The GCR2 gene is required for the transcriptional activation of retrotransposon Ty2-917 in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Ty2 retrotransposons are the mobile genetic elements of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Transcriptional regulation of Ty2-917 requires a complex set of cis acting elements which are located both upstream and downstream of the transcription initiation site. Previously, the glycolysis regulatory protein Gcr1p has been identified as the major transcriptional regulator of Ty2-917. Gcr1p is a DNA binding transcription factor that requires Gcr2p for its functions. In this study, the effect of Gcr2p on the transcriptional regulation of Ty2-917 was analyzed. The result of this study indicates that Ty2-917 transcription decreases 24-fold in gcr2 mutant yeast cells. In addition, Ty2 enhancer element dependent transcriptional activation of a heterolog promoter also decreases at a significant level. These results showed that Gcr2p is essential for the high level transcription of Ty2-917.