Protein N-glycosylation determines functionality of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae cell wall integrity sensor Mid2p

The fungal cell wall is a highly dynamic structure that is essential to maintain cell shape and stability. Hence in yeasts and fungi cell wall integrity is tightly controlled. The Saccharomyces cerevisiae plasma membrane protein Mid2p is a putative mechanosensor that responds to cell wall stresses and morphological changes during pheromone induction. The extracellular domain of Mid2p, which is crucial to sensing, is highly O- and N-glycosylated. We showed that O-mannosylation is determining stability of Mid2p. If and how N-glycosylation is linked to Mid2p function was unknown. Here we demonstrate that Mid2p contains a single high mannose N-linked glycan at position Asn-35. The N -glycan is located close to the N-terminus and is exposed from the plasma membrane towards the cell wall through a highly O-mannosylated domain that is predicted to adopt a rod-like conformation. In contrast to O-mannosylation, lack of the N-linked glycan affects neither, stability of Mid2p nor distribution at the plasma membrane during vegetative and sexual growth. However, non-N-glycosylated Mid2p fails to perceive cell wall challenges. Our data further demonstrate that both the extent of the N-linked glycan and its distance from the plasma membrane affect Mid2p function, suggesting the N -glycan to be directly involved in Mid2p sensing.     

Wsc1 and Mid2 are cell surface sensors for cell wall integrity signaling that act through Rom2, a guanine nucleotide exchange factor for Rho1

Wsc1 and Mid2 are highly O-glycosylated cell surface proteins that reside in the plasma membrane of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. They have been proposed to function as mechanosensors of cell wall stress induced by wall remodeling during vegetative growth and pheromone-induced morphogenesis. These proteins are required for activation of the cell wall integrity signaling pathway that consists of the small G-protein Rho1, protein kinase C (Pkc1), and a mitogen-activated protein kinase cascade. We show here by two-hybrid experiments that the C-terminal cytoplasmic domains of Wsc1 and Mid2 interact with Rom2, a guanine nucleotide exchange factor (GEF) for Rho1. At least with regard to Wsc1, this interaction is mediated by the Rom2 N-terminal domain. This domain is distinct from the Rho1-interacting domain, suggesting that the GEF can interact simultaneously with a sensor and with Rho1. We also demonstrate that extracts from wsc1 and mid2 mutants are deficient in the ability to catalyze GTP loading of Rho1 in vitro, providing evidence that the function of the sensor-Rom2 interaction is to stimulate nucleotide exchange toward this G-protein. In a related line of investigation, we identified the PMT2 gene in a genetic screen for mutations that confer an additive cell lysis defect with a wsc1 null allele. Pmt2 is a member of a six-protein family in yeast that catalyzes the first step in O mannosylation of target proteins. We demonstrate that Mid2 is not mannosylated in a pmt2 mutant and that this modification is important for signaling by Mid2.     

The Hsp40 molecular chaperone Ydj1p, along with the protein kinase C pathway, affects cell-wall integrity in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Molecular chaperones, such as Hsp40, regulate cellular processes by aiding in the folding, localization, and activation of multi-protein machines. To identify new targets of chaperone action, we performed a multi-copy suppressor screen for genes that improved the slow-growth defect of yeast lacking the YDJ1 chromosomal locus and expressing a defective Hsp40 chimera. Among the genes identified were MID2, which regulates cell-wall integrity, and PKC1, which encodes protein kinase C and is linked to cell-wall biogenesis. We found that ydj1delta yeast exhibit phenotypes consistent with cell-wall defects and that these phenotypes were improved by Mid2p or Pkc1p overexpression or by overexpression of activated downstream components in the PKC pathway. Yeast containing a thermosensitive allele in the gene encoding Hsp90 also exhibited cell-wall defects, and Mid2p or Pkc1p overexpression improved the growth of these cells at elevated temperatures. To determine the physiological basis for suppression of the ydj1delta growth defect, wild-type and ydj1delta yeast were examined by electron microscopy and we found that Mid2p overexpression thickened the mutant's cell wall. Together, these data provide the first direct link between cytoplasmic chaperone function and cell-wall integrity and suggest that chaperones orchestrate the complex biogenesis of this structure.     

