Abstract. We have isolated a major protein constituent from a highly enriched fraction of yeast nuclear pore complexes (NPCs). The gene encoding this protein, Nup188p, was cloned, sequenced, and found to be nonessential upon deletion. Nup188p cofractionates with yeast NPCs and gives an immunofluorescent staining pattern typical of nucleoporins. Using immunoelectron microscopy, Nup188p was shown to localize to both the cytoplasmic and nucleoplasmic faces of the NPC core. There, Nup188p interacts with an integral protein of the pore membrane domain, Pom152p, and another abundant nucleoporin, Nic96p. The effects of various mutations in the NUP188 gene on the structure of the nuclear envelope and the function of the NPC were examined. While null mutants of NUP188 appear normal, other mutants allelic to NUP188 exhibit a dominant effect leading to the formation of NPC-associated nuclear envelope herniations and growth inhibition at 37°C. In addition, depletion of the interacting protein Pom152p in cells lacking Nup188p resulted in severe deformations of the nuclear envelope. We suggest that Nup188p is one of a group of proteins that form the octagonal core structure of the NPC and thus functions in the structural organization of the NPC and nuclear envelope.

Ribosome biogenesis is regulated by environmental cues that coordinately modulate the synthesis of ribosomal components and their assembly into functional subunits. We have identified an essential yeast WDrepeat-containing protein, termed Rrb1p, that has a role in both the assembly of the 60S ribosomal subunits and the transcriptional regulation of ribosomal protein (RP) genes. Rrb1p is located in the nucleus and is concentrated in the nucleolus. Its presence is required to maintain normal cellular levels of 60S subunits, 80S ribosomes, and polyribosomes. The function of Rrb1p in ribosome biogenesis appears to be linked to its association with the ribosomal protein rpL3. Immunoprecipitation of Rrb1p from nuclear extracts revealed that it physically interacts with rpL3. Moreover, the overproduction of Rrb1p led to increases in cellular levels of free rpL3 that accumulated in the nucleus together with Rrb1p. The concentration of these proteins within the nucleus was dependent on ongoing protein translation. We also showed that overexpression of RRB1 led to an increase in the expression of RPL3 while all other examined RP genes were unaffected. In contrast, depletion of RRB1 caused an increase in the expression of all RP genes examined except RPL3. These results suggest that Rrb1p regulates RPL3 expression and uncouples it from the coordinated expression of other RP genes.