hoffmacs at hermes.bc.edu (Charlie Hoffman) wrote:
>Hi group,
>I thought I'd try to liven up the posting (and tap your brains for ideas)
>with this question.
>What do you think are the most exciting and instructive papers in yeast
>molecular genetics?
(list of well-chosen papers deleted)
>I also plan to include a classical linkage and complementation paper, a
>mutant seletion, a mutant screen, and an intragenic complementation
>paper. I am not particularly set on which examples to use for these
>topics.
Charlie,
I would consider adding the original transformation paper (Hinnen, Hicks
and Fink PNAS 75:1929) - it's interesting to look back and see what proof
of transformation was in those days! You might also include a paper on
5-FOA and URA3 function (Boeke, Lacroute and Fink, MGG in 1982 I think) as
it is fundamental to so many techniques. For intragenic complementation
you can't beat the Fink classic (Genetics 53:445) from 1966 on the HIS4
gene. Fink shows that the HIS4 locus encodes three separable his
biosynthesis functions, and mutations in each of the functions complement
mutations in the others. This and other evidence led Fink to propose that
HIS4 was an operon, like those in bacteria. It wasn't until His4p was
purified that it was realized to be a single trifunctional protein. I
would also include the first gene disruption paper (Shortle, Haber and
Botstein, Science 217:371). This paper is an excellent presentation of how
one shows a gene to be essential, in this case the ACT1 gene, with all the
reasoning laid out clearly.
Good luck with the class,
Tim Stearns
stearns at leland.stanford.edu
