Multiple effects of protein phosphatase 2A on nutrient-induced signalling in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae

The trehalose-degrading enzyme trehalase is activated upon addition of glucose to derepressed cells or in response to nitrogen source addition to nitrogen-starved glucose-repressed yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) cells. Trehalase activation is mediated by phosphorylation. Inactivation involves dephosphorylation, as trehalase protein levels do not change upon multiple activation/inactivation cycles. Purified trehalase can be inactivated by incubation with protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A) in vitro. To test whether PP2A was involved in trehalase inactivation in vivo, we overexpressed the yeast PP2A isoform Pph22. Unexpectedly, the moderate (approximately threefold) overexpression of Pph22 that we obtained increased basal trehalase activity and rendered this activity unresponsive to the addition of glucose or a nitrogen source. Concomitant with higher basal trehalase activity, cells overexpressing Pph22 did not store trehalose efficiently and were heat sensitive. After the addition of glucose or of a nitrogen source to starved cells, Pph22-overexpressing cells showed a delayed exit from stationary phase, a delayed induction of ribosomal gene expression and constitutive repression of stress-regulated element-controlled genes. Deletion of the SCH9 gene encoding a protein kinase involved in nutrient-induced signal transduction restored glucose-induced trehalase activation in Pph22-overexpressing cells. Taken together, our results indicate that yeast PP2A overexpression leads to the activation of nutrient-induced signal transduction pathways in the absence of nutrients.     

Molecular cloning of the neutral trehalase gene from Kluyveromyces lactis and the distinction between neutral and acid trehalases

We cloned the Kluyveromyces lactis KlNTH1 gene, which encodes neutral trehalase. It showed 65.2% and 68.5% identity at nucleotide and amino acid sequence level, respectively, with the Saccharomyces cerevisiae NTH1 gene. Multiple alignment of the predicted trehalase protein sequences from yeasts, bacteria, insects, and mammals revealed two major domains of conservation. Only the yeast trehalases displayed in an N-terminal extension two consensus sites for cAMP-dependent protein phosphorylation and a putative Ca²⁺-binding sequence. Gene disruption of the KlNTH1 gene abolished neutral trehalase activity and clearly revealed a trehalase activity with an acid pH optimum. It also resulted in a high constitutive trehalose level. Expression of the KlNTH1 gene in an S. cerevisiae nth1Δ mutant resulted in rapid activation of the heterologous trehalase upon addition of glucose to cells growing on a nonfermentable carbon source and upon addition of a nitrogen source to cells starved for nitrogen in a glucose-containing medium. In K. lactis, the same responses were observed except that rapid activation by glucose was observed only in early-exponential-phase cells. Inactivation of K. lactis neutral trehalase by alkaline phosphatase and activation by cAMP in cell extracts are consistent with control of the enzyme by cAMP-dependent protein phosphorylation. Received: 19 March 1996 / Accepted: 15 October 1996     

Cyclic-AMP content and trehalase activation in vegetative cells and ascospores of yeast

Addition of glucose to yeast ascospores, glucose-grown vegetative cells from the stationary growth-phase or acetate-grown vegetative cells from the logarithmic growth-phase induces a rapid tenfold increase in the activity of trehalase. Trehalase activation is followed by a period of slow inactivation. It was possible to reverse the inactivation in the presence of glucose in all cell types immediately and completely by subsequent addition of a nitrogen source. This reactivation by nitrogen sources is in disagreement with proteolytic breakdown being responsible for trehalase inactivation in the presence of glucose. The addition of glucose induced in all cell types a rapid transient increase of the cellular cyclic-AMP content. In ascospores the increase of the cyclic-AMP level was about twofold, in glucose-grown stationary-phase vegetative cells four- to fivefold and in acetate-grown vegetative cells about sevenfold. Subsequent addition in the presence of glucose of a nitrogen source caused a new twofold increase of the cyclic-AMP level in ascospores. In the other two cell types however addition of a nitrogen source after the initial transient increase of the cyclic-AMP level did not produce a significant new increase. Although the data obtained for ascospores at first seemed to confirm the crucial role of the increase in the cyclic-AMP level for the activation of trehalase, the data obtained afterwards for vegetative cells indicated that it is possible to activate trehalase in yeast without a concomitant increase of the total cellular cyclic-AMP content.Abbreviations Mes 4-Morpholineethanesulfonic acid - Tris tris(hydroxymethyl)-aminomethane     

