J. Carlos Igual

SRC1: an intron‐containing yeast gene involved in sister chromatid segregation

Analysis of a three‐member gene family in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae has allowed the discovery of a new gene that comprises two contiguous open reading frames previously annotated as YML034w and YML033w. The gene contains a small intron with two alternative 5′ splicing sites. It is specifically transcribed during G2/M in the cell cycle and after several hours of meiosis induction. Splicing of the mRNA is partially dependent on NAM8 but does not vary during meiosis or the cell cycle. Deletion of the gene induces a shortening of the anaphase and aggravates the phenotype of scc1 and esp1 conditional mutants, which suggests a direct role of the protein in sister chromatid separation. Copyright

Cell cycle activation of the Swi6p transcription factor is linked to nucleocytoplasmic shuttling.

ABSTRACT The control of the subcellular localization of cell cycle regulators has emerged as a crucial mechanism in the regulation of cell division. In the present work, we have characterized the function of the karyopherin Msn5p in the control of the cell cycle of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Phenotypic analysis of the msn5 mutant revealed an increase in cell size and a functional interaction between Msn5p and the cell cycle transcription factor SBF (composed of the Swi4p and Swi6p proteins), indicating that Msn5p is involved in Start control. In fact, we have shown that the level of Cln2p protein is drastically reduced in an msn5 mutant. The effect on CLN2 expression is mediated at a transcriptional level, Msn5p being necessary for proper SBF-dependent transcription. On the contrary, loss of MSN5 has no effect on the closely related transcription factor MBF (composed of the Mbp1p and Swi6p proteins). Regulation of SBF by Msn5p is exerted by control of the localization of the regulatory subunit Swi6p. Swi6p shuttles between the nucleus and the cytoplasm during the cell cycle, and we have found that Msn5p is required for Swi6p export from the nucleus during the G2-M phase. What is more important, we have demonstrated that export of Swi6p to the cytoplasm is required for SBF activity, providing evidence for a functional switch of Swi6p linked to its nucleocytoplasmic shuttling during the cell cycle.

The yeast mitogen-activated protein kinase Slt2 is involved in the cellular response to genotoxic stress

BackgroundThe maintenance of genomic integrity is essential for cell viability. Complex signalling pathways (DNA integrity checkpoints) mediate the response to genotoxic stresses. Identifying new functions involved in the cellular response to DNA-damage is crucial. The Saccharomyces cerevisiae SLT2 gene encodes a member of the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascade whose main function is the maintenance of the cell wall integrity. However, different observations suggest that SLT2 may also have a role related to DNA metabolism.ResultsThis work consisted in a comprehensive study to connect the Slt2 protein to genome integrity maintenance in response to genotoxic stresses. The slt2 mutant strain was hypersensitive to a variety of genotoxic treatments, including incubation with hydroxyurea (HU), methylmetanosulfonate (MMS), phleomycin or UV irradiation. Furthermore, Slt2 was activated by all these treatments, which suggests that Slt2 plays a central role in the cellular response to genotoxic stresses. Activation of Slt2 was not dependent on the DNA integrity checkpoint. For MMS and UV, Slt2 activation required progression through the cell cycle. In contrast, HU also activated Slt2 in nocodazol-arrested cells, which suggests that Slt2 may respond to dNTP pools alterations. However, neither the protein level of the distinct ribonucleotide reductase subunits nor the dNTP pools were affected in a slt2 mutant strain. An analysis of the checkpoint function revealed that Slt2 was not required for either cell cycle arrest or the activation of the Rad53 checkpoint kinase in response to DNA damage. However, slt2 mutant cells showed an elongated bud and partially impaired Swe1 degradation after replicative stress, indicating that Slt2 could contribute, in parallel with Rad53, to bud morphogenesis control after genotoxic stresses.ConclusionsSlt2 is activated by several genotoxic treatments and is required to properly cope with DNA damage. Slt2 function is important for bud morphogenesis and optimal Swe1 degradation under replicative stress. The MAPK Slt2 appears as a new player in the cellular response to genotoxic stresses.

