The FACT complex and cell cycle progression are essential to maintain asymmetric transcription factor partitioning during cell division

Abstract

The polarized partitioning of proteins in cells underlies asymmetric cell division, which is an important driver of development and cellular diversity. Like most cells, the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae divides asymmetrically to give two distinct daughter cells. This asymmetry mimics that seen in metazoans and the key regulatory proteins are conserved from yeast to human. A well-known example of an asymmetric protein is the transcription factor Ace2, which localizes specifically to the daughter nucleus, where it drives a daughter-specific transcriptional network. We performed a reverse genetic screen to look for regulators of asymmetry based on the Ace2 localization phenotype. We screened a collection of essential genes in order to analyze the effect of core cellular processes in asymmetric cell division. This identified a large number of mutations that are known to affect progression through the cell cycle, suggesting that cell cycle delay is sufficient to disrupt Ace2 asymmetry. To test this model we blocked cells from progressing through mitosis and found that prolonged cell cycle arrest is sufficient to disrupt Ace2 asymmetry after release. We also demonstrate that members of the evolutionary conserved FACT chromatin-remodeling complex are required for both asymmetric and cell cycle-regulated localization of Ace2.