cps1+, a Schizosaccharomyces pombe gene homolog of Saccharomyces cerevisiae FKS genes whose mutation confers hypersensitivity to cyclosporin A and papulacandin B.

The Schizosaccharomyces pombe cps1-12 (for chlorpropham supersensitive) mutant strain was originally isolated as hypersensitive to the spindle poison isopropyl N-3-chlorophenyl carbamate (chlorpropham) (J. Ishiguro and Y. Uhara, Jpn. J. Genet. 67:97-109, 1992). We have found that the cps1-12 mutation also confers (i) hypersensitivity to the immunosuppressant cyclosporin A (CsA), (ii) hypersensitivity to the drug papulacandin B, which specifically inhibits 1,3-beta-D-glucan synthesis both in vivo and in vitro, and (iii) thermosensitive growth at 37 degrees C. Under any of these restrictive treatments, cells swell up and finally lyse. With an osmotic stabilizer, cells do not lyse, but at 37 degrees C they become multiseptated and multibranched. The cps1-12 mutant, grown at a restrictive temperature, showed an increase in sensitivity to lysis by enzymatic cell wall degradation, in in vitro 1,3-beta-D-glucan synthase activity (173% in the absence of GTP in the reaction), and in cell wall biosynthesis (130% of the wild-type amount). Addition of Ca2+ suppresses hypersensitivity to papulacandin B and septation and branching phenotypes. All of these data suggest a relationship between the cps1+ gene and cell wall synthesis. A DNA fragment containing the cps1+ gene was cloned, and sequence analysis indicated that it encodes a predicted membrane protein of 1,729 amino acids with 15 to 16 transmembrane domains. S. pombe cps1p has overall 55% sequence identity with Fks1p or Fks2p, proposed to be catalytic or associated subunits of Saccharomyces cerevisiae 1,3-beta-D-glucan synthase. Thus, the cps1+ product might be a catalytic or an associated copurifying subunit of the fission yeast 1,3-beta-D-glucan synthase that plays an essential role in cell wall synthesis.     

Yeast myosin heavy chain mutant: maintenance of the cell type specific budding pattern and the normal deposition of chitin and cell wall components requires an intact myosin heavy chain gene

Recent studies with myosin heavy chain mutants in the slime mold Dictyostelium discoideum and the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae indicate that the myosin heavy chain gene is not essential for cell survival under laboratory growth conditions. However, cells lacking a normal myosin heavy chain gene demonstrate substantial alterations in growth and cell division. In this study, we report that a disruption mutant in the rod portion of the yeast myosin heavy chain gene, MYO1, produces abnormal chitin distribution and cell wall organization at the mother-bud neck in a high proportion of dividing cells. It is suggested that this phenotype is the cause of the cell division defect and the osmotic sensitivity of yeast MYO1 mutants. In the absence of a normal MYO1 polypeptide, yeast cells alter their cell type specific budding pattern. It is concluded that an intact myosin heavy chain gene is required to maintain the cell type specific budding pattern and the correct localization and deposition of chitin and cell wall components during cell growth and division.     

KEX2 mutations suppress RNA polymerase II mutants and alter the temperature range of yeast cell growth.

Suppressors of a temperature-sensitive RNA polymerase II mutation were isolated to identify proteins that interact with RNA polymerase II in yeast cells. Ten independently isolated extragenic mutations that suppressed the temperature-sensitive mutation rpb1-1 and produced a cold-sensitive phenotype were all found to be alleles of a single gene, SRB1. An SRB1 partial deletion mutant was further investigated and found to exhibit several pleiotropic phenotypes. These included suppression of numerous temperature-sensitive RNA polymerase II mutations, alteration of the temperature growth range of cells containing wild-type RNA polymerase, and sterility of cells of alpha mating type. The ability of SRB1 mutations to suppress the temperature-sensitive phenotype of RNA polymerase II mutants did not extend to other temperature-sensitive mutants investigated. Isolation of the SRB1 gene revealed that SRB1 is KEX2. These results indicate that the KEX2 protease, whose only known substrates are hormone precursors, can have an important influence on RNA polymerase II and the temperature-dependent growth properties of yeast cells.     

