G. Paul H. van Heusden

Characterization of the yeast BMH1 gene encoding a putative protein homologous to mammalian protein kinase II activators and protein kinase C inhibitors.

We describe the identification and characterization of the BMH1 gene from the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The gene encodes a putative protein of 292 amino acids which is more than 50% identical with the bovine brain 14‐3‐3 protein and proteins isolated from sheep brain which are strong inhibitors of protein kinase C. Disruption mutants and strains with the BMH1 gene on multicopy plasmids have impaired growth on minimal medium with glucose as carbon source, i.e. a 30–50% increase in generation time. These observations suggest a regulatory function of the bmh1 protein. In contrast to strains with an intact or a disrupted BMH1 gene, strains with the BMH1 gene on multicopy plasmids hardly grew on media with acetate or glycerol as carbon source.

Yeast 14-3-3 proteins.

14‐3‐3 proteins form a family of highly conserved proteins which are present in all eukaryotic organisms investigated, often in multiple isoforms, up to 13 in some plants. They interact with more than 200 different, mostly phosphorylated proteins. The molecular consequences of 14‐3‐3 binding are diverse: this binding may result in stabilization of the active or inactive phosphorylated form of the protein, to a conformational alteration leading to activation or inhibition, to a different subcellular localization, to the interaction with other proteins or to shielding of binding sites. The binding partners, and hence the 14‐3‐3 proteins, are involved in almost every cellular process and 14‐3‐3 proteins have been linked to several diseases, such as cancer, Alzheimers disease, the neurological Miller–Dieker and spinocerebellar ataxia type 1 diseases and bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE). The yeasts Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Schizosaccharomyces pombe both have two genes encoding 14‐3‐3 proteins, BMH1 and BMH2 and rad24 and rad25, respectively. In these yeasts, 14‐3‐3 proteins are essential in most laboratory strains. As in higher eukaryotes, yeast 14‐3‐3 proteins bind to numerous proteins involved in a variety of cellular processes. Recent genome‐wide studies on yeast strains with impaired 14‐3‐3 function support the participation of 14‐3‐3 proteins in numerous yeast cellular processes. Given the high evolutionary conservation of the 14‐3‐3 proteins, the experimental accessibility and relative simplicity of yeasts make them excellent model organisms for elucidating the function of the 14‐3‐3 protein family. Copyright

Four Arabidopsis thaliana 14-3-3 protein isoforms can complement the lethal yeast bmh1 bmh2 double disruption

The 14‐3‐3 proteins comprise a family of highly conserved proteins with multiple functions, most of which are related to signal transduction. Four isoforms from the plant Arabidopsis thaliana were able to complement the lethal disruption of the two Saccharomyces cerevisiae genes encoding 14‐3‐3 proteins; one complemented very poorly and one did not complement. However, the expression of the latter two isoforms was very low. These results show that at least four of the six A. thaliana isoforms are able to perform the same function(s) as the yeast 14‐3‐3 proteins.

A single Arabidopsis GF14 isoform possesses biochemical characteristics of diverse 14-3-3 homologues

Arabidopsis cDNA clones of GF14 proteins originally were isolated on the basis of their association with the G-box DNA/protein complex by a monoclonal antibody screening approach. GF14 proteins are homologous to the 14-3-3 family of mammalian proteins. Here we demonstrate that recombinant GF14 ω, one member of the Arabidopsis GF14 protein family, is a dimeric protein that possesses many of the attributes of diverse mammalian 14-3-3 homologues. GF14 ω activates rat brain tryptophan hydroxylase and protein kinase C in a manner similar to the bovine 14-3-3 protein. It also activates exoenzyme S of Pseudomonas aeruginosa as does bovine brain factor activating exoenzyme S (FAS), which is itself a member of 14-3-3 proteins. In addition, GF14 ω binds calcium, as does the human 14-3-3 homologue reported to be a phospholipase A2. These results indicate that a single isoform of this plant protein family can have multiple functions and that individual GF14 isoforms may have multiple roles in mediating signal transductions in plants. However, GF14 ω does not regulate growth in an in vivo test for functional similarity to the yeast 14-3-3 homologue, BMH1. Thus, while a single plant GF14 isoform can exhibit many of the biochemical attributes of diverse mammalian 14-3-3 homologues, open questions remain regarding the physiological functions of GF14/14-3-3 proteins.

14-3-3 proteins: Insights from genome-wide studies in yeast

14-3-3 proteins form a family of highly conserved, acidic, dimeric proteins. These proteins have been identified in all eukaryotic species investigated, often in multiple isoforms, up to 13 in the plant Arabidopsis thaliana. Hundreds of proteins, from diverse eukaryotic organisms, implicated in numerous cellular processes, have been identified as binding partners of 14-3-3 proteins. Therefore, the major activity of 14-3-3 proteins seems to be its ability to bind other intracellular proteins. Binding to 14-3-3 proteins may result in a conformational change of the protein required for its full activity or for inhibition of its activity, in interaction between two binding partners or in a different subcellular localization. Most of these interactions take place after phosphorylation of the binding partners. These observations suggest a major role of 14-3-3 proteins in regulatory networks. Here, the information on 14-3-3 proteins gathered from several genome- and proteome-wide studies in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae is reviewed. In particular, the protein kinases responsible for the phosphorylation of 14-3-3 binding partners, phosphorylation of 14-3-3 proteins themselves, the transcriptional regulation of the 14-3-3 genes, and the role of 14-3-3 proteins in transcription are addressed. These large scale studies may help understand the function of 14-3-3 proteins at a cellular level rather than at the level of a single process.