The walls have ears: the role of plant CrRLK1Ls in sensing and transducing extracellular signals

In plants, organ formation and cell elongation require the constant adjustment of the dynamic and adaptable cell wall in response to environmental cues as well as internal regulators, such as light, mechanical stresses, pathogen attacks, phytohormones, and other signaling molecules. The molecular mechanisms that perceive these cues and translate them into cellular responses to maintain integrity and remodelling of the carbohydrate-rich cell wall for the coordination of cell growth are still poorly understood. In the last 3 years, the function of six membrane-localized receptor-like kinases (RLKs) belonging to the CrRLK1L family has been linked to the control of cell elongation in vegetative and reproductive development. Moreover, the presence of putative carbohydrate-binding domains in the extracellular domains of these CrRLK1Ls makes this receptor family an excellent candidate for coordinating cell growth, cell-cell communication, and constant cell wall remodelling during the plant life cycle.     

Yeast Endocytic Adaptor AP‐2 Binds the Stress Sensor Mid2 and Functions in Polarized Cell Responses

The AP‐2 complex is a heterotetrameric endocytic cargo‐binding adaptor that facilitates uptake of membrane proteins during mammalian clathrin‐mediated endocytosis. While budding yeast has clear homologues of all four AP‐2 subunits which form a complex and localize to endocytic sites in vivo, the function of yeast AP‐2 has remained enigmatic. Here, we demonstrate that AP‐2 is required for hyphal growth in Candida albicans and polarized cell responses in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Deletion of APM4, the cargo‐binding mu subunit of AP‐2, causes defects in pseudohyphal growth, generation of a mating projection and the cell wall damage response. In an apm4 null mutant, the cell wall stress sensor Mid2 is unable to relocalize to the tip of a mating projection following pheromone addition, or to the mother bud neck in response to cell wall damage. A direct binding interaction between Mid2 and the mu homology domain of Apm4 further supports a model in which AP‐2 binds Mid2 to facilitate its internalization and relocalization in response to specific signals. Thus, Mid2 is the first cargo for AP‐2 identified in yeast. We propose that endocytic recycling of Mid2 and other components is required for polarized cell responses ensuring cell wall deposition and is tightly monitored during cell growth.      

Dissecting sensor functions in cell wall integrity signaling in Kluyveromyces lactis

KlWSC1, KlWSC2/3 and KlMID2, which encode putative plasma membrane sensors for cell wall integrity signaling in Kluyveromyces lactis, were cloned and characterized. Double and triple deletion mutants show severe cell integrity defects, indicating overlapping functions. The Klwsc1 Klmid2 double deletion phenotype can be suppressed by overexpression of the downstream components KlROM2, KlPKC1 and KlBCK1. KlWsc1 sensor domain analyses showed that an amino-terminal elongation as well as an extension within the cytoplasmic domain are dispensable for function. Heterologous complementation by KlMID2 and KlWSC1 in Saccharomyces cerevisiae is only achieved upon overexpression. In contrast to ScMID2, ScWSC1 complements in K. lactis. Functional studies with chimeric Mid2 constructs indicate that species specificity is mainly conferred by the extracellular domain. Sensor-GFP fusions localize to the plasma membrane, with a cell cycle dependent distribution of KlWsc1-GFP. Both Wsc-type sensors concentrate in discrete spots within the plasma membrane.     

Dissecting sensor functions in cell wall integrity signaling in Kluyveromyces lactis.

