMTs (See Figure 1). Several of the coregulated structural genes have also been shown to be controlled by a common set of regulatory genes. Many mutants with defects in the regulation of phospholipid metabolism were originally isolated on the basis of a defect in I1PS regulation. The wild-type products of the regulatory genes INO2 and INO4 are required for expression of INO1 . Mutations at either of these two loci result in failure of cells to express I1PS, leading to inositol auxotrophy. The ino2 and ino4 mutants are also unable to derepress the entire set of enzymes that are subject to coordinate control by inositol and choline. Mutants with lesions at the OPI1 locus were originally isolated by Greenberg, M., Goldwasser, P., and Henry, S. (1982). Mol. Gen. Genet. 186, 157-163 and Greenberg, M.L., Reiner, B., and Henry, S.A. (1982). Genetics 100, 19-33 on the basis of an O ver P roduction of I nositol Phenotype (Opi - ). The opi1 mutants constitutively express derepressed levels of I1PS, as well as many of the other coregulated enzymes. The effect of the opi1 regulatory mutation is also apparent at the level of mRNA. In opi1 mutants, INO1 transcript is constitutively overexpressed regardless of the growth condition. Thus, the opi1 gene is believed to encode a negative regulatory factor that is required to repress the whole subset of enzymes that are coordinately controlled by inositol and choline. Results from a deletion analysis of the 5' untranslated region of INO1 show there are cis-acting regulatory sites that act to reduce transcription of this gene under repressing growth conditions. See Hirsch, J. P., Lopes, J. M., Chorgo, P. A., and Henry, S. A. (1991). Nucl. Acids Res. In order to understand the mechanism by which the OPI1 gene and its product interact with other regulatory genes and the structural genes under their control, a detailed molecular analysis of the OpI1 gene has been achieved. The present invention presents the genetic mapping, cloning and molecular analysis of the OPI1 gene and the use of it and its gene product in phospholipid biosynthesis to excrete excess inositol, for instance, for human or animal consumption. According to Old R. W. and Primrose S. B. ("Principles of gene manipulation" 3rd Edition (1985) p147, Blackwell Scientific Publications), a major rate-limiting step in protein synthesis is the binding of ribosomes to mRNA molecules, and it is suggested that one way of increasing the expression of a cloned gene is to increase the number of corresponding transcripts, for instance by cloning the gene of interest on a high copy-number plasmid. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention pertains to a genetically engineered yeast cell, preferably Saccharomyces cerevisiae, having multiple copies of an INO1 gene and which contains a functional stable recombinant DNA sequence comprising an OPI1 gene disruption mutation that does not allow for the encoding of a negative regulator of inositol, inositol-containing metabolites such as inositol-1-phosphate synthase or phospholipids. The present invention also pertains to a method for the enhanced production of inositol, inositol-containing metabolites or phospholipids such as myo-inositol or inositol-1-phosphate and to a method of making a genetically engineered yeast cell to continually produce inositol, inositol-containing metabolites or phospholipids. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In the accompanying drawings, the preferred embodiments of the invention and preferred methods of practicing the invention are illustrated in which: Figure 1 illustrates pathways for phospholipid biosynthesis in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Figure 2 illustrates a bioassay for the Opil - phenotype. Overproduction and excretion of inositol by strains results in the growth of the indicator strain around the patch of cells. Figure 3 illustrates restriction mapping, subcloning and complementation of the opi -phenotype. Ability of subclones to complement opi1 mutant strains is indicated with a (+), inability to complement is indicated with a (-) and partial complementation is indicated with a (+/-). Figure 4 shows construction of OPI1 disruption alleles. (4a) illustrates an insertion whereby a LEU2 selectable marker was inserted into the OPI1 coding region. (4b) illustrates a deletion whereby the whole opi1 coding region was removed and replaced with a LEU2 selectable marker. Figure 5 illustrates Southern-blot analysis of opi1 disruption alleles. A 32 P-labelled nick-translated SstI-HindIII DNA fragment from pMW20 (Figure 4b) was used to hybridize to the Southern blot. Figure 6 illustrates slot-blot analysis of INO1 mRNA from opi1 mutant strains. Amounts of INO1 mRNA were normalized to mRNA values obtained for ribosomal protein gene TCM1 and expressed relative to wild-type derepressed levels. All values are the means of three independent determinations. Figure 7 illustrates the sequencing strategy. The arrows indicate the direction of ssDNA sequencing and the arrow labelled OPI1 indicate the position of the OPI1 coding region and direction of transcription. Figure 8 illustrates the nucleotide sequence and predicted amino acid sequence of the OPI1 gene. The leucine residues of the leucine zipper are underlined and polyglutamine stretches are located within extended boxes. Positions of nonsense codons in isolated opi1 mutant alleles are marked with an asterisk. Figure 9 illustrates deletions of the cloned OPI1 gene. Ability to complement an opi1 mutation is indicated with a (+), inability to complement is indicated with a (-) and partial complementation is indicated with a (+/-). DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The present invention pertains to a genetically engineered yeast cell, such as brewer's yeast or baker's yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae), having multiple integrated copies of an INO1 gene, and which contains a functional stable recombinant DNA sequence comprising an OPI1 gene disruption mutation that does not allow for the encoding of a negative regulator of inositol, inositol-containing metabolites or phospholipids. The OPI1 gene encodes the negative regulator Opilp. Preferably, the OPI1 gene has a nucleotide and amino acid sequence as shown in Figure 8. The Opilp consists of 404 amino acid residues that has a molecular weight of 40,036. The Opilp contains polyglutamine tracks and a leucine zipper. In a second aspect, the present invention also pertains to a method for the enhanced production of inositol, inositol-containing metabolites or phospholipids in a