Requirement of Yeast SGS1 and SRS2 Genes for Replication and Transcription

The SGS1 gene of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae encodes a DNA helicase with homology to the human Bloom's syndrome gene BLM and the Werner's syndrome gene WRN. The SRS2 gene of yeast also encodes a DNA helicase. Simultaneous deletion of SGS1 and SRS2 is lethal in yeast. Here, using a conditional mutation of SGS1, it is shown that DNA replication and RNA polymerase I transcription are drastically inhibited in the srs2Delta sgs1-ts strain at the restrictive temperature. Thus, SGS1 and SRS2 function in DNA replication and RNA polymerase I transcription. These functions may contribute to the various defects observed in Werner's and Bloom's syndromes.