KlWSC1, KlWSC2/3 and KlMID2, which encode putative plasma membrane sensors for cell wall integrity signaling in Kluyveromyces lactis, were cloned and characterized. Double and triple deletion mutants show severe cell integrity defects, indicating overlapping functions. The Klwsc1 Klmid2 double deletion phenotype can be suppressed by overexpression of the downstream components KlROM2, KlPKC1 and KlBCK1. KlWsc1 sensor domain analyses showed that an amino-terminal elongation as well as an extension within the cytoplasmic domain are dispensable for function. Heterologous complementation by KlMID2 and KlWSC1 in Saccharomyces cerevisiae is only achieved upon overexpression. In contrast to ScMID2, ScWSC1 complements in K. lactis. Functional studies with chimeric Mid2 constructs indicate that species specificity is mainly conferred by the extracellular domain. Sensor-GFP fusions localize to the plasma membrane, with a cell cycle dependent distribution of KlWsc1-GFP. Both Wsc-type sensors concentrate in discrete spots within the plasma membrane.     

Chitosan, the deacetylated form of chitin, is necessary for cell wall integrity in Cryptococcus neoformans

Cryptococcus neoformans is an opportunistic fungal pathogen that causes cryptococcal meningoencephalitis, particularly in immunocompromised patients. The fungal cell wall is an excellent target for antifungal therapies as it is an essential organelle that provides cell structure and integrity, it is needed for the localization or attachment of known virulence factors, including the polysaccharide capsule, melanin, and phospholipase, and it is critical for host-pathogen interactions. In C. neoformans, chitosan produced by the enzymatic removal of acetyl groups from nascent chitin polymers has been implicated as an important component of the vegetative cell wall. In this study, we identify four putative chitin/polysaccharide deacetylases in C. neoformans. We have demonstrated that three of these deacetylases, Cda1, Cda2, and Cda3, can account for all of the chitosan produced during vegetative growth in culture, but the function for one, Fpd1, remains undetermined. The data suggest a model for chitosan production in vegetatively growing C. neoformans where the three chitin deacetylases convert chitin generated by the chitin synthase Chs3 into chitosan. Utilizing a collection of chitin/polysaccharide deacetylase deletion strains, we determined that during vegetative growth, chitosan helps to maintain cell integrity and aids in bud separation. Additionally, chitosan is necessary for maintaining normal capsule width and the lack of chitosan results in a "leaky melanin" phenotype. Our analysis indicates that chitin deacetylases and the chitosan made by them may prove to be excellent antifungal targets.     

Up against the Wall: Is Yeast Cell Wall Integrity Ensured by Mechanosensing in Plasma Membrane Microdomains?

Yeast cell wall integrity (CWI) signaling serves as a model of the regulation of fungal cell wall synthesis and provides the basis for the development of antifungal drugs. A set of five membrane-spanning sensors (Wsc1 to Wsc3, Mid2, and Mtl1) detect cell surface stress and commence the signaling pathway upon perturbations of either the cell wall structure or the plasma membrane. We here summarize the latest advances in the structure/function relationship primarily of the Wsc1 sensor and critically review the evidence that it acts as a mechanosensor. The relevance and physiological significance of the information obtained for the function of the other CWI sensors, as well as expected future developments, are discussed.     

The SLT2(MPK1) MAP kinase is activated during periods of polarized cell growth in yeast.

The SLT2(MPK1) mitogen-activated protein kinase signal transduction pa thway has been implicated in several biological processes in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, including the regulation of cytoskeletal and cell wall structure, polarized cell growth, and response to nutrient availability, hypo-osmotic shock and heat shock. We examined the conditions under which the SLT2 pathway is activated. We found that the SLT2 kinase is tyrosine phosphorylated and activated during periods in which yeast cells are undergoing polarized cell growth, namely during bud formation of vegetative cell division and during projection formation upon treatment with mating pheromone. BCK1(SLK1), a MEK kinase, is required for SLT2 activation in both of these situations. Upstream of BCK1(SLK1), we found that the STE20 kinase was required for SLT2 activation by mating pheromone, but was unnecessary for its activation during the vegetative cell cycle. Finally, SLT2 activation during vegetative growth was partially dependent on CDC28 in that the stimulation of SLT2 tyrosine phosphorylation was significantly reduced directly after a temperature shift in cdc28 ts mutants. Our data are consistent with a role for SLT2 in promoting polarized cell growth.     