yeast cell comprising the steps of: genetically engineering the yeast cell to form a functional stable recombinant DNA sequence comprising an OPI1 gene disruption mutation, that does not allow for the encoding of a negative regulator of inositol, inositol-containing metabolites or phospholipids; transforming the yeast cell with a plasmid containing the INO1 gene wherein the integration of multiple copies of the INO1 gene results; and generating the inositol, inositol-containing metabolites or phospholipids. The yeast cell can be brewer's yeast or preferably baker's yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The yeast cell has multiple copies of the INO1 gene. There can be for instance, three to six copies of the INO1 gene therein. In a third aspect, this invention also relates to a method of making a genetically engineered yeast cell, comprising the steps of: genetically engineering the yeast cell to form a functional stable recombinant DNA sequence comprising an OPI1 gene disruption mutation, that does not allow for the encoding of a negative regulator of inositol, inositol-containing metabolites or phospholipids; and transforming the yeast cell with a plasmid containing the INO1 gene wherein the integration of multiple copies of the INO1 gene results. Additionally, in this third aspect of the invention, the plasmid has a URA3 marker and the cell contains a URA3 locus and the genetic engineering step further comprises a step of cutting the plasmid internal to the URA3 marker such that the plasmid is linearized and a transforming step which comprises inserting the linearized plasmid into the cell such that it is directed to the URA3 locus. Preferably the yeast cell is a haploid and after the inserting step there is the step of selecting the haploid cells having multiple copies of the INO1 gene and the step of mating the haploid cells to form diploid cells. The DNA sequence of the entire INO1 gene has been determined by Dean-Johnson M. and Henry S.A. (1989). J. Biol. Chem. 264,1274-1283. The OPI1 gene sequence has been determined by White M.J., Hirsch J.P. and Henry S.A.J. Biol. Chem 266,863-872. Additionally, these DNA sequences are present in the GenBank™/EMBL database. The OPI1 DNA sequence can be accessed therethrough with access number M57383, and the INO1 DNA sequence can be accessed therethrough with access number J04453. The Saccharomyces cerevisiae of the single copy and the INO1 multicopy embodiment were deposited in the American Type Culture Collection depository on February 13, 1991 under ATCC designation numbers 74033 and 74034, respectively. The following discloses the preferred materials and methods by which the OPI1 gene is mapped, cloned and molecularly analyzed, leading to the construction of a diploid opi1 deletion mutant containing either two copies of the INO1 structural gene or multiple insertions of the INO1 gene. For routine bacterial transformations and maintenance of plasmids, Escherichia coli DH5 α [F - , end A1, hsd R17(r k -, m k + ), sup E44, thi -1, recA1, gyr A96, rel A1, Δ( arg F- lac zya) U169, 80d lac Z Δ M15, λ - ] (Hanahan, D., 1983). J. Mol. Biol. 166, 557-580 was used. While E. coli XL1-Blue [ rec A1, end A1, gyr A96, thi , hsd R17(r k -, m k +) , sup E44, rel A1, λ - , lac - , {F', pro AB, lacI Q , lac Z Δ 15, Tn10 (tet R )}] (Bullock, W.O., Fernandez, J.M., and Short, J.M. 1987). Biotechniques 5, 376-379 is used for single stranded DNA (ssDNA) production. The genotypes and sources of Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains used with respect to the OPI1 are presented in Table 1. The following growth media and genetic methods are also used; Escherichia coli DH5α cells used to propagate plasmid DNA were grown in LB medium containing 50 µ gml -1 ampicillin. Bacterial strain XL1-Blue used for the production of ssDNA is a lac - AGl derivative with Tn10, lacI Q , and lac Δ M15 on the F'. Selection for organisms containing F' is accomplished by addition of 10 µgml -1 tetracycline to the above medium. Plates that have been spread with 50 µl 100mM IPTG and 50 µl 2% (w/v) χ-gal in dimethylformamide are used to detect colonies with plasmids containing yeast genomic-DNA inserts. All bacterial strains are incubated at 37°C. Media used for growth and sporulation of yeast have been described by Sherman, F., Fink, G.R., and Lawrence, C.W. (1978). In Methods Yeast Genetics , Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, NY. For routine culture, YEPD medium (1% yeast extract, 2% peptone, 2% glucose) is used. The synthetic complete medium contained in (L -1 ): glucose, 20g; vitamin-free yeast nitrogen base (Difco), 6.7g; biotin, 2 µg; calcium pantothenate, 400 µg; folic acid, 2 µg; niacin, 400 µg; p-aminobenzoic acid; 200 µg; pyridoxine hydrochloride, 400 µg; myo -inositol, 2mg; lysine, 20mg; arginine, 20mg; methionine, 20mg; threonine, 300mg; tryptophan, 20mg; leucine, 60mg; histidine, 10mg; adenine, 20mg; uracil, 40mg; and agar (for plates only), 20g. Auxotrophic markers are checked on medium lacking a single component of the complete medium (drop-out medium). Inositol-free medium (I - ) is identical to synthetic complete medium with the exception that myo -inositol has been omitted. As described by Ruby, S.W., Szostak, J.W., and Murray, A.W. (1983). Methods Enzymol. 101, 253-267, a buffered medium used to score β-galactosidase activity consists of all components of synthetic complete medium except vitamin-free yeast nitrogen base, with the addition of 0.1MKH 2 PO4 (pH7.0), 15mM [NH 4 ] 2 SO4, 0.8mM MgSO 4 ·7H2O, 2 µM FeSO 4 ·6H 2 O, 75mM KOH, and 0.04 mgml -1 χ-gal. Where indicated media is supplemented with 10µM or 75 µM myo-inositol and/or 1mM choline chloride. In all work involving S. cerevisiae , cultures are incubated at 30°C. Bacterial strains were transformed with plasmid DNA following the calcium chloride procedure described by Mandel, M., and Higa, A. (1970). J.Mol. Biol. 53, 159-162. Yeast strains are transformed with isolated plasmid DNA using the lithium acetate method described by Ito, H., Yasuki, F., Murata, K., and Kimura, A. (1983). J. Bacteriol. 153, 163-168 and modified by Hirsch, J.P., and Henry, S.A. (1986). Mol. Cell. Biol. 6, 3320-3328. Where indicated, directed transformations and gapped-plasmid transformations are performed by digesting plasmids at specific endonuclease restriction sites. The following methods are used to assay for Opi - [ O ver P roduction of I nositol] phenotype: 1. Strains of S. cerevisiae are tested for the Opi - phenotype by a modification of the method first described by Greenberg, M., Goldwasser, P., and Henry, S. (1982). Mol. Gen. Genet. 