Role of heme in mitochondrial biogenesis: Transcriptional and post- transcriptional regulation of the expression of Iso-l-cytochrome C gene during glucose repression-derepression in cells of Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Exogenous addition of hemin to glucose-repressed cells of Saccharomyces cerevisiae restores the level of Iso-1-cytochrome C messengers to that observed in derepressed cells. In vitro transcription in isolated nuclei has shown a 4-fold stimulation in the synthesis of Iso-1-cytochrome C messengers in repressed but hemin-treated and derepressed cells compared to the repressed cells. Studies on in vitro transport of RNA from isolated nuclei have revealed that there is a 50% drop in the transport of total RNA from nuclei isolated from repressed but hemin-treated and derepressed cells when compared with the nuclei from repressed cells. However, under these conditions, there is an enhanced transport of translatable RNA. Hybridization analysis of the transported RNA using Iso-1-cytochrome C gene-specific probe has shown that there is preferential transport of Iso-1-cytochrome C messengers in repressed but hemin treated and derepressed cells.