Whole-genome expression analysis of snf/swi mutants of Saccharomyces cerevisiae

The Saccharomyces cerevisiae Snf/Swi complex has been previously demonstrated to control transcription and chromatin structure of particular genes in vivo and to remodel nucleosomes in vitro. We have performed whole-genome expression analysis, using DNA microarrays, to study mutants deleted for a gene encoding one conserved (Snf2) or one unconserved (Swi1) Snf/Swi component. This analysis was performed on cells grown in both rich and minimal media. The microarray results, combined with Northern blot, computational, and genetic analyses, show that snf2Δ and swi1Δ mutations cause similar effects on mRNA levels, that Snf/Swi controls some genes differently in rich and minimal media, and that Snf/Swi control is exerted at the level of individual genes rather than over larger chromosomal domains. In addition, this work shows that Snf/Swi controls mRNA levels of MATα-specific genes, likely via controlling transcription of the regulators MATα1 and MCM1. Finally, we provide evidence that Snf/Swi acts both as an activator and as a repressor of transcription, and that neither mode of control is an indirect effect of the other.