186, 157-163 and Greenberg, M.L., Reiner, B., and Henry, S.A. (1982). Genetics 100 , 19-33. 2. Strains are patched into I - plates and, after 24h incubation, sprayed with a suspension of a tester strain (AID) in sterile distilled water. The tester strain is a diploid homozygous for an adel marker, which confers a red phenotype and an INO1 marker, which confers inositol auxotrophy (Table 1). Overproduction and excretion of inositol by strains results in growth of the tester strain as seen by a red halo around the patch (See Figure 2). List of S . cerevisiae strains used in this study Strain designation Genotype AID ade1/ade1 ino1/ino1 MAT a/α DC5 his3-11,15 leu2-3,-112 MAT a W303-1A ade2-1 can1-100 his3-11,15 leu2-3,-112 trp1.1 ura3-1 MAT a WT1 leu2-3,-112 MATα WT2 ade5 leu2-3,-112 MATα JH0-6D opi1-1 ade5 leu2-3,-112 trp1-1 ura3-1 MAT a JH2-3D opi1-1 hom3 MAT a JH2-7C spo11 ade2 MATα NO80 opi1-2 his3-11,-15 leu2-3,-112 MAT a NO99 opi1-3 his3-11,-15 leu2-3,-112 MAT a OP1 opi1-1 lys2 MATα OP12 opi1-12 lys2 MATα OP-lacZ opi1-1 ade5 leu2-3,-112 trp1-1 URA3 (pJH334, INO1'lac Z) ura3-1 MAT a OP-Δ1 opi1-::LEU2 leu2-3,-112 his3-11, -15 MAT a OP-A2 opi1-Δ:LEU2 leu2-3,-112 his3-11, -15 MAT a DD1 opi1-::LEU2/OPI1 his3-11,-15/ HIS3 leu2-3,-112/leu2-3,-112 MAT a/α DD2 opi1-::LEU2/opi1-1 his3-11,-15/ HIS3 leu2-3,-112/LEU2 LYS2/ lys2 MAT a/α DD3 opi1-::LEU2/opi1-12 his3-11,-15/ HIS3 leu2-3,-112/LEU2 LYS2/ lys2 MAT a/α 3. Strains transformed with genomic DNA in high-copy shuttle vectors or centromeric are assayed using I - plates lacking leucine or uracil. The chromosomal mapping, cloning and subcloning of the OPI1 gene are done as follows: 1. The SPO11 -maping technique described by Klapholtz, S., and Esposito, R.E. (1982). Genetics 100, 387-412 was chosen to map the OPI1 locus. a. This procedure utilizes the ability of diploid strains homozygous for the spo11 -1 mutation to undergo chromosomal segregation without appreciable recombination during sporulation. b. While constructing strains required for the SPO11 -mapping technique, it was determined that the OPI1 gene and SPO11 gene are on the same chromosome and not separable by recombination. 2. A 9.5 kilobase (kb) yeast genomic clone containing the SPO11 gene, p(SPO11)1, was obtained from C. Atcheson and R. Esposito and used to transform an opi1 mutant strain (JH0-6D). a. This 9.5kb fragment has been cloned into the yeast centromeric plasmid YC p 19 Stinchcomb , D.T., Mann, C., and Davis, R.W. (1982). J. Mol. Biol. 158, 157-179; (Table 2). b. Two additional clones were obtained from C. Atcheson and R. Esposito that had been used to localize the SPO11 gene and were tested for their ability to complement an opi1 mutation (See Figure 3). c. Plasmid p(SPO11]3 is a 4.0kb Bam H1- Hind III fragment from p(SPO11)1 cloned into YCp50, Johnston, M., and Davis, R.W. (1984). Mol. Cell. Biol. 4, 1440-1448 and p(SPO11)9 is a Sal I digest of p(SPO11)1 religated (Table 2). List of plasmid constructions Plasmid Subclone Vector p(SPO11)1 9.5kb from yeast genomic DNA YCp19 p(SPO11)3 4.0kb Bam HI -Hind III from p(SPO11)1 YCp50 p(SPO11)9 Sal I digest/religation of p(SPO11)1 YCp19 pJH334 1.0kb BgI II- Pst I 5' INO1 DNA in frame with lac Z Ylp357R pJH344 2.8kb Bam HI -Sal I from p(SPO11)3 YEp351 pJH354 2.8kb Sst l- Hind III from p(SPO11)3 YEp351 pJH355 1.2kb Bgl II-. Hind III from p(SPO11)3 YEp351 pMW10 2.0kb Xho I- Xho I from pJH354 YEp352 pMW11 2.0kb Xho I- Xho I from pJH354 (opposite orientation) YEp352 pMW12 1.3kb eco RV- Hind III from pJH354 YEp352 pMW13 0.8kb Eco RV- Hind III from pJH354 YEp352 pMW14 2.0kb Sst I -Pst I from pMW10 YIp351 pMW15 2.0kb Sst I -Pst I from pMW11 YIp351 pMW16 3.0kb Bgl II- Bgl II LEU2 into pMW10 YEp351 pMW17 3.0kb BgI II- Bgl II LEU2 into pMW10 (opposite orientation) YEp352 pMW18 3.0kb BgI II- Bgl II LEU2 into pMW11 YEp352 pMW19 3.0kb BgI II- Bgl II LEU2 into pMW11 (opposite orientation) YEp352 pMW20 2.2kb Sal I- Xho I LEU2 into Xho I- Xho I Δ of pJH354 YEp351 pMW21 2.2kb Sal I- Xho I LEU2 into Xho I- Xho I Δ of pJH354 (opposite orientation) YEp351 pMW22 1.5kb Spe I- Xho I from pMW10 YEp352 pMW23 1.4kb Nae I- Xho I from pMW10 YEp352 pMW24 1.0kb Dra I- Xho I from pMW10 YEp352 3. The yeast/ E. coli shuttle vectors described by Hill, J.E., Myers, A.M., Koerner, T.J., and Tzagoloff, A. (1986). Yeast 2, 163-167 are used to construct additional subclones (Table 2). a. The Bam HI- Sal I, Sst I , Hind III and BglII-HindIII fragments from p(SPO11)3 are cloned into YEp351 to give pJH344, pJH354 and pJH355 respectively. b. Fragment Xho I- Xho I from pJH354 is cloned in both orientations, into the Sal I site of YEp352 to give plasmids pMW10 and pMW11. c. The fragments Eco RV- Hind III and Eco RV- Xho I from pJH354 are cloned into the Sma I- Hind III and Sma I- Sal I sites of YEp352 to give plasmids pMW12 and pMW13 respectively. d. Cloned fragments of pMW10 and pMW11 are also cloned into YIp351, using the Sst I- Pst I sites of YEp352, to give plasmids pMW14 and pMW15 respectively (Table 2). All of these subclones are tested for their ability to complement the opi1 mutant phenotype (See Figure 3). Yeast strains carrying an INO1'lac Z fusion are constructed as follows. Mutations in the OPI1 gone result in constitutive expression of the INO1 gene. In order to obtain a plate phenotype based on the β-galactosidase assay, strains carrying a section of the INO1 promoter fused to the lacZ reporter gene of E. coli are constructed. The integrating plasmid pJH334, [Hirsch, J.P., Lopes, J.M., Chorgo, P.A., and Henry, S.A. (1991). Nucl. Acids Res. Submitted; (See Table 2)] is used to transform yeast strains. This plasmid has been constructed from the lacz-fusion vector YIp357R [Myers, A.M., Tzagoloff, A., Kinney, D.M., and Lusty, C.J. (1986). Gene 45, 299-310] and contains a 1.0kb fragment of 5' INO1 DNA fused in frame with lacZ. In previous studies, this fusion was shown to be fully regulated in response to inositol and choline and be expressed constitutively in an opi1 mutant background, Hirsch, J.P., Lopes, J.M., Chorgo, P.A., and Henry, S.A. (1991). Nucl. Acids Res. Submitted . Plasmid DNA that had been linearized at the URA3 selectable marker with Stu1 is used to transform Ura strains W303-1A and JH0-6D. The opi1-1 strain OP -lacZ (Table I) carrying a single copy of the INO1'lacZ fusion, is also transformed with plasmid pMW14 or pMW15. Each of these are directed to the OPI1 locus by linearizing the plasmid at the Bgl II site. All transformants are tested for β-galactosidase activity using χ-gal plates with and without phospholipid precursors, inositol and choline. The isolation of DNA and RNA is described below. plasmid DNA is isolated from transformed bacterial strains either by the boiling miniprep method, originally described by Holmes, D.S., and Quigley, M. (1981). Anal. Biochem. 