Polarized morphogenesis regulator Spa2 is required for the function of putative stretch-activated Ca2+-permeable channel component Mid1 in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Mid1 is a putative stretch-activated Ca2+ channel component and is required for the maintenance of viability in the mating process. In response to mating pheromone, the mid1 mutant normally forms a pointed mating projection but eventually dies. This phenotype is called the mid phenotype. To identify a protein regulating Mid1 or regulated by Mid1, we isolated a multicopy suppressor that rescues the mid1-1 mutant from mating pheromone-induced death and found that it encodes a truncated Spa2 protein lacking an amino-terminal region responsible for interaction with components of the mitogen-activated protein kinase cascades. One of these SPA2 alleles was SPA2DeltaN, whose product lacked the region from Ser5 to Leu230. SPA2DeltaN on a multicopy plasmid (YEpSPA2DeltaN) complemented the mid phenotype but not another phenotype, low Ca2+ accumulation, of the mid1-1 mutant. Neither SPA2DeltaN on a low-copy plasmid nor wild-type SPA2 on a multicopy plasmid had suppressive activity. The SPA2 gene is involved in the formation of a pointed mating projection, and cells of the spa2Delta mutant lacking Spa2 are viable and develop a peanut shell-like structure when exposed to mating pheromone. Like the spa2Delta mutant, the mid1-1 spa2Delta double mutant and the mid1-1/YEpSPA2DeltaN strain developed the peanut shell-like structure. The mid1-1 spa2Delta double mutant did not have the mid phenotype, indicating that SPA2 is epistatic to MID1. Overexpression of Spa2DeltaN abolished the localization of Spa2-green fluorescent protein to the tip of the mating projection. These results suggest that the Spa2DeltaN protein interferes with the localization of the normal Spa2 protein and thereby prevents cells from entering the mating process. Therefore, we suggest that Mid1 function is influenced by Spa2 function through polarized morphogenesis.     

Swm1p, a subunit of the APC/cyclosome, is required to maintain cell wall integrity during growth at high temperature in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Swm1p, a subunit of the APC cyclosome, was originally identified for its role in the later stages of the sporulation process and is required for spore wall assembly. In addition, this protein is required to maintain cell wall integrity in vegetative cells during growth at high temperature. Electron microscopy analyses of mutant cells grown at the restrictive temperature in the absence of osmotic support show that the cell wall is clearly abnormal, with large number of discontinuities that may be responsible for the observed lysis. The mutant cells show a 7-fold reduction in glucan synthase activity during growth at 38 degrees C and a 3.5-fold increase in the chitin content of the cell wall. The chitin is deposited in a delocalized manner all over the cell wall, where it accumulates in patches in abnormal regions. The excess chitin is mainly synthesized by the action of chitin synthase III (Chs3p), since it disappears in the swm1 chs3 double-mutant.     

Calcineurin, the Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein phosphatase, is essential in yeast mutants with cell integrity defects and in mutants that lack a functional vacuolar H(+)-ATPase.

Calcineurin is a conserved Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein phosphatase that plays a critical role in Ca(2+)-mediated signaling in many cells. Yeast cells lacking functional calcineurin (cna1 cna2 or cnb1 mutants) display growth defects under specific environmental conditions, for example, in the presence of high concentrations of Na+, Li+, Mn2+, or OH- but are indistinguishable from wild-type cells under standard culture conditions. To characterize regulatory pathways that may overlap with calcineurin, we performed a synthetic lethal screen to identify mutants that require calcineurin on standard growth media. The characterization of one such mutant, cnd1-8, is presented. The CND1 gene was cloned, and sequence analysis predicts that it encodes a novel protein 1,876 amino acids in length with multiple membrane-spanning domains. CND1 is identical to the gene identified previously as FKS1, ETG1, and CWH53, cnd1 mutants are sensitive to FK506 and cyclosporin A and exhibit slow growth that is improved by the addition of osmotic stabilizing agents. This osmotic agent-remedial growth defect and microscopic evidence of spontaneous cell lysis in cnd1 cultures suggest that cell integrity is compromised in these mutants. Mutations in the genes for yeast protein kinase C (pkc1) and a MAP kinase (mpk1/slt2) disrupt a Ca(2+)-dependent signaling pathway required to maintain a normal cell wall and cell integrity. We show that pkc1 and mpk1/slt2 growth defects are more severe in the absence of calcineurin function and less severe in the presence of a constitutively active form of calcineurin. These observations suggest that calcineurin and protein kinase C perform independent but physiologically related functions in yeast cells. We show that several mutants that lack a functional vacuolar H(+)-ATPase (vma) require calcineurin for vegetative growth. We discuss possible roles for calcineurin in regulating intracellular ion homeostasis and in maintaining cell integrity.     