Intracellular Signal Triggered by Cholera Toxin in Saccharomyces boulardii and Saccharomyces cerevisiae

As is the case for Saccharomyces boulardii, Saccharomyces cerevisiae W303 protects Fisher rats against cholera toxin (CT). The addition of glucose or dinitrophenol to cells of S. boulardii grown on a nonfermentable carbon source activated trehalase in a manner similar to that observed for S. cerevisiae. The addition of CT to the same cells also resulted in trehalase activation. Experiments performed separately on the A and B subunits of CT showed that both are necessary for activation. Similarly, the addition of CT but not of its separate subunits led to a cyclic AMP (cAMP) signal in both S. boulardii and S. cerevisiae. These data suggest that trehalase stimulation by CT probably occurred through the cAMP-mediated protein phosphorylation cascade. The requirement of CT subunit B for both the cAMP signal and trehalase activation indicates the presence of a specific receptor on the yeasts able to bind to the toxin, a situation similar to that observed for mammalian cells. This hypothesis was reinforced by experiments with ¹²⁵I-labeled CT showing specific binding of the toxin to yeast cells. The adhesion of CT to a receptor on the yeast surface through the B subunit and internalization of the A subunit (necessary for the cAMP signal and trehalase activation) could be one more mechanism explaining protection against the toxin observed for rats treated with yeasts.     

Reversibility characteristics of glucose-induced trehalase activation associated with the breaking of dormancy in yeast ascospores

The breaking of dormancy in yeast ascospores by addition of glucose is associated with a sudden tenfold increase in the activity of trehalase. The rapid activation of trehalase is followed by a slower inactivation process which is greatly retarded in the presence of nitrogen sources and cycloheximide. When glucose is washed away from the spores after some time and the spores resuspended in glucose-free medium, the trehalase activity decreases sharply. Subsequent addition of new glucose partially reactivates the enzyme. The extent of reactivation decreases further with each subsequent activation/inactivation step. Changing the duration of the inactivation periods has no effect on this diminution of the reversibility. However, prolonging the duration of the activation step speeds up the loss of reversibility. On the other hand, addition of a nitrogen source or cycloheximide completely prevents the loss of reversibility. The results of the reversibility studies are in agreement with the phosphorylation mechanism which has been proposed for the underlying molecular process of trehalase activation. Apparently, they are also in agreement with proteolytic breakdown being responsible for the inactivation of trehalase after its initial activation. However, the effect of cycloheximide and nitrogen sources, at least in ascospores, does not appear to be due to inhibition or repression of protease synthesis, respectively, since the addition in the presence of glucose of a nitrogen source after trehalase inactivation immediately reactivates the enzyme completely.     

Genetic and biochemical evidence that trehalase is a substrate of cAMP-dependent protein kinase in yeast

In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, trehalase activity in crude extracts obtained from wild type cells was activated about 3-fold by preincubation with cAMP and ATP. The inactive trehalase fractionated by DEAE-Sephacel chromatography was activated by the addition of the cAMP-dependent protein kinase fraction from wild type cells in the presence of cAMP and ATP. Using the crude extract obtained from bcy1 mutant cells which were deficient in the regulatory subunit of cAMP-dependent protein kinase, the stimulation of trehalase activity was observed in the absence of cAMP. The cAMP-dependent protein kinase of CYR3 mutant cells which had a high Ka value for cAMP in the phosphorylation reaction required a high cAMP concentration for activation of trehalase. Increased activation of partially purified inactive trehalase (Mr = 320,000) was observed to correlate with increased phosphorylation of a protein (Mr = 80,000) identified by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The assay results using various mutants altered in cAMP metabolism indicated that the activation and phosphorylation of inactive trehalase fractions depended on the cAMP concentration accumulated in mutant cells. Inactivation and dephosphorylation of active trehalase fractions were observed by treatment with alkaline phosphatase or crude cell extracts. The results indicated that the conversion of inactive form of trehalase to the active form is regulated by cAMP through cAMP-dependent protein kinase.     