114, 193-197, or the CsCl-EtBr gradient procedure used by Clewell, D.B., and Helinski, D.R. (1969). Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 62, 1159-1166. Plasmids used for the preparation of sequencing templates are constructed by inserting agarose-gel purified OPI1 restriction fragments, from plasmids pMW10 and pMW11, into the vector pGEM™-5Zf(+) [Promega Biotech; See Figure 7]. For induction of ssDNA, E. coli XL1-Blue cells containing pGEM-5Zf(+) recombinants are infected with the helper phage M13K07 (Promega Biotech). Single-stranded DNA exported from bacterial cells as encapsidated virus-like particles is purified by simple precipitation and extraction procedures. Isolation of yeast-genomic DNA for Southern-blot analysis is performed using the method described by Hoffman, C.S., and Winston, F. (1987). Gene 57, 267-272. Total yeast RNA from organisms grown in the presence and absence of phospholipid precursors is isolated using the glass-bead disruption and hot-phenol extraction procedure of Elion, R.A., and Warner, J.R. (1984). Cell 39, 663-673. The following methods are used to construct the opi1 disruption alleles: 1. Plasmids containing disrupted OPI1 fragments are constructed using either pMW10/pMW11 or pJH354 (Table 2). 2. Plasmid pMW10 or pMW11 is linearized at the Bgl II site, which is internal to the cloned DNA, and a 3.0kb Bgl II- Bgl II LEU2 gene-fragment from YEp13 is inserted in either orientation. This gives rise to plasmids pMW16, pMW17, pMW18 and pMW19 (Table 2). 3. Plasmid pJH354 is digested with the restriction endonuclease Xho I, so as to remove a 2.0kb fragment from the cloned OPI1 gene fragment, and a 2.2kb Sal I- Xho I LEU2 gene-fragment from YEp13 is inserted in either orientation, giving plasmids pMW20 and pMW21 [Table 2]. The opi1 gene-fragments containing the selectable LEU2 yeast gene is liberated from plasmids by cutting with Sst I- Hind III (See Figure 4a, b) and used in a one-step disruption transformation of a haploid strain (DC5) wild-type for OPI1 as described by Rothstein, R.J. (1983). Methods Enzymol. 101, 202-211. The following methods are used to construct diploid opi1 disruption strains containing multiple insertions of the gene, INO1 , encoding for inositol-1-phosphate synthesis. Southern-blot analysis as taught by Southern, E.M. (1975). J. Mol. Biol. 98, 503-517 is done as follows. Yeast genomic DNA is digested for 6-7 hours with the appropriate restriction enzymes and analyzed by blot hybridization. Digested DNA is subjected to electrophoresis through a 1% (w/v) agarose gel in 89mM Tris base-89mM boric acid-2mM EDTA (pH8.0) (TBE) and transferred to nitrocellulose (0.45 µM poresize; S&S NC, Schleicher and Schuell, Inc.) as described by Maniatis, T., Fritsch, E.F. and Sambrook, J. (1982) in Molecular Cloning , A Laboratory Manual , Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, NY. Blots were prehybridized and 32 P-labelled nick-translated probes hybridized at 37°C according to the procedure of Maniatis, et al. (1982). Northern and slot-blot analysis are done as described below: 1. Total yeast RNA is fractionated on a 1.2% [W/V] agarose-3% (V/V) formaldehyde-20mM 3-(N-morpholino)-propanesulfonic acid [pH7.4]-1mM EDTA gel and transferred to nitocellulose as described by Thomas, P.S. (1980). Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci USA 77, 5201-5205. 2. Slot blots of total yeast RNA are prepared using a Hybrilot slot-blot manifold [Bethesda Research Laboratories]. 3. Total RNA [1,2 and 3 µg] is applied directly to nitrocellulose under high-salt conditions [3MNacl, 0.3M Na 3 C 6 H 5 O 7 • 2H 2 O] 4. Northern blots and slot blots are prehybridized and 32 P-labelled ssRNA probes, synthesized using SP6 polymerase (Boehringer Mannheim Biochemicals), hybridized as described for Southern blots with the exception that the incubation temperature was 53°C. 5. Slot-blot hybridization signals are quantitated after a visual examination using Kodak X-Omat AR X-ray film [Eastman kodak Company], by cutting out each slot and counting its radioactivity using a Beckman LS5801 liquid scintillation counter (Beckman Instruments, Inc.). Single-stranded DNA templates are sequenced using the dideoxy chain-termination procedure first described by Sanger, F., Nicklen, S., and Coulsen, A.R. (1977). Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 74, 5463-5467. The universal M13 primer is annealed to ssDNA templates and DNA sequencing performed using a Sequenase kit [United States Biochemical Corp.]. The radionucleotide [α - 35 S] ATP (Amersham) is used in all labelling reactions. Routinely, 4-8% (W/V) polyacrylamide - 7M urea wedge-gels (0.2-0.8mm) are used and run on an IBI Standard Sequencer [Model STS 45; International Biotechnologies, Inc.) at a constant 80 watts. Sequencing gels are not fixed before exposure to X-ray film, but dried directly onto Whatman 3M filter paper as described by Kraft, R., Tardiff, J. Krauter, K.S. and Leinwand, L.A. (1988). Biotechniques 6, 544-547. The DNA Strider program (version 1.0) and PC/Gene (version 6.01) are used for immediate analysis of the OPI1 nucleotide and protein sequences. Both GenBank (version 60.0) and EMBL (version 18.0) libraries on BIONET were searched to find nucleotide sequences similar to that of OPI1 . Protein databases NBRF-PIR (version 20.0) and SWISS-Prot (version 10.0) on BIONET were searched for protein sequences similar to the predicted polypeptide sequence of OPI1. Plasmid-borne copies of several opi1 mutant alleles are obtained using the gap-repair procedure described by Orr-Weaver, T.L., Szostak, J.W., and Rothstein, R.J. (1983). Methods Enzymol. 