NR AOHE
AU Roberts,B.T.; Wickner,R.B.
TI Heritable activity: a prion that propagates by covalent autoactivation.
QU Genes and Development 2003 Sep 1; 17(17): 2083-7
PT journal article
AB Known prions (infectious proteins) are self-propagating amyloids or conformationally altered proteins, but in theory an enzyme necessary for its own activation could also be a prion (or a gene composed of protein). We show that yeast protease B is such a prion, called ß. ß is infectious, reversibly curable, and its de novo generation is induced by overexpression of the pro-protease. Present in normal cells but masked by the functionally redundant protease A, ß is advantageous during starvation and necessary for sporulation. We propose that other enzymes whose active, modified, form is necessary for their maturation might also be prions.
MH Endopeptidases/*metabolism; Phenotype; Prions/biosynthesis/*metabolism; Yeasts/*metabolism
AD Laboratory of Biochemistry and Genetics, National Institute of Diabetes, Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892-0830, USA
SP englisch
PO USA