Molecular characterization of the two genes SNQ and SFA that confer hyperresistance to 4-nitroquinoline-N-oxide and formaldehyde in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

The genes SNQ and SFA confer hyperresistance to 4-NQO and FA when present on a multi-copy plasmid in yeast. Both are non-essential genes since transplacement of SNQ by a disrupted snq-0::LEU2 yielded stable and viable haploid integrants. Southern analysis revealed that SNQ and SFA are single-loci genes, and OFAGE analysis showed that they are located on chromosome XIII and IV, respectively. Northern blot analysis of SNQ and SFA revealed poly(A)+ RNA transcripts of 2 kb and 1.7 kb, respectively. Nuclease S1 mapping showed SNQ to have a coding region of 1.6 kb and SFA, one of 1.3 kb. The 5' coding regions were determined for both genes, while the 3' end could only be determined for gene SNQ. Both genes do not appear to contain introns. The SFA locus was also mapped by transposon mutagenesis. Tn10-LUK integrants disrupted the SFA gene function at sites that were determined by subcloning to lie within the SFA transcription unit.