101, 228-245. This technique utilizes the ability of yeast to repair gaps in cloned genes using information from chroiosomal DNA. Thus, when a gapped plasmid is used to transform a strain harboring a mutant allele, and the deletion extends past the chromosomal mutation, the mutated sequence is copied onto the plasmid. Using the integrating plasmid pMW14 (Table 2), a series of four gapped plasmids are constructed that had sequences deleted from the OPI1 coding region. These are a 141bp Spe I- Nae I deletion, a 602 bp Nae I- Bgl II deletion, a 315bp Bgl II- Sal I deletion and a 194bp Sal I- Nsi I deletion. Three opi1 mutant strains, JHO-6D, NO80 and NO99, are transformed with each of the four gapped-plasmids and all Leu + transformats assayed for the Opi - phenotype. Transformants that retained the Opi - phenotype are assumed to have an integrated copy of the repaired gapped-plasmid, resulting in two copies of the gene each containing the mutant allele. Genomic DNA was isolated from several Leu + Opi - transformants as previously described. By digesting 5-10 µg. of DNA with any restriction endonuclease that cut once within the cloned DNA and ligating under dilute conditions, plasmids containing the mutant alleles are re-isolated. Plasmids containing mutant alleles are amplified using the E. coli strain DH5α and the repaired gaps are subcloned into sections for ssDNA sequencing, as previously described. The chromosomal mapping, cloning and localization of the OPI1 gene is obtained as follows. The OPI1 gene is assigned to a chromosomal map position to determine its location with respect to other genes involved in phospholipid biosynthesis. Crosses to strains bearing the SPO11 mutation, Klapholtz, S., and Esposito, R.E. (1982). Genetics 100, 387-412, indicated that the OPI1 gene is tightly linked to SPO11 on chromosome VIII. When a haploid strain carrying an opi1-1 allele (JH2-3D) is crossed to a haploid strain containing a spo11-1 allele (JH2-7C) and the diploids sporulated, of 46 tetrads examined, 43 contain spores with the parental configuration (i.e., opi1 , SPO11 or OPI1 spo11 ). In these tetrads, the opi1 and SPO11 alleles segregate 2 + :2 - . The other three tetrads have a 3:1 segregation pattern for the opi1 mutation and are most likely a result of a gene conversion event at the OPI1 locus. Thus, OPI1 and SPO11 are on the same chromosome and recombine with a frequency of less than 2%. Three clones, p(SPO11)1, p(SPO11)3, and p(SPO11)9 that are used to localize the SPO11 gene were generously provided by C. Atcheson and R. Esposito. See Atcheson, C. L., DiDomenico, B., Frankman, S., Esposito, R. E. and Elder, R. T. (1987). Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 84, 8035-8039. The ability of these clones to complement an opi1 mutation is shown in Figure 3. Complementation studies reveal that the OPI1 gene is distinct from SPO11 since plasmid p(SPO11)3, which does not complement spo11, complements opi1, and p(SPO11)9, which complements spo11, does not complement opi1 8 . The ATR1 ( A djacent T ranscript 1) gene, unlike the SPO11 gene, is not expressed during sporulation and its function is unknown. See Atcheson, C. L., DiDomenico, B., Frankman, S., Esposito, R. E. and Elder, R. T. (1987). Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 84, 8035-8039. Further subcloning of p(SPO11) 1 eliminates the possibility that the ATR1 RNA encoded the OPI1 gene product (Figure 3). Approximately half of the ATR1 transcription unit is deleted in p(SPO11)3 and yet this clone fully complements the opi1 - phenotype. Furthermore, complementation of the opi1 lesion is also observed with plasmid pJH354, demonstrating that the leftmost 1.8kb Bam HI- Sst I fragment is not required for OPI1 function. Plasmid pMW12, which includes about 0.6kb of sequence upstream of the ATR1 initiation site, does not complement the Opi1 - phenotype. Plasmid pJH344, which does not include any of the ATR1 transcription unit, is capable of partial complementation, and the 2.0kb Xho I- Xho I fragment (pMW10 or pMW11) which includes only a few hundred bases downstream of the ATR1 transcription start site, fully complements the opi1 lesion. Plasmids pMW10 and pMW11 contain (in opposite orientations) the smallest subclone that complements opi1 (See Figure 3). Since either orientation of the smallest subclone is capable of complementation, the fragment most contains the entire OPI1 coding and promoter sequences. Complementation studies show that the OPI1 gene is in fact distinct from SPO11 as well as closely located gene, ATR1. Integration of the cloned DNA, disruption of the chromosomal opi1 locus and genetic analysis of the opi1 insertion allele are accomplished as follows: The 2.0kb OPI1 fragment contained on plasmids pMW10 and pMW11 is also capable of complementing an opi1 mutation in single copy. Integrating plasmids pMW14 and pMW15 (See Figure 3 and Table 3), each containing the 2.0kb OPI1 fragment in an opposite orientation are linearized at a unique Bgl II site (See Figure 3) and used in a directed transformation of an opi1 mutant strain JHO-6D. Transformants are selected on the basis of leucine prototrophy and subsequently assayed for the Opi1 - phenotype as described before (See Figure 2). Southern-blot analysis of genomic DNA confirms single-copy integrants. Complementation of the opi1 lesion by a single-integrated copy of the OPI1 clone eliminates the possibility that a suppression carried in a high-copy plasmid may have been responsible for complementation by suppressing the Opi1 - phenotype. Insertion and deletion mutations (Table 2) are first constructed in autonomously-replicating plasmids, as described previously. Disruption of the cloned DNA is confirmed by transforming opi1 mutant strains with either plasmid pMW16 [containing an insertion of the LEU2 gene into the smallest OPI1 subclone] or pMW20 (containing a deletion of the OPI1 sequence with an insertion of the LEU2 gene). These plasmids fail to complement an opi1 mutation. To determine the phenotype of a disruption mutation at the genomic OPI1 locus, cloned DNA fragments from pMW16 and pMW20 are used in a one-step disruption transformation of a Leu2 - haploid strain wild-type for OPI1 (See Figure 4a,b). Leu + transformants, in both cases, overproduce and excrete inositol giving a similar phenotype to existing opi1 alleles in the Opi - test (See Figure 2). Integration of the disrupted OPI1 -gene fragments at the OPI1 locus by homologous recombination is confirmed by Southern-blot analysis (See Figure 5). A strain containing the insertion-disruption allele opi1 - ::LEU2 (strain OP- 1; Table 1) is crossed with two OPI1 strains and two strains containing different opi1 alleles, opi1-1 (OP1) and opi1 -12 (OPI12). Diploids are first tested for their ability to excrete inositol (See Figure 2). Diploid strains heterozygous for the OPI1 wild-type allele and the opi1 ::LEU2 allele exhibit an Opi + phenotype whereas diploids produced by crossing haploid strains carrying the opi1-1 or opi1-12 alleles to strains carrying the opi1 disruption alleles have an Opi - phenotype. Dissection of tetrads from the OPI1/opi1 -::LEU2 diploid give the expected 2 + :2 - segregation of the Opi + :Opi - phenotype. With the exception of two tetrads out of 55, Leu + co-segregates with the Opi - phenotype (Table 4). Tetrads from crosses involving