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SPT3 is required for normal levels of a-factor and alpha-factor expression in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Mutations in the Saccharomyces cerevisiae SPT3 gene were previously found to cause suppression of Ty and delta insertion mutations in 5'-noncoding regions of genes. This suppression likely results from the fact that SPT3 is required for transcription initiation in delta sequences. Other additional phenotypes of spt3 mutants, including a mating defect, suggest that SPT3 is required for normal levels of expression of other genes. We analyzed the mating defect in spt3 mutants and showed that the levels of transcripts of the three major mating pheromone genes, MF alpha 1, MFa1, MFa2, were all reduced. The reduction in expression of these genes in spt3 mutants was not due to expression of a silent mating type cassette. Furthermore, we showed that the spt3 mating defect was manifest at the levels of both cellular fusion and nuclear fusion.