Regulation of yeast trehalase by a monocyclic, cyclic AMP-dependent phosphorylation-dephosphorylation cascade system.

Mutation at the GLC1 locus in Saccharomyces cerevisiae resulted in simultaneous deficiencies in glycogen and trehalose accumulation. Extracts of yeast cells containing the glc1 mutation exhibited an abnormally high trehalase activity. This elevated activity was associated with a defective cyclic AMP (cAMP)-dependent monocyclic cascade which, in normal cells, regulates trehalase activity by means of protein phosphorylation and dephosphorylation. Trehalase in extracts of normal cells was largely in a cryptic form which could be activated in vitro by ATP . Mg in the presence of cAMP. Normal extracts also exhibited a correlated cAMP-dependent protein kinase which catalyzed incorporation of label from [gamma-32P]ATP into protamine. In contrast, cAMP had little or no additional activating effect on trehalase or on protamine phosphorylation in extracts of glc1 cells. Similar, unregulated activation of cryptic trehalase was also found in glycogen-deficient strains bearing a second, independently isolated mutant allele, glc1-2. Since trehalase activity was not directly affected by cAMP, the results indicate that the glc1 mutation results in an abnormally active protein kinase which has lost its normal dependence on cAMP. Trehalase in extracts of either normal or mutant cells underwent conversion to a cryptic form in an Mg2+-dependent, fluoride-sensitive reaction. Rates of this reversible reduction of activity were similar in extracts of mutant and normal cells. This same, unregulated protein kinase would act on glycogen synthase, maintaining it in the phosphorylated low-activity D-form. The glc1 mutants provide a novel model system for investigating the in vivo metabolic functions of a specific, cAMP-dependent protein kinase.     

Biochemical characterization of neutral trehalase activity in Saccharomyces boulardii

Lyophilized cells of the non-pathogenic yeast Saccharomyces boulardii are used in many countries for the treatment of several types of diarrhoea and other gastrointestinal diseases. Although the cells must be viable, their mechanism of action is unknown. The disaccharide trehalose is a protectant against several forms of environmental stress in yeast and is involved in maintaining cell viability. There is no information on the enzymes involved in degradation of trehalose in S. boulardii. The aim of the present study was to characterize trehalase activity in this yeast. Cells of S. boulardii grown in glucose exhibited neutral trehalase activity only in the exponential phase. Acidic trehalase was not detected in glucose medium. Cells grown in trehalose exhibited acid and neutral trehalase activities at all growth stages, particularly in the exponential phase. The optimum pH and temperature values for neutral trehalase activity were determined as 6.5 and 30 °C respectively, the half-life being approximately 3 min at 45 °C. The relative molecular mass of neutral trehalase is 80 kDa and the K _m 6.4 mM (±0.6). Neutral trehalase activity at pH 6.5 was weakly inhibited by 5 mM EDTA and strongly inhibited by ATP, as well as the divalent ions Cu⁺⁺, Fe⁺⁺ and Zn⁺⁺. Enzyme activity was stimulated by Mg⁺⁺ and Ca⁺⁺ only in the absence of cAMP. The presence of cAMP with no ion additions increased activity by 40%. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Ammonium permease-based sensing mechanism for rapid ammonium activation of the protein kinase A pathway in yeast

