Anaphase-promoting complex/cyclosome-mediated proteolysis of Ams2 in the G1 phase ensures the coupling of histone gene expression to DNA replication in fission yeast

Abstract

Histone transcription and deposition are tightly regulated with the DNA replication cycle to maintain genetic integrity. Ams2 is a GATA-containing transcription factor responsible for core histone gene expression and for CENP-A loading at centromeres in fission yeast. Ams2 levels are cell cycle-regulated, and after the S phase Ams2 is degraded by the SCFpof3 ubiquitin ligase; however, the regulation of Ams2 in G1 or meiosis is poorly understood. Here we show that another ubiquitin ligase, the anaphase-promoting complex/cyclosome (APC/C) targets Ams2 for destruction in G1. Ubiquitylation and destruction of Ams2 is dependent upon a coactivator Cdh1/Ste9 and the KEN box in the C terminus of Ams2. We also find that stabilization of Ams2 sensitizes cells to the anti-microtubule drug thiabendazole and the histone deacetylase inhibitor tricostatin A when a histone deacetylase gene hst4 is deleted, suggesting that histone acetylation together with Ams2 stability ensures the coupling of mitosis to DNA replication. Furthermore, in meiosis, the failure of the APC/C-mediated destruction of Ams2 is deleterious, and pre-meiotic DNA replication is barely completed. These data suggest that Ams2 destruction via both the APC/C and the SCF ubiquitin ligases underlies the coordination of histone expression and DNA replication. © 2013 by The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.