Mid2p stabilizes septin rings during cytokinesis in fission yeast

Septins are filament-forming proteins with a conserved role in cytokinesis. In the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe, septin rings appear to be involved primarily in cell-cell separation, a late stage in cytokinesis. Here, we identified a protein Mid2p on the basis of its sequence similarity to S. pombe Mid1p, Saccharomyces cerevisiae Bud4p, and Candida albicans Int1p. Like septin mutants, mid2delta mutants had delays in cell-cell separation. mid2delta mutants were defective in septin organization but not contractile ring closure or septum formation. In wild-type cells, septins assembled first during mitosis in a single ring and during septation developed into double rings that did not contract. In mid2delta cells, septins initially assembled in a single ring but during septation appeared in the cleavage furrow, forming a washer or disc structure. FRAP studies showed that septins are stable in wild-type cells but exchange 30-fold more rapidly in mid2delta cells. Mid2p colocalized with septins and required septins for its localization. A COOH-terminal pleckstrin homology domain of Mid2p was required for its localization and function. No genetic interactions were found between mid2 and the related gene mid1. Thus, these studies identify a new factor responsible for the proper stability and function of septins during cytokinesis.     

Overexpression of bacterioferritin comigratory protein (Bcp) enhance viability and reduced glutathione level in the fission yeast under stress

The structural gene encoding bacterioferritin comigratory protein (Bcp) was amplified using PCR from the genomic DNA of Schizosaccharomyces pombe, and transferred into the shuttle vector pRS316 to generate the recombinant plasmid pBCPlO. The bcp ⁺ mRNA level in the pBCPlO-containing yeast cells was significantly higher than that in the control yeast cells, indicating that the cloned gene is functioning. The S. pombe cells harboring the plasmid pBCPIO exhibited higher survival on the solid minimal media with hydrogen peroxide, tert-BOOH or cadmium than the control yeast cells. They also exhibited enhanced cellular viability in the liquid media containing the stressful agents. The increased viabilities of the fission yeast cells harboring the plasmid pBCP10 were also obtained with 0.4% glucose or 0.4% sucrose as a sole carbon source, and nitrogen starvation, compared with those of the control yeast cells. The total glutathione (GSH) content and total GSH/GSSG ratio were significantly higher in the yeast cells harboring the plasmid pBCP10 than in the control yeast cells. In brief, the S. pombe Bcp plays a protective role in the defensive response to oxidative stress possibly via up-regulation of total and reduced glutathione levels.     

Pom1 and cell size homeostasis in fission yeast

Cells sense their size and use this information to coordinate cell division with cell growth to maintain a constant cell size within a given population. A model has been proposed for cell size control in the rod-shaped cells of the fission yeast, Schizosaccharomyces pombe. This involves a protein localized to the cell ends, which inhibits mitotic activators in the middle of the cell in a cell size-dependent manner. This protein, Pom1, along with another tip-localized protein, Nif1, have been implicated as direct sensors of cell size controlling the onset of mitosis. Here we have investigated cell size variability and size homeostasis at the G₂/M transition, focusing on the role of pom1 and nif1. Cells deleted for either of these 2 genes show wild-type size homeostasis both in size variability analyses and size homeostasis experiments. This indicates that these genes do not have a critical role as direct cell size sensors in the control mechanism. Cell size homeostasis also seems to be independent of Cdc2–Tyr15 phosphorylation, suggesting that the size sensing mechanism in fission yeast may act through an unidentified pathway regulating CDK activity by an unknown mechanism.     

Five novel elements involved in the regulation of mitosis in fission yeast

Summary Five new elements of the mitotic control in the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe were isolated from gene libraries as multicopy suppressors of the conditional lethal phenotype of win1-1 weel ^ts cdc25^ts triple mutant strains. These genes were designated wisl ⁺ –wis5⁺for win suppressing, and do not correspond to winl ⁺ or any of the previously characterised mitotic control genes. None of the wis genes is capable of suppressing the cdc phenotype of cdc25 ^ts strains, suggesting that their effect is not simply to reverse the effect of loss of cdc25 function. wisl ⁺ has been previously reported to encode a putative serine/threonine protein kinase that acts as a dosage-dependent inducer of mitosis. wis4 ⁺ appears to be a specific suppressor of the winl-1 mutation. wis2 ⁺ and wis3 ⁺ are capable of suppressing a wide range of cdc phenotypes arising from the combination of various mutations with wee1 ^ts and cdc25 ^ts, suggesting that the wis2 ⁺ and wis3 ⁺ products may interact with elements central to the mitotic control.     