啤酒酵母DNA修复基因RAD24温度敏感突变株的分离及其特性的初步研究

以ＹＣｐｌａｃ系列带Ｔｒｐ、Ｈｉｓ和Ｕｒａ标志基因的载体为骨架构建含野生型和经羟胺处理的突变型的啤酒酵母ＲＡＤ２４基因质粒,用质粒替换方法分离ＲＡＤ２４基因温度敏感突变株（ｒａｄ２４－ｔｓ３）．紫外生存试验发现,ｒａｄ２４－ｔｓ３对紫外线敏感;同位素（３Ｈ－ＴｄＲ,３Ｈ－ＵＲ,３Ｈ－Ｌｅｕ）参入试验表明,该突变株ＤＮＡ、ＲＮＡ及蛋白质合成均较野生型明显降低．     

A new efficient gene disruption cassette for repeated use in budding yeast.

The dominant kanr marker gene plays an important role in gene disruption experiments in budding yeast, as this marker can be used in a variety of yeast strains lacking the conventional yeast markers. We have developed a loxP-kanMX-loxP gene disruption cassette, which combines the advantages of the heterologous kanr marker with those from the Cre-lox P recombination system. This disruption cassette integrates with high efficiency via homologous integration at the correct genomic locus (routinely 70%). Upon expression of the Cre recombinase the kanMX module is excised by an efficient recombination between the loxP sites, leaving behind a single loxP site at the chromosomal locus. This system allows repeated use of the kanr marker gene and will be of great advantage for the functional analysis of gene families.     

Cloning and expression of a yeast protein tyrosine phosphatase.

To study the regulation of tyrosine phosphorylation/dephosphorylation in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, a protein tyrosine phosphatase (PTPase) was cloned by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Conserved amino acid sequences within the mammalian PTPases were used to design primers which generated a yeast PCR fragment. The sequence of the PCR fragment encoded a protein with homology to the mammalian PTPases. The PCR fragment was used to identify the yeast PTP1 gene which has an open reading frame encoding a 335-amino acid residue protein. This yeast PTPase shows 26% sequence identity to the rat PTPase, although highly conserved residues within the mammalian enzymes are invariant in the yeast protein. The yeast PTP1 is physicallt linked to the 5'-end of a heat shock gene SSB1. This yeast PTP1 gene was expressed in Escherichia coli and obtained in a highly purified form by a single affinity chromatography step. The recombinant yeast PTPase hydrolyzed phosphotyrosine containing substrates approximately 1000 times faster than a phosphoserine containing substrate. Gene disruption of yeast PTP1 has no visible effect on vegetative growth.     

Disruption of the gene encoding the secreted acid protease (ACP) in the yeast Candida tropicalis

The gene for the secreted acid protease (ACP), a potential virulence factor of Candida species, was inactivated in Candida tropicalis by gene disruption. The disruption was performed by cotransformation of an ade2 C. tropicalis mutant with a linear DNA fragment carrying a deletion in ACP, and the replicative vector pMK16 which carries a selectable ADE2 gene marker. Few of the transformants exhibited lower protease secretion levels and were shown to have one deleted and one unaffected ACP copy, since C. tropicalis is a diploid yeast. These transformants were rendered homozygotic for this deletion by mild UV-treatment. One of the homozygotic acp deletion mutants obtained was completely devoid of extracellular protease activity and grew poorly on bovine serum albumin-containing medium. This mutant could be complemented by an ACP fragment inserted in pMK16, but also by an acid protease gene isolated from C. parapsilosis.     

Isolation and characterization of a second protein tyrosine phosphatase gene, PTP2, from Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

A putative protein tyrosine phosphatase (PTPase) gene, PTP2, was cloned from Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The complete yeast PTP2 gene encodes a 750-amino acid residue protein with a predicted mass of 86 kDa. The conserved PTPase domain was localized in the C-terminal half of the protein. Amino acid sequence alignment of the yeast PTPase domain with other phosphatases indicated approximately 20-25% sequence identity with the mammalian PTPase and a similar degree of identity with the PTPase encoded by the yeast PTP1 gene. The PTP2 gene is closely linked to the yeast RET1 and STE4 genes and is localized on the right arm of chromosome 15. Gene disruption experiments demonstrated that neither PTP2 alone nor PTP2 in combination with PTP1 was essential for growth under the conditions tested. The ability of PTP2 to complement the cdc25-22 mutant of Schizosaccharomyces pombe was also examined, and unlike the human T-cell PTPase, which was able to complement the cdc25-22 mutant, the S. cerevisiae PTP2 was unable to complement the cdc25-22 mutant of S. pombe.     

Small heat shock protein suppression of Vpr-induced cytoskeletal defects in budding yeast.

