Endonuclease g regulates budding yeast life and death

Endonuclease G (EndoG) is located in mitochondria. yet translocates into the nucleus of apoptotic cells during human degenerative diseases. Nonetheless, a direct involvement of EndoG in cell-death execution remains equivocal, and the mechanism for mitochondrionuclear translocation is not known. Here, we show that the yeast homolog of EndoG (Nucl p) can efficiently trigger apoptotic cell death when excluded from mitochondria. Nuc1p induces apoptosis in yeast independently of metacaspase or of apoptosis inducing factor. Instead, the permeability transition pore, karyopherin Kap123p, and histone H2B interact with Nucl p and are required for cell death upon Nucl p overexpression, suggesting a pathway in which mitochondrial pore opening, nuclear import, and chromatin association are successively involved in EndoG-mediated death. Deletion of NUC1 diminishes apoptotic death when mitochondrial respiration is increased but enhances necrotic death when oxidative phosphorylation is repressed, pointing to dual-lethal and vital-roles for EndoG.