Chromosome XV was one of the last two chromosomes of Saccharomyces cerevisiae to be discovered. It is the third-largest yeast chromosome after chromosomes XII and IV, and is very similar in size to chromosome VII. It alone represents 9% of the yeast genome (8% if ribosomal DNA is included). When systematic sequencing of chromosome XV was started, 93 genes or markers were identified, and most of them were mapped. However, very little else was known about chromosome XV which, in contrast to shorter chromosomes, had not been the object of comprehensive genetic or molecular analysis. It was therefore decided to start sequencing chromosome XV only in the third phase of the European Yeast Genome Sequencing Programme, after experience was gained on chromosomes III, XI and II. The sequence of chromosome XV has been determined from a set of partly overlapping cosmid clones derived from a unique yeast strain, and physically mapped at 3.3-kilobase resolution before sequencing. As well as numerous new open reading frames (ORFs) and genes encoding tRNA or small RNA molecules, the sequence of 1,091,283 base pairs confirms the high proportion of orphan genes and reveals a number of ancestral and successive duplications with other yeast chromosomes.
The complete nucleotide sequence of Saccharomyces cerevisiae chromosome X (745 442 bp) reveals a total of 379 open reading frames (ORFs), the coding region covering approximately 75% of the entire sequence. One hundred and eighteen ORFs (31%) correspond to genes previously identified in S. cerevisiae. All other ORFs represent novel putative yeast genes, whose function will have to be determined experimentally. However, 57 of the latter subset (another 15% of the total) encode proteins that show significant analogy to proteins of known function from yeast or other organisms. The remaining ORFs, exhibiting no significant similarity to any known sequence, amount to 54% of the total. General features of chromosome X are also reported, with emphasis on the nucleotide frequency distribution in the environment of the ATG and stop codons, the possible coding capacity of at least some of the small ORFs (<100 codons) and the significance of 46 non-canonical or unpaired nucleotides in the stems of some of the 24 tRNA genes recognized on this chromosome.
The complete DNA sequence of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae chromosome XI has been determined. In addition to a compact arrangement of potential protein coding sequences, the 666,448-base-pair sequence has revealed general chromosome patterns; in particular, alternating regional variations in average base composition correlate with variations in local gene density along the chromosome. Significant discrepancies with the previously published genetic map demonstrate the need for using independent physical mapping criteria.
The entire DNA sequence of chromosome III of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae has been determined. This is the first complete sequence analysis of an entire chromosome from any organism. The 315-kilobase sequence reveals 182 open reading frames for proteins longer than 100 amino acids, of which 37 correspond to known genes and 29 more show some similarity to sequences in databases. Of 55 new open reading frames analysed by gene disruption, three are essential genes; of 42 non-essential genes that were tested, 14 show some discernible effect on phenotype and the remaining 28 have no overt function.
