Global genomic instability caused by reduced expression of DNA polymerase ε in yeast [DZP2-derived isolates]

Yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae has been widely used as a model system for studying genome instability. Here, a heterozygous diploid S. cerevisiae strain DZP2 was generated to determine the genomic alterations induced by DNA polymerase ε. The expression of POL2 was regulated by the GAL1 promoter. In combination of a custom SNP microarray, the patterns of chromosomal instability induced by low Pol ε could be explored at a whole genome level in DZP2. Using this system, we found hundreds-fold higher rate of genomic alterations, including aneuploidy, loss of heterozygosity (LOH), and chromosomal rearrangement. DNA polymerase ε (Pol ε) is one of the three replicative eukaryotic DNA polymerases. Pol ε deficiency leads to genomic instability and multiple human diseases. Here, we explored global genomic alterations in yeast strains with reduced expression of POL2, the gene that encodes the catalytic subunit of Pol ε. Using whole-genome SNP microarray and sequencing, we found that low levels of Pol ε elevated the rates of mitotic recombination and chromosomal aneuploidy by two orders of magnitude. Strikingly, low levels of Pol ε resulted in a contraction of the number of repeats in the rDNA cluster and reduced the length of telomeres. These short telomeres led to an elevated frequency of break-induced replication, resulting in terminal loss of heterozygosity. In addition, low levels of Pol ε increased the rate of single-base mutations by 13-fold by a Pol ζ-dependent pathway. Finally, the patterns of genomic alterations caused by low levels of Pol ε were different from those observed in strains with low levels of the other replicative DNA polymerases Pol α and Pol δ, providing further insights into the different roles of the B-family DNA polymerases in maintaining genomic stability. DZP2-derived isolates were grown on both HG (3% raffinose, 0.05% galactose) and LG (3% raffinose and 0.005% galactose) plates from a single cell to a colony (roughly 25 cell divisions) for two cycles, these independent colonies were purified on HG plates. Genomic DNA from independent DZP2-derived colonies was extracted and analyzed by the whole-genome microarrays.