In the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae starvation for nitrogen on a glucose-containing medium causes entrance into G0 and downregulation of all targets of the PKA pathway. Re-addition of a nitrogen source in the presence of glucose causes rapid activation of trehalase and other PKA targets. Trehalase activation upon ammonium re-supplementation is dependent on PKA activity, but not on its regulatory subunit nor is it associated with an increase in cAMP. In nitrogen-starved cells, ammonium transport and activation of trehalase are most active in strains expressing either the Mep2 or Mep1 ammonium permease, as opposed to Mep3. The non-metabolizable ammonium analogue, methylamine, also triggers activation of trehalase when transported by Mep2 but not when taken up by diffusion. Inhibition of ammonium incorporation into metabolism did not prevent signalling. Extensive site-directed mutagenesis of Mep2 showed that transport and signalling were generally affected in a similar way, although they could be separated partially by specific mutations. Our results suggest an ammonium permease-based sensing mechanism for rapid activation of the PKA pathway. Mutagenesis of Asn246 to Ala in Mep2 abolished transport and signalling with methylamine but had no effect with ammonium. The plant AtAmt1;1, AtAmt1;2, AtAmt1;3 and AtAmt2 ammonium transporters sustained transport and trehalase activation to different extents. Specific mutations in Mep2 affected the activation of trehalase differently from induction of pseudohyphal differentiation. We also show that Mep permease involvement in PKA control is different from their role in haploid invasive growth, in which Mep1 sustains and Mep2 inhibits, in a way independent of the ammonium level in the medium.     

Activation of neutral trehalase by fermentable sugars and cAMP in the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe

Abstract Derepressed cells of Schizosaccharomyces pombe 972 h⁻ suspended in the presence of glucose or other fermentable sugars displayed a transient activation of trehalase which was not blocked by cycloheximide. Repressed cells were unable to show glucose-induced trehalase stimulation. Nitrogen sources, protonophores or uncouplers failed to produce direct trehalase activation but increased the activity of the enzyme in the presence of glucose. Exogenous cAMP induced a rapid and pronounced stimulation of trehalase in both repressed and derepressed cells suggesting that the response to glucose includes activation of adenylate cyclase as part of a cAMP signalling pathway that increases the catalytic activity of trehalase by enzyme modification.     

Trehalase activation in yeasts is mediated by an internal acidification

It has been reported that the addition of glucose, uncouplers and nystatin to yeast cells grown in a sugarfree medium causes trehalase activation; it has been postulated that this activation might be mediated by the depolarization of the plasma membrane. In this article the values of membrane potential and pH gradient across the plasma membrane of Saccharomyces cerevisiae have been determined under the same conditions as those in which trehalase is activated. Membrane potential was evaluated from the distribution of triphenylmethylphosphonium, the pH gradient from the distribution of benzoic acid across the plasma membrane. When the effect of several agents on the two components of the electrochemical proton gradient across the plasma membrane of ethanol-grown yeast cells were studied, under trehalase activation conditions, the following observations were made. (a) The addition of glucose activated trehalase and caused internal acidification of the cells, but had practically no effect on the membrane potential. (b) The addition of 200 mM KCl depolarized the cell membrane but did not affect the internal pH, nor trehalase activity. (c) Although carbonyl cyanide m-chlorophenylhydrazone depolarized the cells at external pH 6.0 and 7.0, it only activated trehalase at an external pH 6.0, leading to the acidification of the internal medium at this pH. (d) Nystatin caused an increase in the triphenylmethylphosphonium accumulation at external pH 6.0 and 7.0, but only activated trehalase at external pH 6.0, causing acidification of the cell interior at this pH. (e) Activation of trehalase was also observed when the internal acidification was caused by addition of a weak acid such as acetate. It is concluded that trehalase activation is mediated by an intracellular acidification and is independent of the membrane potential.     

In vitro assembly of cytochrome oxidase from separately accumulated subunits: a reconsideration

Trehalase activity in a yeast protoplast lysate increased 40-times upon preincubation with cAMP and ATP. The activity present without the preincubation could all be sedimentated at 8000 × g, for 10 min confirming the previously reported localization of the active trehalase (Ta) in the vacuoles. Virtually all the trehalase activity newly formed upon the preincubation, however, was found in the soluble fraction, indicating that a trehelase-zymogen (Tz) is located in the cytosol. This raises the possibility that a cAMP-dependent phosphorylation not only transforms Tz to Ta but also initiates the transfer of trehalase from the cytosol into the vacuoles.     