Expression of the auxiliary human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) protein Vpr causes arrest of primate host cells in G2. Expression of this protein in budding yeast has been previously reported to cause growth arrest and a large-cell phenotype. Investigation of the effect of Vpr expression in budding yeast, reported here, showed that it causes disruption of the actin cytoskeleton. Expression of HSP42, the gene for a small heat shock protein (sHSP), from a high-copy-number plasmid reversed this effect. The sHSPs are induced by exposure of cells to thermal, osmotic, and oxidative stresses and to mitogens. In animal cells, overexpression of sHSPs causes increased resistance to stress and stabilization of actin stress fibers. Yeast cells subjected to mild stress, such as shifting from 23 to 39 degrees C, arrest growth and then resume cell division. Growth arrest is accompanied by transient disorganization of the cytoskeleton. Yeast in which the HSP42 gene was disrupted and which was subjected to moderate thermal stress reorganized the actin cytoskeleton more slowly than did wild-type control cells. These results demonstrate that in yeast, as in metazoan cells, sHSPs promote maintenance of the actin cytoskeleton.     

Yeast Crv4/Ttp1, a predicted type II membrane protein, is involved in an event important for growth, functionally overlapping with the event regulated by calcineurin- and Mpk1-mediated pathways

The Saccharomyces cerevisiae crv mutants (crv1, 2, 3 and 4) exhibit phenotypes, such as calcium resistance and vanadate sensitivity, which are apparently similar to those of calcineurin-deficient mutants. We have cloned and characterized the CRV4 gene that complements all the phenotypes of the crv4 mutant. DNA sequencing revealed that CRV4 is identical to the previously cloned gene TTP1, which encodes a type II membrane protein of unknown function. Deletion of CRV4/TTP1 causes no obvious phenotype except for Ca²⁺ resistance and vanadate sensitivity, but is synthetically lethal in combination with a deletion of MPK1, in a manner which is suppressible by the addition of an osmotic stabilizer. In medium containing sorbitol as an osmotic stabilizer, the cnb1 mpk1 ttp1 triple mutant exhibits a more severe growth defect than does any of the double mutants cnb1 ttp1, cnb1 mpk1 or mpk1 ttp1. A high Ca²⁺ concentration (50 mM) or a constitutively active form of calcineurin partially suppresses the growth defect of the mpk1 ttp1 double mutant. These results indicate that Ttp1 participates in a cellular event essential for growth and morphogenesis, in parallel with the pathways involving Mpk1 MAP kinase and calcineurin. Received: 4 June 1997 / Accepted: 14 July 1997     

Isolation of the ERG12 gene of Saccharomyces cerevisiae encoding mevalonate kinase

The ERG12 gene of Saccharomyces cerevisiae has been cloned by complementation of an erg12-1 mutation affecting mevalonate kinase. From the 2.8-kb insert isolated, the functional gene has been localized on a DNA fragment of 2.1 kb. The mRNA is 1.45 kb long. Gene disruption shows that the ERG12 gene is essential in yeast, both for spore germination and vegetative growth.     

Yeast glycogen synthase kinase 3 is involved in protein degradation in cooperation with Bul1, Bul2, and Rsp5

The yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae has four genes, MCK1, MDS1 (RIM11), MRK1, and YOL128c, that encode glycogen synthase kinase 3 (GSK-3) homologs. The gsk-3 null mutant, in which these four genes are disrupted, shows temperature sensitivity, which is suppressed by the expression of mammalian GSK-3beta and by an osmotic stabilizer. Suppression of temperature sensitivity by an osmotic stabilizer is also observed in the bul1 bul2 double null mutant, and the temperature sensitivity of the bul1 bul2 double null mutant is suppressed by multiple copies of MCK1. We have screened rog mutants (revertants of gsk-3) which suppress the temperature sensitivity of the mck1 mds1 double null mutant and found that two of them, rog1 and rog2, also suppress the temperature sensitivity of the bul1 bul2 double null mutant. Bul1 and Bul2 have been reported to bind to Rsp5, a hect (for homologous to E6-associated-protein carboxyl terminus)-type ubiquitin ligase, but involvement of Bul1 and Bul2 in protein degradation has not been demonstrated. We find that Rog1, but not Rog2, is stabilized in the gsk-3 null and the bul1 bul2 double null mutants. Rog1 binds directly to Rsp5, and their interaction is dependent on GSK-3. Furthermore, Rog1 is stabilized in the npi1 mutant, in which RSP5 expression levels are reduced. These results suggest that yeast GSK-3 regulates the stability of Rog1 in cooperation with Bul1, Bul2, and Rsp5.     