strains containing either an opi1-1 or opi1-12 allele with the strain carrying an opi1-::LEU2 allele show a 0 + :4 - segregation pattern of Opi + :Opi - . Since the strain carrying the opi1-::LEU2 allele still contains a mutant LEU2 allele, a two-gene segregation pattern of Leu + :Leu - is observed (Table 4). These results confirm that the inserted DNA is linked to the OPI1 locus and not to the LEU2 locus. Since a one-step gene-disruption transformation is successfully performed in a haploid strain wild-type for OPI1 , this indicates that OPI1 is not an essential gene, and removal of its function is not lethal to the organism. Genetic analysis of an opi1 insertion allele confirming that the cloned gene is OPI1 Cross N o of tetrads dissected Opi + / Opi - Leu + / Leu - Co-segregation of Opi - and Leu + 2:2 0:4 2:2 1:3 3:1 4:0 opi1-::LEU2 his3 X WT1 leu2 27 27 0 26 1 0 0 53/54 opi1-::LEU2 his3 X WT2 ade5 leu2 28 28 0 27 1 0 0 55/56 opi1-::LEU2 his3 X opi1-1 lys2 26 0 26 0 0 12 14 not relevant opi1-::LEU2 his3 X opi1-12 lys2 30 0 30 1 0 19 10 not relevant All other markers segregated in a 2:2 fashion. The data shows that the opi1 insertion-disruption allele expresses derepressed levels of INO1 mRNA constitutively. In order to confirm that the opi1 gene disruption strains have a phenotype similar to opi1 mutants previously isolated, levels of INO1 mRNA are analyzed in strains carrying the opi1-::LEU2 allele grown under derepressing and repressing growth conditions (See Figure 6). Slot blots of total RNA are probed with a 32 P-labeled INO1 specific riboprobe generated from plasmid pJH320, Hirsch, J.P., and Henry S.A. (1986). Mol. Cell. Biol. 6, 3320-3328. The amounts of INO1 mRNA are normalized to mRNA values obtained for the ribosomal protein gene TCM1 , (Fried, H. M., and Warner, J. R. (1981). Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 78, 238-242) to correct for differences in RNA loadings, and expressed relative to wild-type derepressed levels. Strains wild-type for the OPI1 gene regulate the level of INO1 mRNA in response to soluble phospholipid precursors (See Figure 6). These data on expression of INO1 in wild type and opi1 strains are consistent with the data previously reported by, Hirsch, J.P., and Henry, S.A. (1986). Mol. Cell. Biol. 6, 3320-3328. In the strain carrying the OPI1-::LEU2 allele INO1 transcription is constitutively derepressed in a manner similar to that found in the strain containing the opi1-1 allele (See Figure 6). Both opi1 mutant strains display a two- to three-fold increase in INO1 mRNA as compared to wild-type derepressed levels. Thus the phenotype of mutants carrying the insertion-disruption allele at the OPI1 locus is identical to the phenotype of previously described opi1 mutants with regard to overproduction of inositol and INO1 expression (See Figure 2 and Figure 6). It was found that the cloned DNA restores regulation of the INO1 structural gene in an opi1 background, Yeast strains carrying an integrated copy of an INO1'lacZ fusion, as described previously, (See Hirsch, J. P., Lopes, J. M., Chorgo, P. A., and Henry, S. A. (1991). Nucl. Acids Res. Submitted.) were analyzed for their response to phospholipid precursors (Table 3). A strain wild-type for OPI1 expressed 3-galactosidase activity under derepressing growth conditions, as seen by a dark blue phenotype on χ-gal plates. Under repressing growth conditions (I + C + ) this strain has a light-blue phenotype indicating a basal/repressed level of β-galactosidase activity. The opi1 mutant carrying the INO1'lacZ fusion (OP- lac Z; Table 1) expresses derepressed levels of β-galactosidase, under derepressing and repressing growth conditions. The opi1 mutant containing an INO1'lacZ fusion, when transformed with either pMW14 or pMW15 results in the ability of the INO1 promoter to respond to repressing and derepressing growth conditions. All transformants that appeared to have restored INO1 regulation are tested for overproduction of inositol (Table 3). Complementation of the Opi1 - phenotype coincided with the restoration of INO1 's response to phospholipid precursors. The nucleotide-sequence analysis and identification of the OPI1 coding region are done as follows: The nucleotide sequence of the 2kb OPI1 -complementinq fragment is determined using the sequencing strategy shown in Figure 7. An open reading frame (ORF) of 1212bp is identified, starting with an ATG codon at nucleotide 439 and terminating with TAA codon at position 1650 (See Figure 8). Within this ORF there are three other potential translational start sites located at nucleotides 565, 829 and 1093 (See Figure 8). Computer analysis identified two other ORF's greater than 200bp in the opposite strand. However, these do not coincide with the position of the LEU2 gene insertion (See Figure 4a) and are therefore eliminated from further consideration. The cloned OPI1 gene is further subcloned using unique restriction sites identified by sequence analysis (See Figure 9). Three 5' deletions of the complementing Xho I- Xho I fragment are cloned into YEp352 to generate plasmids pMW22, pMW23 and pMW24 (Table 2). Plasmids pMW23 and pMW24 fail to complement an opi1 mutation because they are unable to encode the complete OPI1 protein (Opi1p). Plasmid pMW22, however, partially complements the Opi1 - phenotype, as seen by a small excretion ring in the Opi - test. This clone contains 10 untranslated nucleotides upstream of the first ATG (See Figures 8 and 9). This may suggest that the complete OPI1 gene product is translated from the sequence contained on pMW22. It is, however, possible that one of the downstream ATGs is used as the start codon, however, the data available does suggest that the ATG at nucleotide 439 is the translation initiation site for Opi1p. Strains bearing the opi1 mutant alleles, Opi1-1 (JHO-6D), opi1-2 (NO80) and opi1-3 (NO99), are transformed with the gapped plasmids described above. This analysis reveals that the mutations contained in all three strains lie within the same small stretch of DNA. Strains transformed with the gapped plasmids containing Spe I- Nae I, Nae I- Bgl II or Sal I- Nsi I deletions exhibit a complemented, Opi + , phenotype. The gaps in these plasmids do not extend past the chromosomal mutation. When strains are transformed with the Bgl II- Sal I gapped plasmid, all retain the Opi - phenotype. Failure of this construct to rescue any of the mutant alleles indicates that, in each case, the mutation must lie between the Bgl II and the Sal I restriction sites of the OPI1 locus. Sequencing of Eco RV- Sal I fragments from re-isolated gapped