Trehalase activity and cyclic AMP content during early development of Mucor rouxii spores

Incubation of Mucor rouxii sporangiospores in complex medium under aerobic conditions resulted in a transient 20-fold increase in trehalase activity. Maximum activity was reached after 15 min. Simultaneously, the cyclic AMP (cAMP) content increased approximately eightfold, reaching a maximum within 10 min. Increases in trehalase activity and cAMP content were also observed under anaerobic conditions (CO2). The extent of trehalase activation and the changes in cAMP content, during both aerobic and anaerobic incubation, varied with the medium used. Trehalase was activated in vitro by a cAMP- and ATP-dependent process. An even faster activation was obtained when cAMP was replaced by the catalytic subunit of beef heart protein kinase. The coincidence of, and the correlation between, increased cAMP contents and trehalase activities support the involvement of a cAMP-dependent phosphorylation in the in vivo regulation of trehalase activity.     

Does a cyclic AMP-dependent phosphorylation initiate the transfer of trehalase from the cytosol into the vacuoles in Saccharomyces cerevisiae?

Trehalase activity in a yeast protoplast lysate increased 40-times upon preincubation with cAMP and ATP. The activity present without the preincubation could all be sedimentated at 8000 × g, for 10 min confirming the previously reported localization of the active trehalase (Ta) in the vacuoles. Virtually all the trehalase activity newly formed upon the preincubation, however, was found in the soluble fraction, indicating that a trehelase-zymogen (Tz) is located in the cytosol. This raises the possibility that a cAMP-dependent phosphorylation not only transforms Tz to Ta but also initiates the transfer of trehalase from the cytosol into the vacuoles.     

Characteristics of trehalase inCandida tropicalis

Summary The trehalase content of different yeasts varies widely. A strain ofCandida tropicalis was found to be the best source of this enzyme among the yeasts tested. The trehalase activity in this yeast could be increased 8.5 times by growing it on trehalose rather than glucose. Thus trehalase is an adaptive enzyme inC. tropicalis. It was found that the amount of trehalase which could be solubilized increased with increasing pH during autolysis of the cells, none being released from the cell debris at pH 4.5 and most at pH 6.3. Some evidence was obtained to show that the solubilization was caused by an enzyme. The stability of trehalase under various conditions was studied. A partial purification was achieved by precipitation with 40% ethanol at a temperature of −18°C. The maximum temperature of the enzyme was 48°C., and the optimum pH ranged from 4.1 to 5.3     

Characterization of cyclic AMP-requiring yeast mutants altered in the catalytic subunit of protein kinase

The cyr2 mutant of yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, required cAMP for growth at 35 degrees C. The cyr2 mutation was suppressed by the bcy1 mutation which resulted in deficiency of the regulatory subunit of cAMP-dependent protein kinase. The DEAE-Sephacel elution profile of cyr2 cAMP-dependent protein kinase was markedly different from that observed for the wild-type enzyme. With histone as substrate, the cAMP-dependent protein kinase activity of cyr2 cells showed 100-fold greater Ka value for activation by cAMP at 35 degrees C than that of the wild-type cells, while the Kd value for cAMP of the mutant enzyme was not altered. The electrophoretic character, molecular weight, and pI value of the regulatory subunit of the mutant enzyme were the same as those of the wild-type enzyme. When histone, trehalase, and glutamate dehydrogenase were used as substrate, the free catalytic subunit of the mutant enzyme showed a markedly decreased affinity for ATP and was more thermolabile compared to that of the wild-type enzyme. The results indicated that the cyr2 phenotype was produced by a structural mutation in the cyr2 gene coding for the catalytic subunit of cAMP-dependent protein kinase in yeast.     

