Abstract
Serine/threonine protein kinases of the Ste20p/PAK family are highly conserved from yeast to man. These protein kinases have been implicated in the signaling from heterotrimeric G proteins to mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase cascades and to cytoskeletal components such as myosin-I. In the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Ste20p is involved in transmitting the mating-pheromone signal from the βγ-subunits of a heterotrimeric G protein to a downstream MAP kinase cascade. We have previously shown that binding of the G-protein β-subunit (Gβ) to a short binding site in the non-catalytic carboxy-terminal region of Ste20p is essential for transmitting the pheromone signal. In this study, we searched protein sequence databases for sequences that are similar to the Gβ binding site in Ste20p. We identified a sequence motif with the consensus sequence S S L ϕP L I/V x ϕϕβ (x: any residue; ϕ: A, I, L, S, or T; β: basic residues) that is solely present in members of Ste20p/PAK family protein kinases. We propose that this sequence motif, which we have designated GBB (G̱β̱ ḇinding) motif, is specifically responsible for binding of Gβ to Ste20p/PAK protein kinases in response to activation of heterotrimeric G protein coupled receptors. Thus, the GBB motif is a novel type of signaling domain that serves to link protein kinases of the Ste20p/PAK family to G protein coupled receptors.