plasmids (See Figure 3) identifies nonsense mutations in each of the three alleles, all located within the first polyglutamine stretch of amino acid residues. Alleles opi1-3 and opi1-2 have a "TAA" codon located at nucleotide 1294 and 1312 respectively, whereas strain opi1-1 has a "TAG" codon at nucleotide 1315 (See Figure 8). The Opi1 protein is analyzed as follows: Translation of the OPI1 ORF predicts a protein (Opi1p) composed of 404 amino acids (See Figure 8) with a molecular weight of 40,036. Opilp is a fairly acidic protein having an isoelectric point of 4.77. The codon bias produced for Opi1p using the method of Bennetzen, J.L., and Hall, B.D. (1982). J. Biol. Chem. 257, 3026-3031, was 0.089, indicating that the OPI1 gene product is a low-abundance protein Bennetzen, J.L., and Hall, B.D. (1982). J. Biol. Chem. 257, 3026-3031; Sharp, P., Tuhoy, T., and Mosurski, K. (1986). Nucl. Acids Res. 14, 5125-5143. This is consistent with the fact that Opi1p is a regulatory protein. Hydropathicity analysis, Kyte, J., and Doolittle, K.F. (1982). J. Mol. Biol . 157, 105-132, of Opi1p indicates no substantial hydrophobic regions suggesting that there are no membrane spanning regions. A heptad repeat of leucine residues (leucine zipper) is identified in the amino-acid sequence, starting at nucleotide 853 (See Figure 8). In a structural analysis of several proteins that are involved in gene regulation, Landschulz, W.H., Johnson, P.F., and McKnight, S.L. (1988). Science 240, 1759-1764, identified a leucine zipper encoded in the yeast transcriptional regulatory gene , GCN4, and the mammalian enhancer binding protein, C/EBP, as well as the proto-oncogene products belonging to the Jun, Fos, and Myc family of nuclear transforming proteins. This structure forms a stable α- helix whereby the leucines, repeated every seventh residue, form a hydrophobic spine down one face of the helix. The dimerization of monomer is stabilized by hydrophobic interactions between closely opposed α-helical leucine repeats, Landschulz, W.H., Johnson, P.F., and McKnight, S.L. (1988). Science 240, 1759-1764. The formation of these protein complexes is involved in the juxtapositioning of basic domains, or other DNA-binding domains, that facilitate binding of the protein to DNA. When represented in the form of helical structure, the Opi1p leucine zipper region exhibits amphipathicity that is consistent with many of the aforementioned DNA-binding proteins. The leucine residues of the zipper align down one face every second turn of the α-helix, while immediately opposite is a preponderance of amino-acid residues having either charged or uncharged polar side-chains. In addition, there are more hydrophobic residues that lie adjacent to the leucine residues at three out of four positions. It is believed that these adjacently positioned hydrophobic residues may add to the stability of hetero- or homo-dimers in the form of a coiled coil. (See Gentz, R., Rauscher, F., J., III, Abate, C., and Curran, T. (1989). Science 243, 1695-1699; Landschulz, W. H., Johnson, P. F., and McKnight, S. L. (1989). Science 243, 1681-1688; O'Shea, E. K., Rutkowski, R., and Kim, P. S. (1989a). Science 243, 538-542; O'Shea, R. K., Rutkowski, R., Stafford, W., F., III, and Kim, P.S. (1989b), Science 245, 646-648; Ransone, L. J., Visvader, J., Sassone-Corsi, P., and Verma, I. M. (1989). Genes Devel. 3,770-781; Smeal, T., Angel, P., Meek, J., and Karin, M. (1989). Genes Devel. 3,2091-2100). Immediately NH 2 -terminal to the Opi1p leucine zipper is a 30 amino-acid residue region that contains a net basic charge. The basic domain is directly involved in protein-DNA binding and, together, the leucine zipper and basic domain are implicated as having a role in some DNA-binding proteins that regulate transcription. (See Landschulz, W. H., Johnson, P. F., and McKnight, S. L. (1988). Science 240,1759-1764; Landschulz, W. H., Johnson, P. F., and McKnight, S. L. (1989). Science 243, 1681-1688; Brendel, V., and Karlin, S. (1989). Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 86, 5698-5702; Kouzarides, T., and Ziff, E. (1989). Nature 340, 568-571; Vinson, C. R., Sigler, P. B., and McKnight, S. L. (1989). Science 246, 911-916). Based on the identification of cis -acting regulatory elements in the 5'promoter region on INO1 , Hirsch, J.P., Lopes, J.M., Chorgo, P.A., and Henry, S.A. (1991). Nucl. Acids Res., Submitted , has employed DNA-binding/mobility-shift assays along with oligonucleotide competition experiments to assess the possible interaction of DNA-binding proteins with the INO1 promoter. Using protein extracts from cells wild-type for OPI1 as well as extracts from strains carrying the disruption alleles, an OPI1 -dependent protein-DNA complex has been identified. when these studies are repeated using extracts from a strain carrying the opi1-1 allele transformed with the cloned OPI1 gene, the protein-DNA complex reappears. That Opi1p contains a well defined leucine zipper and associated basic domain makes it a DNA-binding repressor protein that binds directly to the INO1 promoter, and the promoter of other structural genes involved in the phospholipid biosynthetic pathway. Opilp may either dimerize with itself in the form of a coiled coil, similar to the yeast transcriptional activator encoded by GCN4 , Kouzarides, T., and Ziff, E. (1989). Nature 340, 568-571; O'Shea, E.K., Rutkowski, R., and Kim, P.S. (1989). Science 243, 538-542, or complexes with another protein to form a heterodimer, similar to the c-jun and c-fos proto-oncogene products, Kouzarides, T., and Ziff, E. (1989). Nature 340, 568-571; Ransone, L.J., Visvader, J., Sassone-Corsi, P., and Verma, I.M. (1989). Genes Devel. 3, 770-781. Two polyglutamine-residue stretches are also found in the translated OPI1 sequence, starting at nucleotides 1294 and 1567 (See Figure 8). One consists of 21 glutamine resides with two intervening leucine doublets, and a smaller one of 9 glutamine residues is interrupted by a single tyrosine and arginine residue. Searching the nucleotide- and protein-sequence databases identified several genes with similarities to OPI1. However, this was due in large to the presence of sequences encoding polyglutamine residues. It is striking that glutamine-rich regions and polyglutamine tracts are being reported in an increasing number of predicted yeast proteins that have regulatory functions. When Opi1p is analyzed using the FLEXPRO program in PC/GENE (version 6.01) the polyglutamine tracts are predicted to confer flexibility to the protein. This property may be involved in the orientation of binding domains to specific sites on DNA and/or other DNA-binding proteins, Bohmann, D., Bos, T.J., Admon, A., Nishimura, T., Vogt, P.K., and Tijan, R. (1987). Science 238, 1386-1392; Brendel, V., and Karlin, S. (1989). Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 86, 5698-5702. The opi1 nonsense mutations and the opi1 insertion-disruption mutation all truncate Opilp, removing the polyglutamine tracts. This causes the disappearance of an OPI1 -dependent DNA-protein complex involving the INO1 promoter possibly implicating a role for this structural motif in DNA binding. This interpretation is further supported by the fact that plasmid pJH344 (See Figure 3), which contains the first long stretch of polyglutamine-residues but has the most carboxy-terminal stretch deleted, partially complemented an opi1 mutation. The nucleotide sequence of OPI1 has identified a gene product that has properties consistent with its predicted role as a DNA-binding protein. The finding that Opi1p possesses structural motifs, such as a leucine zipper and polyglutamine tracts (See Figure 8), that are found in a wide variety of DNA-binding proteins is a particularly significant one. The following methods are used to construct diploid opi1 - disruption strains containing multiple insertions of the gene, INO1 , encoding for inositol 1-phosphate synthase: 1. Haploid yeast strains, opi1 - ::LEU2, leu2 or LEU2, his 3 , ura3, MATα and opi1 - ::LEU2, leu2 or LEU2, his3, ura3, MATα, capable of receiving integrating plasmids containing the cloned INO1 gene are constructed. 2. The fully-regulated INO1 gene fragment [SstI-HindIII from pJH318; Hirsch, J. (1987). Ph.D. Thesis, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY.] is subcloned into the integrating vector YIp 352 [Hill J. E., Myers, A. M., Koerner, T. J. and Tzagoloff, A. (1986). Yeast 2, 163-167]. 3. Yeast transformations involving the two above mentioned OPl1-::LEU2 haploid strains and the integrating plasmid containing INO1 are performed using the methods described above. Integrating plasmids are directed at the mutated URA3 locus in each case using linearized plasmid cut internal to the URA3 marker. Transformants are selected on plates lacking uracil (URA - plates). Uracil prototrophs are checked again for correct selectable markers, mating type and Opi phenotype as described previously. 4. Southern-blot analysis of OPI1- ::LEU2 transformants confirming integration of plasmids containing the INO1 gene are prepared as described in methods to follow. 5. Transformants of opposite mating type, containing more than one copy of the INO1 gene as identified by Southern-blot analysis, are mated and diploids (containing six or more copies of INO1 ) selected using a micromanipulator. Diploids are tested for the Opi - phenotype as described above.

Claims: A genetically engineered yeast cell having multiple integrated copies of an INO1 gene, and which contains a functional stable recombinant DNA sequence comprising an OPI1 gene disruption mutation, that does not allow for the encoding of a negative regulator of inositol, inositol-containing metabolites or phospholipids. A cell as described in claim 1, wherein the OPI1 gene encodes the negative regulator Opilp. A cell as described in claim 1, wherein the yeast cell is of the type Saccharomyces cerevisiae A cell as described in claim 1, wherein the OPI1 gene has the nucleotide and amino acid sequence as shown in Figure 8. A cell as described in claim 2, wherein the Opilp consists of 404 amino acid residues and has a molecular weight of 40,036. A cell as described in claim 5, wherein the Opilp contains polyglutamine tracts and a leucine zipper. A cell as described in any preceding claim, wherein there are 3-6 copies of said INO1 gene. A method for the enhanced production of inositol, inositol-containing metabolites or phospholipids in a yeast cell comprising the steps of: (a) genetically engineering said yeast cell to form a functional stable recombinant DNA sequence comprising an OPI1 gene disruption mutation, that does not allow for the encoding of a negative regulator of inositol, inositol-containing metabolites or phospholipids; (b) transforming said yeast cell with a plasmid containing the INO1 gene wherein the integration of multiple copies of the INO1 gene results; and (c) generating the inositol, inositol-containing metabolites or phospholipids. A method as described in claim 8, wherein the yeast cell is of the type Saccharomyces cerevisiae. A method as described in claim 8, wherein the inositol, inositol containing metabolites or phospholipds includes myo-inositol or inositol-1-phosphate. A method as described in claim 8, wherein the OPI1 gene encodes the negative regulator Opilp. A method as described in claim 8, wherein the OPI1 gene has the nucleotide and amino acid sequence as shown in Figure 8. A method as described in claim 12, wherein the Opilp consists of 404 amino acid-residues and has a molecular weight of 40,036. A method as described in claim 13, wherein the Opilp contains polyglutamine tracts and a leucine zipper. A method of making a genetically engineered yeast cell, comprising the steps of: (a) genetically engineering said yeast cell to form a functional stable recombinant DNA sequence comprising an OPI1 gene disruption mutation, that does not allow for the encoding of a negative regulator of inositol, inositol-containing metabolites or phospholipids; and (b) transforming said yeast cell with a plasmid containing the INO1 gene wherein the integration of multiple copies of the INO1 gene results. A method as described in claim 15, wherein the yeast cell is of the type Saccharomyces cerevisiae. A method as described in claim 15 or 16, wherein said plasmid has a URA3 marker and said cell contains a URA3 locus and wherein said genetic engineering step further comprises the step of cutting said plasmid internal to said URA3 marker such that said plasmid is linearized and wherein said transforming step further comprises inserting said linearized plasmid into said cell such that it is directed to said URA3 locus. A method as described in claim 15, 16 or 17, wherein said yeast cell is a haploid and further comprising after the transforming step the steps of selecting the haploid cells having multiple copies of the INO1 gene and the step of mating the haploid cells to form diploid cells.

Inventors: HENRY SUSAN A, WHITE MICHAEL J, HENRY, SUSAN A., WHITE, MICHAEL J.
Applicants: UNIV CARNEGIE MELLON, CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY
Application year: 1992
Main classification: C12N1
IPC codes: C12N15, C12N1, C12R1, C12P9, C12P7