In Vivo Phosphorylation of Ser21 and Ser83 during Nutrient-induced Activation of the Yeast Protein Kinase A (PKA) Target Trehalase

The readdition of an essential nutrient to starved, fermenting cells of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae triggers rapid activation of the protein kinase A (PKA) pathway. Trehalase is activated 5–10-fold within minutes and has been used as a convenient reporter for rapid activation of PKA in vivo. Although trehalase can be phosphorylated and activated by PKA in vitro, demonstration of phosphorylation during nutrient activation in vivo has been lacking. We now show, using phosphospecific antibodies, that glucose and nitrogen activation of trehalase in vivo is associated with phosphorylation of Ser²¹ and Ser⁸³. Unexpectedly, mutants with reduced PKA activity show constitutive phosphorylation despite reduced trehalase activation. The same phenotype was observed upon deletion of the catalytic subunits of yeast protein phosphatase 2A, suggesting that lower PKA activity causes reduced trehalase dephosphorylation. Hence, phosphorylation of trehalase in vivo is not sufficient for activation. Deletion of the inhibitor Dcs1 causes constitutive trehalase activation and phosphorylation. It also enhances binding of trehalase to the 14-3-3 proteins Bmh1 and Bmh2, suggesting that Dcs1 inhibits by preventing 14-3-3 binding. Deletion of Bmh1 and Bmh2 eliminates both trehalase activation and phosphorylation. Our results reveal that trehalase activation in vivo is associated with phosphorylation of typical PKA sites and thus establish the enzyme as a reliable read-out for nutrient activation of PKA in vivo.     

Effect of pulsed electric fields on the activity of neutral trehalase from beer yeast and RSM analysis

The trehalase activity plays an important role in extraction of trehalose from beer yeast. In this study, the effect of pulsed electric field processing on neutral trehalase activity in beer yeast was investigated. In order to develop and optimize a pulsed electric field (PEF) mathematical model for activating the neutral trehalase, we have investigated three variables, including electric field intensity (10-50 kV/cm), pulse duration (2-10 μs) and liquid-solid ratio (20-50 ml/g) and subsequently optimized them by response surface methodology (RSM). The experimental data were fitted to a second-order polynomial equation and profiled into the corresponding contour plots. Optimal condition obtained by RSM is as follows: electric field intensity 42.13 kV/cm, liquid-solid ratio 30.12 ml/g and pulse duration 5.46 μs. Under these conditions, with the trehalose decreased 8.879 mg/L, the PEF treatment had great effect on activating neutral trehalase in beer yeast cells.     

Activation of trehalase by membrane-depolarizing agents in yeast vegetative cells and ascospores.

The membrane-depolarizing agents 2,4-dinitrophenol, carbonylcyanide m-chlorophenylhydrazone, and nystatin are known to cause a rapid increase in the cyclic AMP level in fungal cells. Addition of these proton ionophores to yeast stationary-phase cells or ascospores causes an immediate 10-fold increase in trehalase activity. This observation is in agreement with a role for cyclic AMP-induced phosphorylation in the activation process of trehalase. It also provides an explanation for previous results on the induction of trehalose breakdown by 2,4-dinitrophenol in resting yeast cells.     

A yeast FRET biosensor enlightens cAMP signaling

The cAMP-PKA signaling cascade in budding yeast regulates adaptation to changing environments. We developed yEPAC, a FRET-based biosensor for cAMP measurements in yeast. We used this sensor with flow cytometry for high-throughput single cell-level quantification during dynamic changes in response to sudden nutrient transitions. We found that the characteristic cAMP peak differentiates between different carbon source transitions and is rather homogenous among single cells, especially for transitions to glucose. The peaks are mediated by a combination of extracellular sensing and intracellular metabolism. Moreover, the cAMP peak follows the Weber-Fechner law; its height scales with the relative, and not the absolute, change in glucose. Last, our results suggest that the cAMP peak height conveys information about prospective growth rates. In conclusion, our yEPAC-sensor makes possible new avenues for understanding yeast physiology, signaling, and metabolic adaptation.