Isolation and partial characterization of the Kluyveromyces lactis homologue of SKP1.

The SKP1 gene of Kluyveromyces lactis was isolated as a suppressor of a lethal temperature-sensitive mutation in the Saccharomyces cerevisiae CTF13 gene (Chromosome Transmission Factor 13). KlSKP1 was localized at chromosome V, adjacent to KlPAS3. A similar arrangement of the two genes is present in S. cerevisiae. Disruption of the KlSKP1 gene was lethal, whereas overexpression of KlSKP1 lead to a decreased growth rate, to swollen and chain-forming cells with an increased DNA content, and to decreased plasmid stability. In both yeasts, promoter constructs lacking most of the purported binding sequence showed increased transcription levels of KlSKP1 in comparison to constructs with the entire promoter.