Dynamics and organization of MAP kinase signal pathways

In the budding yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, four separate but structurally related mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) activation pathways are known. The best understood of these regulates mating. Pheromone binding to receptor informs cells of the proximity of a mating partner and induces differentiation to a mating competent state. The MARK activation cascade mediating this signal is made up of Ste 11 (a MEK kinase [MEKK]), Ste7 (a MAPK/ERK kinase [MEK]), and the redundant MAPK-related Fus3 and Kss1 enzymes. Another MAPK activation pathway is important for cell integrity and regulates cell wall construction. This cascade consists of Bck1 (a MEKK), the redundant Mkk1 and Mkk2 enzymes (MEKs), and Mpk1 (a MAPK). We exploited these two pathways to learn about the coordination and signal transmission fidelity of MAPK activation cascades. Two lines of evidence suggest that the activities of the mating and cell integrity pathways are coordinated during mating differentiation. First, cells deficient in Mpk1 are susceptible to lysis when they make a mating projection in response to pheromone. Second, Mpk1 activation during pheromone induction coincides with projection formation. The mechanism underlying this coordination is still unknown to us. Our working model is that projection formation generates a mobile second messenger for activation of the cell integrity pathway. Analysis of a STE7 mutation gave us some unanticipated but important insights into parameters important for fidelity of signal transmission. The Ste7 variant has a serine to proline substitution at position 368. Ste7-P³⁶⁸ has higher basal activity than the wild-type enzyme but still requires Ste 11 for its function. Additionally, the proline substitution enables the variant to transmit the signal from mammalian Raf expressed in yeast. This novel activity suggests that Ste7-P³⁶⁸ is inherently more permissive than Ste7 in its interactions with MEKKs. Yet, Ste7-P³⁶⁸ cross function in the cell integrity pathway occurs only when it is highly overproduced or when Ste5 is missing. This behavior suggests that Ste5, which has been proposed to be a tether for the kinases in the mating pathway, contributes to Ste7 specificity and fidelity of signal transmission. © 1995 wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Pneumocystis carinii BCK1 functions in a mitogen-activated protein kinase cascade regulating fungal cell-wall assembly

Pneumocystis pneumonia remains the most common AIDS-defining opportunistic infection in people with HIV. The process by which Pneumocystis carinii constructs its cell wall is not well known, although recent studies reveal that molecules such as beta-1-3-glucan synthetase (GSC1) and environmental pH-responsive genes such as PHR1 are important for cell-wall integrity. In closely related fungi, a specific mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascade regulates cell-wall assembly in response to elevated temperature. The upstream mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase kinase (MAPKKK, or MEKK), BCK1, is an essential component in this pathway for maintaining cell-wall integrity and preventing fungal cell lysis. We have identified a P. carinii MEKK gene and have expressed it in Saccharomyces cerevisiae to gain insights into its function. The P. carinii MEKK, PCBCK1, corrects the temperature-sensitive cell lysis defect of bck1Delta yeast. Further, at elevated temperature PCBCK1 restored the signaling defect in bck1Delta yeast to maintain expression of the temperature-inducible beta-1-3-glucan synthetase gene, FKS2. PCBCK1, as a functional kinase, is capable of autophosphorylation and substrate phosphorylation. Since glucan machinery is not present in mammals, a better understanding of this pathway in P. carinii might aid in the development of novel medications which interfere with the integrity of the Pneumocystis cell wall.