Sfp1 regulates transcriptional networks driving cell growth and division through multiple promoter-binding modes

Understanding how transcriptional programs help to coordinate cell growth and division is an important unresolved problem. Here we report that the nutrient- and stress-regulated transcription factor Sfp1 is rate-limiting for expression of several large classes of genes involved in yeast cell growth, including ribosomal protein, ribosome biogenesis, and snoRNA genes. Remarkably, the spectrum of Sfp1 transcription effects is concordant with a combination of chromatin immunoprecipitation and chromatin endogenous cleavage binding analyses, which together provide evidence for two distinct modes of Sfp1 promoter binding, one requiring a co-factor and the other a specific DNA-recognition motif. In addition to growth-related genes, Sfp1 binds to and regulates the promoters of cell cycle "START" regulon genes, including the key G1/S cyclins CLN1 and CLN2. Our findings suggest that Sfp1 acts as a master regulator of cell growth and cell size by coordinating the expression of genes implicated in mass accumulation and cell division.