Analysis of alpha-factor secretion signals by fusing with acid phosphatase of yeast

In yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the PHO5 gene encodes the repressible acid phosphatase (APase) whose activity can be easily monitored by either the staining of colonies or by colorimetric assay. Therefore, gene fusions to PHO5 provide a convenient system for structural and functional analysis of yeast genes. We have constructed fusions of the PHO5 gene with a MF alpha 1 gene of yeast to delineate the secretion signal(s) in the alpha-factor leader peptide. Gene fusion between MF alpha 1 and PHO5 codes for a hybrid protein in which the alpha-factor leader peptide of 89 amino acids (aa) directed the export of APase, a periplasmic protein, into the medium. Since the hybrid gene is transcribed from the alpha-factor promoter, expression of the APase activity from these hybrid genes showed cell type-specific regulation. Further analyses of another MF alpha 1-PHO5 fusion showed that only the first 22 aa of the 89-aa alpha-factor leader peptide contained sufficient information for the secretion of APase into the medium. This shows that, in addition to the analysis of gene regulation, PHO5 fusions can be used to study signals involved in the proper localization of proteins.     

In vivo translocation of the cell wall acid phosphatase across the yeast endoplasmic reticulum membrane: are there multiple signals for the targeting process?

The repressible Saccharomyces cerevisiae acid phosphatase (APase) coded by the PHO5 gene is a cell wall protein that follows the yeast secretory pathway. We had previously described the in vivo fate of a multicopy plasmid-encoded modified protein, lacking 15 out of 17 signal peptide amino acids. This modified protein accumulates mainly within the cell as an inactive unglycosylated form. However 30% of this precursor is translocated, glycosylated and dispatched to the cell wall. We establish, in the present report, that this phenomenon did not result from an overproduction of the plasmid encoded protein, since it was also observed in a normal single copy situation. The secretion persisted after a deletion including the single hydrophobic segment present in the N-terminus of the mature protein. The entry of both wild type and mutant APase into the ER was inhibited in sec62 mutants suggesting that the SEC62 gene product would not be implicated in signal peptide recognition.     

Bacillus licheniformis APase I gene promoter: a strong well-regulated promoter in B. subtilis

The 5' regulatory region and the portion of the structural gene coding for the amino-terminal sequence of alkaline phosphatase I (APase I) were isolated from Bacillus licheniformis MC14 using a synthetic oligodeoxynucleotide deduced from the amino acid sequence of the enzyme. The DNA sequence analysis of this region revealed an open reading frame of 129 amino acids containing the amino-terminal sequence of the mature APase protein. The protein sequence was preceded by a putative signal sequence of 32 amino acid residues. The predicted amino acid sequence of the partial APase clone as well as the experimentally determined amino acid sequence of the enzyme indicated that B. licheniformis APase retains the important features conserved among other APases of Bacillus subtilis, Escherichia coli, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and various human tissues. Heterologous expression studies of the promoter using a fusion with the lacZ gene indicated that it functions as a very strong inducible promoter in B. subtilis that is tightly regulated by phosphate concentration.     

Expression of the human salivary alpha-amylase gene in yeast and characterization of the secreted protein

Recombinant plasmids were constructed in which the human salivary alpha-amylase gene, with or without the N-terminal signal sequence for secretion, was placed under control of the APase (PHO5) promoter of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. In yeast cells transformed with the alpha-amylase gene having the human signal sequence for secretion, the gene was expressed and the enzyme was secreted into the medium in three different glycosylated forms. The amylase gene without the signal sequence was also expressed in yeast, but the products were neither secreted nor glycosylated. Determination of the N-terminal amino acid (aa) sequence revealed that the 15-aa signal sequence had been cleaved from the secreted enzyme, and that the N-terminal residue, glutamine, had been modified into pyroglutamate, as is commonly observed with the mammalian salivary alpha-amylase. Thus, the human salivary alpha-amylase signal sequence for secretion was correctly recognized and processed by the yeast secretory pathway. The C-terminal residue was identified as leucine, which is predicted from the nucleotide sequence data to be located at position 511 in front of the termination codon. Therefore, there is no post-translational processing in formation of the C terminus.     