Mapping autonomously replicating sequence elements in a 73-kb region of chromosome II of the fission yeast, Schizosaccharomyces pombe

Autonomously replicating sequence (ARS) elements are the genetic determinants of replication origin function in yeasts. They can be easily identified as the plasmids containing them transform yeast cells at a high frequency. As the first step towards identifying all potential replication origins in a 73-kb region of the long arm of fission yeast chromosome II, we have mapped five new ARS elements using systematic subcloning and transformation assay. 2D analysis of one of the ARS plasmids that showed highest transformation frequency localized the replication origin activity within the cloned genomic DNA. All the new ARS elements are localized in two clusters in centromere proximal 40 kb of the region. The presence of at least six ARS elements, including the previously reported ars727, is suggestive of a higher origin density in this region than that predicted earlier using a computer based search.     

Casein kinase II is required for the spindle assembly checkpoint by regulating Mad2p in fission yeast

The spindle checkpoint is a surveillance mechanism that ensures the fidelity of chromosome segregation in mitosis. Here we show that fission yeast casein kinase II (CK2) is required for this checkpoint function. In the CK2 mutants mitosis occurs in the presence of a spindle defect, and the spindle checkpoint protein Mad2p fails to localize to unattached kinetochores. The CK2 mutants are sensitive to the microtubule depolymerising drug thiabendazole, which is counteracted by ectopic expression of mad2⁺. The level of Mad2p is low in the CK2 mutants. These results suggest that CK2 has a role in the spindle checkpoint by regulating Mad2p.     

Selective spore survival during replica-plating of fission yeast

Vegetative cells of Schizosaccharomyces pombe, upon exposure to acetone vapours, are inactivated at a faster rate than ascospores of this yeast. This observation has been used to develop a simple and fast method by which colonies can be replicaplated and only spores survive in the replicas. The colony patterns are exposed to acetone while still on the velvet used for replica-plating.     

Electron microscopic examination of sporulation-deficient mutants of the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe

A homothallic haploid strain of the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe initiates sexual reproduction (mating, meiosis and sporulation) in nitrogen-free sporulation medium. Cellular fine structures of eleven sporulation-deficient mutants (spo2, spo3, spo4, spo5, spo6, spo13, spo14, spo15, spo18, spo19 and spo20) of S. pombe in sporulation medium were examined by serial section-electron microscopy. The striking features of these spo mutants were: 1) the disappearance of the spindle pole bodies (SPBs) after the second meiotic division, and 2) the accumulation of unorganized structures. Based on histochemical staining, these structures were presumably unorganized spore wall precursors. In some mutants (spo3, spo5, spo6, spo19 and spo20), diploid zygotes contained four spore-like bodies which had walls similar to complete spore walls but failed to enclose any nuclei. After completion of the second meiotic division the nuclei were abnormally distributed in zygotic diploid cells. In the spo5, spo13, spo14, spo15 and spo19 mutants, the nuclei remained attached to each other. In spo5 and spo19, the inner membrane of the nuclear envelope was separated, but its outer membrane was shared by two sister nuclei. These observations suggest that the spo⁺ gene products play important roles in spatial and temporal organization of cellular structures during ascospore development.Abbreviations SPB spindle pole body - PTA-Cr phosphotungstic acid and chromic acid - PATAg periodic acid, thiocarbohydrazide and silver proteinate     

The fission yeast homologue of Glel is essential for growth and involved in mRNA export

We have isolated Glel homologue (named as spglel) as a partial multicopy suppressor of the synthetic lethality of rael-167 elfl-21 in fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe. The spglel is also able to complement partially temperature-sensitive phenotype of rael-167 only at a lower restrictive temperature. The spglel gene contains one intron and encodes a 480 amino-acid protein with predicted molecular weight of 56.2 kDa. We showed that spglel gene is essential for vegetative growth and functional Glel-GFP protein is localized mainly in NPC. The accumulation of poly(A)(+) RNA in the nucleus is exhibited when expression of spglel is repressed or over-expressed. These results suggest that the spGle1 protein is also involved in mRNA export in fission yeast.     

