The role of Sas2, an acetyltransferase homologue of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, in silencing and ORC function

Silencing at the cryptic mating-type loci HML and HMR of Saccharomyces cerevisiae requires regulatory sites called silencers. Mutations in the Rap1 and Abf1 binding sites of the HMR-E silencer (HMRa-e**) cause the silencer to be nonfunctional, and hence, cause derepression of HMR. Here, we have isolated and characterized mutations in SAS2 as second-site suppressors of the silencing defect of HMRa-e**. Silencing conferred by the removal of SAS2 (sas2Δ) depended upon the integrity of the ARS consensus sequence of the HMR-E silencer, thus arguing for an involvement of the origin recognition complex (ORC). Restoration of silencing by sas2Δ required ORC2 and ORC5, but not SIR1 or RAP1. Furthermore, sas2Δ suppressed the temperature sensitivity, but not the silencing defect of orc2-1 and orc5-1. Moreover, sas2Δ had opposing effects on silencing of HML and HMR. The putative Sas2 protein bears similarities to known protein acetyltransferases. Several models for the role of Sas2 in silencing are discussed.