The sequence of a 6·3 kb segment of yeast chromosome III reveals an open reading frame coding for a putative mismatch binding protein

We report the sequence of a 6.3 kb segment of DNA mapping near the end of the right arm of chromosome III of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The sequence reveals a major open reading frame coding for a putative protein of 1047 amino acids with a striking similarity to the bacterial proteins involved in recognition of mismatched DNA base pairs. This is particularly interesting as the existence of a yeast mismatch repair system similar to that of bacteria has been postulated for some years, but a yeast protein homologous to the bacterial mismatch binding protein had not been identified. The results of a comparison of the putative yeast mismatch binding protein with the bacterial mismatch binding proteins and with two cognate mammalian sequences, support the idea that a similar mismatch repair system may be present also in mammalian cells. The possibility that all of these proteins may have evolved from a common ancestral gene is also discussed.