High impact information on MPH1

• Saccharomyces cerevisiae MPH1 gene, required for homologous recombination-mediated mutation avoidance, encodes a 3' to 5' DNA helicase [1].
• Further studies showed that MPH1 functions to channel DNA lesions into an error-free DNA repair pathway [1].
• The MPH1 (mutator pHenotype 1) gene of Saccharomyces cerevisiae was identified on the basis of elevated spontaneous mutation rates of haploid cells deleted for this gene [1].
• Genetic analyses have found epistasis of the mph1 deletion with mutations in the RAD52 gene group that mediates homologous recombination and DNA repair by homologous recombination [1].
• We present data to demonstrate that the Mph1 DNA helicase activity is fueled by ATP hydrolysis and has a 3' to 5' polarity with respect to the DNA strand on which this protein translocates [1].

Biological context of MPH1

• MPH1, a yeast gene encoding a DEAH protein, plays a role in protection of the genome from spontaneous and chemically induced damage [2].
• We have characterized the MPH1 gene from Saccharomyces cerevisiae. mph1 mutants display a spontaneous mutator phenotype [2].
• Selected motifs were shown to be necessary for MPH1 function by introducing missense mutations [2].

Other interactions of MPH1

• This approach led to the identification of several candidates, including a putative transcription factor, Azf1p, and Mph1p, a protein with an RNA helicase domain which is known to influence the mutation rate of nuclear and mitochondrial genomes [3].

References