Signal peptide specificity in posttranslational processing of the plant protein phaseolin in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

We linked the cDNA coding region for the bean storage protein phaseolin to the promoter and regulatory region of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae repressible acid phosphatase gene (PHO5) in multicopy expression plasmids. Yeast transformants containing these plasmids expressed phaseolin at levels up to 3% of the total soluble cellular protein. Phaseolin polypeptides in S. cerevisiae were glycosylated, and their molecular weights suggested that the signal peptide had been processed. We also constructed a series of plasmids in which the phaseolin signal-peptide-coding region was either removed or replaced with increasing amounts of the amino-terminal coding region for acid phosphatase. Phaseolin polypeptides with no signal peptide were not posttranslationally modified in S. cerevisiae. Partial or complete substitution of the phaseolin signal peptide with that from acid phosphatase dramatically inhibited both signal peptide processing and glycosylation, suggesting that some specific feature of the phaseolin signal amino acid sequence was required for these modifications to occur. Larger hybrid proteins that included approximately one-half of the acid phosphatase sequence linked to the amino terminus of the mature phaseolin polypeptide did undergo proteolytic processing and glycosylation. However, these polypeptides were cleaved at several sites that are not normally used in the unaltered acid phosphatase protein.     

The secreted form of invertase in Saccharomyces cerevisiae is synthesized from mRNA encoding a signal sequence.

The SUC2 gene of Saccharomyces cerevisiae encodes two differently regulated mRNAs (1.8 and 1.9 kilobases) that differ at their 5' ends. The larger RNA encodes a secreted, glycosylated form of invertase and the smaller RNA encodes an intracellular, nonglycosylated form. We have determined the nucleotide sequence of the amino-terminal coding region of the SUC2 gene and its upstream flanking region and have mapped the 5' ends of the SUC2 mRNAs relative to the DNA sequence. The 1.9-kilobase RNA contains a signal peptide coding sequence and presumably encodes a precursor to secreted invertase. The 1.8-kilobase RNA does not include the complete coding sequence for the signal peptide. The nucleotide sequence data prove that SUC2 is a structural gene for invertase, and translation of the coding information provides the complete amino acid sequence of an S. cerevisiae signal peptide.     

The nucleotide sequence of the yeast MEL1 gene.

The complete nucleotide sequence of the MEL1 gene of the yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, encoding alpha-galactosidase was determined. The nucleotide sequence contains an open reading frame of 1413 bp encoding a protein of 471 amino acids. Comparison with the known N-terminal amino acid sequence of the mature secreted protein indicated that alpha-galactosidase is synthesized as a precursor with an N-terminal signal sequence of 18 amino acids. The general features of this signal peptide resemble those of other yeast signal peptides. Molecular weight of the mature alpha-galactosidase polypeptide deduced from the nucleotide sequence is 50.049 kd. The 5' regulatory region has sequences in common with other yeast genes regulated by the GAL4-protein.     

Functional analysis of the signal-sequence processing site of yeast acid phosphatase

A systematic study of the signal peptidase cleavage site of the main cell-wall-repressible Saccharomyces cerevisiae acid phosphatase encoded by the PHO5 gene is presented. The last amino acid of the signal sequence, the chromosomally encoded alanine of the wild-type gene, was changed by any of 19 other amino acids in the chromosomal DNA by using in vitro mutagenesis in Escherichia coli and the technique of gene replacement. Processing and secretion are normal when the amino acid at this position is a small neutral amino acid, i.e. alanine, glycine, cysteine, serine or threonine. Processing glycosylation, and secretion of regulated acid phosphatase are distinctly affected with other amino acid substitutions and core-glycosylated protein accumulates in the cell. Surprisingly, PHO5 protein is still secreted to the cell wall and into the growth medium but at a lower rate and without cleavage of the signal sequence. The same features are exhibited by a mutated acid phosphatase with a deletion of four amino acids at the end of the signal peptide (-7 to -4 relative to the processing site) thus preserving the important -3 to -1 region.     

Expression,glycosylation and secretion of yeast acid phosphatase in hamster BHK cells

The gene PHO5 coding for one of the repressible acid phosphatases of the yeastSaccharomyces cerevisiae has been expressed at high efficiency in the baby hamster kidney (BHK) cell line. The expression vector was constructed from PHO5 driven by the human -actin promoter and was transfected into BHK cells by the calcium phosphate method. The recombinant APase (r-APase) which was secreted in active form from the cells was estimated by SDS/polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis to have molecular massM _r=62000, indicating substitution of the polypeptide moiety by 2–3 asparagine-linked glycans. Analysis by sequential lectin affinity chromatography of glycopeptides obtained from r-APase with Pronase showed that the glycans are predominantly of the 2.2.4 triantennary and tetraantennary complex-type. These data suggest that the extensive glycosylation of yeast APase, which contains eight polymannose substituents, is not essential for secretion and expression of enzymatic activity of the transfected gene product.Abbreviations APase acid phosphatase - PBS phosphate buffered saline - TBS Tris buffered saline - con A concanavalin A - TCA Tetracarpidium conophorum agglutinin     

The primary structure of a plant storage protein: zein.

