Siz2 Prevents Ribosomal DNA Recombination by Modulating Levels of Tof2 in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Ribosomal DNA (rDNA) recombination in budding yeast is regulated by multiple converging processes, including posttranslational modifications such as SUMOylation. In this study, we report that the absence of a SUMO E3 ligase, Siz2, results in increased unequal rDNA exchange. We show that Siz2 is enriched at the replication fork barrier (RFB) in the rDNA and also controls the homeostasis of Tof2 protein. siz2Δ resulted in increased accumulation of total Tof2 in the cell and a consequent increase in the enrichment of Tof2 at the rDNA. Overproducing Tof2 ectopically or conditional overexpression of Tof2 also resulted in higher levels of rDNA recombination, suggesting a direct role for Tof2. Additionally, our chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) data indicate that the accumulation of Tof2 in a siz2Δ mutant resulted in an enhanced association of Fob1, an RFB binding protein at the rDNA at the RFB. This increased Fob1 association at the RFB may have resulted in the elevated rDNA recombination. Our study thus demonstrates that the Tof2 levels modulate recombination at the rDNA. IMPORTANCE The genes that encode rRNA in Saccharomyces cerevisiae are organized as multiple repeats. The repetitive nature and heavy transcription of this region make it prone to DNA breaks. DNA breaks could lead to recombination, which could result in either loss or gain of repeats with detrimental consequences to the cell. Multiple mechanisms operate to maintain the stability of rDNA. Earlier studies reported that the absence of Ulp2, a deSUMOylase, resulted in declining levels of Tof2 and thereby disrupted rDNA silencing. In contrast, our findings suggest that accumulation of Tof2 can also result in increased rDNA recombination, through a mechanism that involves Fob1, an RFB-bound protein. While our study has examined only Tof2, rDNA recombination could be regulated by other proteins through a mechanism similar to this.