Construction of a mini-chromosome by deletion and its mitotic and meiotic behaviour in fission yeast

Summary A highly stable, partial aneuploid, HM248, of the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe was obtained from the unstable aneuploid disomic for chromosome III by -irradiation. It contained a 500 kb mini-chromosome (designated Ch¹⁶) that was separated as a single band by pulsed field gradient electrophoresis. Genetic analysis showed that Ch¹⁶ was deleted for most of chromosome III except for the pericentric region; three centromere-linked markers encompassing the centromere region remained. This was further substantiated by integrating the cloned fragments of Ch¹⁶ DNA extracted from the agarose gel; integrations took place in the pericentric region. A 400 kb derivative (Ch^16D1) was constructed which appeared to lack a part of Ch¹⁶. A single haploid cell of S. pombe could stably maintain Ch¹⁶ and Ch^16D1 in addition to the three regular chromosomes. Ch¹⁶ was visualized as a minute chromosomal body in the nucleus of a -tubulin mutant under restrictive conditions. A single copy of Ch¹⁶ was highly stable and behaved like a natural chromosome in mitosis and meiosis. The frequency of chromosomal loss was 10^-4. In meiosis, it segregated independently of the regular chromosome III. Segregation of two Ch¹⁶s per cell could be monitored by specifically marked Ch¹⁶s containing the Saccharomyces cerevisiae LEU2 gene (designated Ch^16LE) of the fluorouracil resistance marker (Ch^16FR). Two copies of Ch¹⁶ were mitotically unstable (chromosomal loss, 10^-3) and frequently failed in meiotic segregation. The frequency of meiotic recombination between the two Ch¹⁶s was greatly reduced.     

Nup211, the fission yeast homolog of Mlp1/Tpr,is involved in mRNA export

Synthetic lethal mutants have been previously isolated in fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe, which genetically interact with spmex67, in order to identify the genes involved in mRNA export. The nup211 gene was isolated by complementation of the growth defect in one of the synthetic lethal mutants, SLMex2, under synthetic lethal condition. We showed that Nup211, fission yeast homolog of Mlpl/Mlp2/Tpr, is essential for vegetative growth and Nup211-GFP proteins expressed at endogenous level are localized mainly in nuclear periphery. The accumulation of poly(A)⁺ RNA in the nucleus is exhibited when expression of nup211 is repressed or over-expressed. These results suggest that the Nup211 protein plays a pivotal role of mRNA export in fission yeast.     

Reduction in the intracellular cAMP level triggers initiation of sexual development in fission yeast

Summary Schizosaccharomyces pombe initiates sexual development in response to nutritional starvation. The level of cAMP inS. pombe cells changed during the transition from exponential growth to stationary phase. It also changed in response to a shift from nitrogen-rich medium to nitrogen-free medium. A decrease of approximately 50% was observed in either case, suggesting thatS. pombe cells contain less cAMP when they initiate sexual development.S. pombe cells that expressed the catalytic domain ofSaccharomyces cerevisiae adenylyl cyclase from theS. pombe adh1 promoter contained 5 times as much cAMP as the wild type and could not initiate mating and meiosis. These observations, together with previous findings that exogenously added cAMP inhibits mating and meiosis and that cells with little cAMP are highly derepressed for sexual development, strongly suggest that cAMP functions as a key regulator of sexual development inS. pombe. Thepde1 gene, which encodes a protein homologous toS. cerevisiae cAMP phosphodiesterase I, was isolated as a multicopy suppressor of the sterility caused by a high cAMP level. Disruption ofpde1 madeS. pombe cells partially sterile and meiosis-deficient, indicating that this cAMP phosphodiesterase plays an important role in balancing the cAMP level in vivo.     

Free uptake of cell-penetrating peptides by fission yeast

An increasing number of peptides translocate the plasma membrane of mammalian cells promising new avenues for drug delivery. However, only a few examples are known to penetrate the fungal cell wall. We compared the capacity of different fluorophore-labelled peptides to translocate into fission yeast and human cells and determined their intracellular distribution. Most of the 20 peptides tested were able to enter human cells, but only one, transportan 10 (TP10), efficiently penetrated fission yeast and was distributed uniformly inside the cells. The results show that the fungal cell wall may reduce, but does not block peptide uptake.     

Dissociation of meiotic and mitotic roles of the fission yeast cdc2 gene

Summary The fission yeastcdc2 gene is pleiotropic, functioning both in the cell division cycle and in meiosis. Here we show thatcdc2 is allelic totws1, a previously isolated meiotic gene. Dissociation of meiotic and mitotic roles of the gene is also demonstrated by finding mutant alleles specifically altered in only one of the two processes.