The protein sequence of a representative of the zeins, the major storage proteins of maize, has been derived from the nucleotide sequence of a zein cDNA clone. This cDNA was sequence both by the Maxam and Gilbert and the M13-dideoxy techniques. The nucleotide sequence encompasses the non-translated 3' terminus of the mRNA, the entire coding sequence specifying both the mature zein protein and a small signal peptide, and a portion of the non-translated 5' region. The deduced amino acid composition and the amino-terminal amino acid sequence closely resemble those derived from chemical analysis of the zein protein fraction. The data presented represent the first complete amino acid sequence of a plant storage protein.     

Isolation and characterization of the structural gene for secreted acid phosphatase from Schizosaccharomyces pombe

The Schizosaccharomyces pombe acid phosphatase structural gene (PHO 1) was isolated by complementation of an S. pombe acid phosphatase mutant with a wild type S. pombe DNA recombinant plasmid library. Northern analysis indicates that acid phosphatase is encoded by a 1.4-kilobase mRNA of which approximately 100 bases are 3'-poly(A). The gene contains no introns and the 3' and 5' untranslated regions are short. According to DNA and amino acid sequence data, the S. pombe acid phosphatase has a molecular weight of 50,600. An 18-amino acid sequence at the N terminus was found that is similar to previously identified signal peptides in other eukaryotic secretory proteins. This signal peptide is apparently removed during secretion, since it is absent in the mature secreted acid phosphatase. The gene can be induced 2--3-fold by starvation for phosphate. The signals required for this induction are contained on the isolated DNA clone. Although the gene can be expressed in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, secretion is abnormal.     

Sequence of the cDNA and gene for angiogenin, a human angiogenesis factor

Human cDNAs coding for angiogenin, a human tumor derived angiogenesis factor, were isolated from a cDNA library prepared from human liver poly(A) mRNA employing a synthetic oligonucleotide as a hybridization probe. The largest cDNA insert (697 base pairs) contained a short 5'-noncoding sequence followed by a sequence coding for a signal peptide of 24 (or 22) amino acids, 369 nucleotides coding for the mature protein of 123 amino acids, a stop codon, a 3'-noncoding sequence of 175 nucleotides, and a poly(A) tail. The gene coding for human angiogenin was then isolated from a genomic lambda Charon 4A bacteriophage library employing the cDNA as a probe. The nucleotide sequence of the gene and the adjacent 5'- and 3'-flanking regions (4688 base pairs) was then determined. The coding and 3'-noncoding regions of the gene for human angiogenin were found to be free of introns, and the DNA sequence for the gene agreed well with that of the cDNA. The gene contained a potential TATA box in the 5' end in addition to two Alu repetitive sequences immediately flanking the 5' and 3' ends of the gene. The third Alu sequence was also found about 500 nucleotides downstream from the Alu sequence at the 3' end of the gene. The amino acid sequence of human angiogenin as predicted from the gene sequence was in complete agreement with that determined by amino acid sequence analysis. It is about 35% homologous with human pancreatic ribonuclease, and the amino acid residues that are essential for the activity of ribonuclease are also conserved in angiogenin. This provocative finding is thought to have important physiological implications.     

Cloning and characterization of the gene encoding a repressible acid phosphatase (PHO1) from the methylotrophic yeast Hansenula polymorpha

A cloned cDNA, generated from mRNA isolates of phosphate-derepressed H. polymorpha cells, was identified to harbour an incomplete sequence of the coding region for a repressible acid phosphatase. The cDNA fragment served as a probe to screen a plasmid library of H. polymorpha genomic DNA. A particular clone, p606, of a 1.9-kb insert contained a complete copy of the PHO1 gene. Sequencing revealed the presence of a 1329-nucleotide open reading frame encoding a protein of 442 amino acids with a calculated M _r of 49400. The␣encoded protein has an N-terminal 17-amino-acid secretory leader sequence and seven potential N-glycosylation sites. The leader cleavage site was confirmed by N-terminal sequencing of the purified enzyme. The nucleotide sequence is 48.9% homologous, the derived amino acid sequence 36% homologous to its Saccharomyces cerevisiae counterpart. The derived amino acid sequence harbours a consensus sequence RHGXRXP, previously identified as a sequence involved in active-site formation of acid phosphatases. The PHO1 promoter and the secretion leader sequence present promising new tools for heterologous gene expression. Received: 15 January 1998 / Received revision: 2 March 1998 / Accepted: 4 March 1998