A coordinated transcriptional response to DNA-damaging agents is required to maintain genome stability. We have examined the global gene expression responses of the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe to ionizing radiation (IR) by using DNA microarrays. We identified ϳ200 genes whose transcript levels were significantly altered at least twofold in response to 500 Gy of gamma IR in a temporally defined manner. The majority of induced genes were core environmental stress response genes, whereas the remaining genes define a transcriptional response to DNA damage in fission yeast. Surprisingly, few DNA repair and checkpoint genes were transcriptionally modulated in response to IR. We define a role for the stress-activated mitogen-activated protein kinase Sty1/Spc1 and the DNA damage checkpoint kinase Rad3 in regulating core environmental stress response genes and IR-specific response genes, both independently and in concert. These findings suggest a complex network of regulatory pathways coordinate gene expression responses to IR in eukaryotes.
INTRODUCTIONExposure of cells to DNA-damaging agents such as ionizing radiation (IR) poses a significant threat to genome stability. Cells have therefore evolved complex response mechanisms to maintain genetic integrity after DNA damage. These include cell cycle delay, repair of DNA damage, transcriptional responses, and programmed cell death. Because disruption of any one of these DNA damage responses can lead to genomic instability and cancer, a comprehensive understanding of the individual components and their regulation is crucial.It is well established that many physiological responses to DNA damage are regulated at the level of gene expression. In Escherichia coli, the SOS response induces the expression of a network of genes after DNA damage through the regulatory LexA and RecA proteins (Friedberg et al., 1995). In lower eukaryotes, studies with the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae have identified a large number of damageinduced genes, including many involved in DNA metabolism and DNA repair (Aboussekhra et al., 1996;Gasch et al., 2001). In the distantly related fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe, rhp51 ϩ , uvi15 ϩ , uvi31 ϩ , UVDE ϩ , and rhp16 ϩ have been shown to be DNA damage inducible (Bang et al., 1996;Davey et al., 1997;Shim et al., 2000).DNA damage checkpoint pathways function to delay the eukaryotic cell cycle in response to DNA damage, thus providing an opportunity for DNA repair. Central to the DNA damage checkpoint pathway are two highly conserved phosphoinositol-related kinases, Ataxia telangiectasia mutated (ATM) and ATM and Rad3-related (ATR) and their yeast homologs SpTel1 and SpRad3 in S. pombe, and ScTel1 and ScMec1 in S. cerevisiae. Activation of ATM and ATR kinases by DNA damage leads to cell cycle arrest through a number of downstream effector molecules including the effector kinases CHK1/SpChk1/ScChk1 and CHK2/SpCds1/ ScRad53 (for review, see Nyberg et al., 2002). In addition to regulating the cell cycle, DNA damage checkpoints also...