The POT1 gene for yeast peroxisomal thiolase is subject to three different mechanisms of regulation

Summary The Saccharomyces cerevisiae POT1 gene is, as are other yeast peroxisomal protein genes, inducible by fatty acids and repressible by glucose. We have now found that it is also induced during the stationary phase of the culture. To investigate these three regulatory circuits, we have studied the mRNA levels of regulatory mutants as well as the changes in chromatin structure upon gene activation. We conclude that the regulation of transcriptional activity in glucose repression, oleate induction, and stationary phase induction follow different molecular mechanisms. We suggest that this multiplicity of regulatory mechanisms may represent a general rule for the yeast peroxisomal protein genes.

Functional Connection Between the Clb5 Cyclin, the Protein Kinase C Pathway and the Swi4 Transcription Factor in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

The rsf12 mutation was isolated in a synthetic lethal screen for genes functionally interacting with Swi4. RSF12 is CLB5. The clb5 swi4 mutant cells arrest at G2/M due to the activation of the DNA-damage checkpoint. Defects in DNA integrity was confirmed by the increased rates of chromosome loss and mitotic recombination. Other results suggest the presence of additional defects related to morphogenesis. Interestingly, genes of the PKC pathway rescue the growth defect of clb5 swi4, and pkc1 and slt2 mutations are synthetic lethal with clb5, pointing to a connection between Clb5, the PKC pathway, and Swi4. Different observations suggest that like Clb5, the PKC pathway and Swi4 are involved in the control of DNA integrity: there is a synthetic interaction between pkc1 and slt2 with rad9; the pkc1, slt2, and swi4 mutants are hypersensitive to hydroxyurea; and the Slt2 kinase is activated by hydroxyurea. Reciprocally, we found that clb5 mutant is hypersensitive to SDS, CFW, latrunculin B, or zymolyase, which suggests that, like the PKC pathway and Swi4, Clb5 is related to cell integrity. In summary, we report numerous genetic interactions and phenotypic descriptions supporting a close functional relationship between the Clb5 cyclin, the PKC pathway, and the Swi4 transcription factor.

Rot1 plays an antagonistic role to Clb2 in actin cytoskeleton dynamics throughout the cell cycle.

ROT1 is an essential gene whose inactivation causes defects in cell cycle progression and morphogenesis in budding yeast. Rot1 affects the actin cytoskeleton during the cell cycle at two levels. First, it is required for the maintenance of apical growth during bud growth. Second, Rot1 is necessary to polarize actin cytoskeleton to the neck region at the end of mitosis; because of this defect, rot1 cells do not properly form a septum to complete cell division. The inability to polarize the actin cytoskeleton at the end of mitosis is not due to a defect in the recruitment of the polarisome scaffold protein Spa2 or the actin cytoskeleton regulators Cdc42 and Cdc24 in the neck region. Previous results indicate a connection between Rot1 and the cyclin Clb2. In fact, overexpression of CLB2 is toxic when ROT1 is partially inactivated, and reciprocally, deletion of CLB2 suppresses the lethality of the rot1 mutant, which indicates a functional antagonism between Clb2 and Rot1. Several genetic interactions suggest a link between Rot1 and the ubiquitin-proteasome system and we show that the Clb2 cyclin is not properly degraded in rot1 cells.

Membrane topology and post-translational modification of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae essential protein Rot1

ROT1 is an essential gene that has been related to cell wall biosynthesis, the actin cytoskeleton and protein folding. In order to help to understand its molecular function, we carried out a characterization of the Rot1 protein. It is primarily located at the endoplasmic reticulum–nuclear membrane facing the lumen. Rot1 migrates more slowly than expected, which might suggest post‐translational modification. Our results indicate that Rot1 is a protein that is neither GPI‐anchored nor O‐glycosylated. In contrast, it is N‐glycosylated. By a directed mutagenesis of several Asn residues, we identified that the protein is simultaneously glycosylated at N103, N107 and N139. Although the mutation of these three N sites is not lethal, cellular growth is impaired. Sequence analysis predicts a transmembrane domain at the C‐terminus. This fragment affects neither the targeting of the Rot1 protein to the ER nor its N‐glycosylation, although it is important for the anchoring of the protein to the membrane and for its functionality. The existence of a signal sequence at the N‐terminus has been suggested. However, deletion of this fragment impedes neither translocation to the ER nor N‐glycosylation, but it is required for cell viability. Finally, we found that Rot1 is translocated to the ER by an SRP‐independent post‐translational mechanism which depends on Sec62. Copyright