The Saccharomyces cerevisiae Fin1 protein forms cell cycle-specific filaments between spindle pole bodies

The FIN1 gene from the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae encodes a basic protein with putative coiled-coil regions. Here we show that in large-budded cells a green fluorescent protein-Fin1 fusion protein is visible as a filament between the two spindle pole bodies. In resting cells the protein is undetectable, and in small-budded cells it is localized in the nucleus. During late mitosis it localizes on the spindle pole bodies. Filaments of cyano fluorescent protein-tagged Fin1 colocalize with filaments of green fluorescent protein-tagged Tub1 only in large-budded cells. By electron and atomic force microscopy we showed that purified recombinant Fin1p self-assembles into filaments with a diameter of ≈10 nm. Our results indicate that the Fin1 protein forms a cell cycle-specific filament, additional to the microtubules, between the spindle pole bodies of dividing yeast cells.

14-3-3 Proteins are essential for regulation of RTG3-dependent transcription in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

14‐3‐3 proteins comprise a family of highly conserved proteins that bind more than 60 different, mostly phosphorylated, proteins. The yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae has two genes, BMH1 and BMH2, encoding 14‐3‐3 proteins. Disruption of both genes together is lethal. In this study we constructed a mutant with a single, temperature‐sensitive bmh allele. Recessive mutations in SIN4 and RTG3 can suppress the temperature‐sensitive phenotype of this mutant. These genes encode a global transcriptional regulator and a basic helix–loop–helix transcription factor, respectively. The yeast 14‐3‐3 proteins were shown to bind to the Rtg3 protein. Overexpression of RTG3 is lethal even in wild‐type cells. These genetic and biochemical data are consistent with a model in which the 14‐3‐3 proteins are required to keep the Rtg3 protein in an inactive state, which is (one of) the essential function(s) of the 14‐3‐3 proteins. Copyright

Proteome analysis of aerobically and anaerobically grown Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells.

The yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae is able to grow under aerobic as well as anaerobic conditions. We and others previously found that transcription levels of approximately 500 genes differed more than two-fold when cells from anaerobic and aerobic conditions were compared. Here, we addressed the effect of anaerobic growth at the post-transcriptional level by comparing the proteomes of cells isolated from steady-state glucose-limited anaerobic and aerobic cultures. Following two-dimensional gel electrophoresis and mass spectrometry we identified 110 protein spots, corresponding to 75 unique proteins, of which the levels differed more than two-fold between aerobically and anaerobically-grown cells. For 21 of the 110 spots, the intensities decreased more than two-fold whereas the corresponding mRNA levels increased or did not change significantly under anaerobic conditions. The intensities of the other 89 spots changed in the same direction as the mRNA levels of the corresponding genes, although to different extents. For some genes of glycolysis a small increase in mRNA levels, 1.5-2 fold, corresponded to a 5-10 fold increase in protein levels. Extrapolation of our results suggests that transcriptional regulation is the major but not exclusive mechanism for adaptation of S. cerevisiae to anaerobic growth conditions.

Regulation of transcription by Saccharomyces cerevisiae 14-3-3 proteins

14-3-3 proteins form a family of highly conserved eukaryotic proteins involved in a wide variety of cellular processes, including signalling, apoptosis, cell-cycle control and transcriptional regulation. More than 150 binding partners have been found for these proteins. The yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae has two genes encoding 14-3-3 proteins, BMH1 and BMH2. A bmh1 bmh2 double mutant is unviable in most laboratory strains. Previously, we constructed a temperature-sensitive bmh2 mutant and showed that mutations in RTG3 and SIN4, both encoding transcriptional regulators, can suppress the temperature-sensitive phenotype of this mutant, suggesting an inhibitory role of the 14-3-3 proteins in Rtg3-dependent transcription [van Heusden and Steensma (2001) Yeast 18, 1479-1491]. In the present paper, we report a genome-wide transcription analysis of a temperature-sensitive bmh2 mutant. Steady-state mRNA levels of 60 open reading frames were increased more than 2.0-fold in the bmh2 mutant, whereas those of 78 open reading frames were decreased more than 2.0-fold. In agreement with our genetic experiments, six genes known to be regulated by Rtg3 showed elevated mRNA levels in the mutant. In addition, several genes with other cellular functions, including those involved in gluconeogenesis, ergosterol biosynthesis and stress response, had altered mRNA levels in the mutant. Our data show that the yeast 14-3-3 proteins negatively regulate Rtg3-dependent transcription, stimulate the transcription of genes involved in ergosterol metabolism and in stress response and are involved in transcription regulation of multiple other genes.

ON THE MECHANISM OF ACTION OF LYSOPHOSPHOLIPASE-TRANSACYLASE FROM RAT LUNG

Lysophospholipase-transacylase from rat lung catalyzes the transfer of palmitate from 1-palmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine to water and to another molecule of 1-palmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine. Incorporation of palmitate into phosphatidylcholine is restricted to palmitate donated by lysophosphatidylcholine, free palmitate cannot be esterified to lysophosphatidylcholine by the enzyme. Experiments in the presence of H218O and mass spectrometric analysis of the reaction products show that 18O is incorporated into the released palmitate but not into the transesterification product phosphatidylcholine. This proofs that the hydrolytic reaction proceeds by O-acyl cleavage. Furthermore, the results strongly suggest that transfer of palmitate to lysophosphatidylcholine occurs through an intermediary covalent acyl-enzyme complex.