A conserved small GTP-binding protein Alp41 is essential for the cofactor-dependent biogenesis of microtubules in fission yeast

The proper folding of tubulins and their incorporation into microtubules consist of a series of reactions, in which evolutionarily conserved proteins, cofactors A to E, play a vital role. We have cloned a fission yeast gene (alp41(+)) which encodes a highly conserved small GTP-binding protein homologous to budding yeast CIN4 and human ARF-like Arl2. alp41(+) is essential, disruption of which results in microtubule dysfunction and growth polarity defects. Genetic analysis indicates that Alp41 plays a crucial role in the cofactor-dependent pathway, in which it functions upstream of the cofactor D homologue Alp1(D) and possibly in concert with Alp21(E).     

Nuclear and mitochondrial inheritance in yeast depends on novel cytoplasmic structures defined by the MDM1 protein

The mdml mutation causes temperature-sensitive growth and defective transfer of nuclei and mitochondria into developing buds of yeast cells at the nonpermissive temperature. The MDM1 gene was cloned by complementation, and its sequence revealed an open reading frame encoding a potential protein product of 51.5 kD. This protein displays amino acid sequence similarities to hamster vimentin and mouse epidermal keratin. Gene disruption demonstrated that MDM1 is essential for mitotic growth. Antibodies against the MDM1 protein recognized a 51-kD polypeptide that was localized by indirect immunofluorescence to a novel pattern of spots and punctate arrays distributed throughout the yeast cell cytoplasm. These structures disappeared after shifting mdm1 mutant cells to the nonpermissive temperature, although the cellular level of MDM1 protein was unchanged. Affinity-purified antibodies against MDM1 also specifically recognized intermediate filaments by indirect immunofluorescence of animal cells. These results suggest that novel cytoplasmic structures containing the MDM1 protein mediate organelle inheritance in yeast.     

Isolation and characterization of the yeast las21 mutants, which are sensitive to a local anestheticum, tetracaine.

We isolated and characterized yeast mutants whose growth is sensitive to a local anestheticum tetracaine and, at the same time, temperature sensitive. These mutants were collectively called las mutants (local anestheticum sensitive). The las21 mutants were analyzed in this study. The wild type LAS21 gene was cloned by exploiting temperature sensitivity of the las21 mutants and we found that LAS21 encodes ORF YJL062w which has not been analyzed before. Las21p is putative membrane protein belonging to the major facilitator super family containing plural membrane spanning domains. Complete elimination of the LAS21 ORF did not kill the cells but made their growth temperature sensitive. Interestingly, the complete loss of the LAS21 gene canceled the sensitivity to tetracaine. The ability of the las21 mutants to grow at a higher temperature was recovered in the various media containing an osmotic stabilizer or salts. Furthermore, temperature sensitivity of the las21 mutants was partially suppressed by introduction of PKC1, encoding protein kinase C, on a high copy vector. We found some genetic interactions between LAS21 and Ras/cAMP cascade genes. These results suggest that LAS21 defines unknown pathway regulating the stress response of yeast.     

Large-scale analysis of yeast filamentous growth by systematic gene disruption and overexpression

Under certain conditions of nutrient stress, the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae initiates a striking developmental transition to a filamentous form of growth, resembling developmental transitions required for virulence in closely related pathogenic fungi. In yeast, filamentous growth involves known mitogen-activated protein kinase and protein kinase A signaling modules, but the full scope of this extensive filamentous response has not been delineated. Accordingly, we have undertaken the first systematic gene disruption and overexpression analysis of yeast filamentous growth. Standard laboratory strains of yeast are nonfilamentous; thus, we constructed a unique set of reagents in the filamentous Σ1278b strain, encompassing 3627 integrated transposon insertion alleles and 2043 overexpression constructs. Collectively, we analyzed 4528 yeast genes with these reagents and identified 487 genes conferring mutant filamentous phenotypes upon transposon insertion and/or gene overexpression. Using a fluorescent protein reporter integrated at the MUC1 locus, we further assayed each filamentous growth mutant for aberrant protein levels of the key flocculence factor Muc1p. Our results indicate a variety of genes and pathways affecting filamentous growth. In total, this filamentous growth gene set represents a wealth of yeast biology, highlighting 84 genes of uncharacterized function and an underappreciated role for the mitochondrial retrograde signaling pathway as an inhibitor of filamentous growth.