Protein kinase C controls activation of the DNA integrity checkpoint

The protein kinase C (PKC) superfamily plays key regulatory roles in numerous cellular processes. Saccharomyces cerevisiae contains a single PKC, Pkc1, whose main function is cell wall integrity maintenance. In this work, we connect the Pkc1 protein to the maintenance of genome integrity in response to genotoxic stresses. Pkc1 and its kinase activity are necessary for the phosphorylation of checkpoint kinase Rad53, histone H2A and Xrs2 protein after deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) damage, indicating that Pkc1 is required for activation of checkpoint kinases Mec1 and Tel1. Furthermore, Pkc1 electrophoretic mobility is delayed after inducing DNA damage, which reflects that Pkc1 is post-translationally modified. This modification is a phosphorylation event mediated by Tel1. The expression of different mammalian PKC isoforms at the endogenous level in yeast pkc1 mutant cells revealed that PKCδ is able to activate the DNA integrity checkpoint. Finally, downregulation of PKCδ activity in HeLa cells caused a defective activation of checkpoint kinase Chk2 when DNA damage was induced. Our results indicate that the control of the DNA integrity checkpoint by PKC is a mechanism conserved from yeast to humans.

Whi7 is an unstable cell-cycle repressor of the Start transcriptional program

Start is the main decision point in eukaryotic cell cycle in which cells commit to a new round of cell division. It involves the irreversible activation of a transcriptional program by G1 CDK-cyclin complexes through the inactivation of Start transcriptional repressors, Whi5 in yeast or Rb in mammals. Here we provide novel keys of how Whi7, a protein related at sequence level to Whi5, represses Start. Whi7 is an unstable protein, degraded by the SCFGrr1 ubiquitin-ligase, whose stability is cell cycle regulated by CDK1 phosphorylation. Importantly, Whi7 associates to G1/S gene promoters in late G1 acting as a repressor of SBF-dependent transcription. Our results demonstrate that Whi7 is a genuine paralog of Whi5. In fact, both proteins collaborate in Start repression bringing to light that yeast cells, as occurs in mammalian cells, rely on the combined action of multiple transcriptional repressors to block Start transition.The commitment of cells to a new cycle of division involves inactivation of the Start transcriptional repressor Whi5. Here the authors show that the sequence related protein Whi7 associates to G1/S gene promoters in late G1 and collaborates with Whi5 in Start repression.

A transmembrane serine residue in the Rot1 protein is essential for yeast cell viability

Polar residues are present in TM (transmembrane) helices and may influence the folding or association of membrane proteins. In the present study, we use an in vivo approach to analyse the functional and structural roles for amino acids in membrane-spanning motifs using the Rot1 (reversal of Tor2 lethality 1) protein as a model. Rot1 is an essential membrane protein in Saccharomyces cerevisiae and it contains a single TM domain. An alanine insertion scanning analysis of this TM helix revealed that the integrity of the central domain is essential for protein function. We identified a critical serine residue inside the helix that plays an essential role in maintaining cell viability in S. cerevisiae. Replacement of the serine residue at position 250 with a broad variety of amino acids did not affect protein targeting and location, but completely disrupted protein function causing cell death. Interestingly, substitution of the serine residue by threonine resulted in sustained cell viability, demonstrating that the hydroxy group of the TM serine side chain plays a critical role in protein function. The results of the present study indicate that Rot1 needs the TM Ser250 to interact with other membrane components and exert its functional role, avoiding exposure of the serine hydrogen-bonding group at the lipid-exposed surface.