scholarly journals The molecular cloning of the squid (Loligo forbesi) visual Gq-α subunit and its expression in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

1993 ◽  
Vol 292 (2) ◽  
pp. 333-341 ◽  
Author(s):  
N J P Ryba ◽  
J B C Findlay ◽  
J D Reid

The sequence of the alpha-subunit of the major G-protein from the squid (Loligo forbesi) retina was predicted from its cDNA to be a member of the Gq subclass. The abundance of the squid Gq-alpha in the squid photoreceptor membranes suggests that the protein functions in phototransduction; the sequence of this G-protein is consistent with it mediating the light-dependent activation of a phospholipase C. The squid G-alpha was expressed in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, where it was unable to replace the function of GPA1, the yeast G-alpha homologue that regulates the mating response, suggesting that Gq-alpha was unable to interact with the endogenous G-beta gamma (STE4-STE18).

2006 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 330-346 ◽  
Author(s):  
Scott A. Chasse ◽  
Paul Flanary ◽  
Stephen C. Parnell ◽  
Nan Hao ◽  
Jiyoung Y. Cha ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT A common property of G protein-coupled receptors is that they become less responsive with prolonged stimulation. Regulators of G protein signaling (RGS proteins) are well known to accelerate G protein GTPase activity and do so by stabilizing the transition state conformation of the G protein α subunit. In the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae there are four RGS-homologous proteins (Sst2, Rgs2, Rax1, and Mdm1) and two Gα proteins (Gpa1 and Gpa2). We show that Sst2 is the only RGS protein that binds selectively to the transition state conformation of Gpa1. The other RGS proteins also bind Gpa1 and modulate pheromone signaling, but to a lesser extent and in a manner clearly distinct from Sst2. To identify other candidate pathway regulators, we compared pheromone responses in 4,349 gene deletion mutants representing nearly all nonessential genes in yeast. A number of mutants produced an increase (sst2, bar1, asc1, and ygl024w) or decrease (cla4) in pheromone sensitivity or resulted in pheromone-independent signaling (sst2, pbs2, gas1, and ygl024w). These findings suggest that Sst2 is the principal regulator of Gpa1-mediated signaling in vivo but that other proteins also contribute in distinct ways to pathway regulation.


2006 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 192-202 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Dignard ◽  
Malcolm Whiteway

ABSTRACT Candida albicans contains a functional mating response pathway that is similar to the well-studied system of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. We have characterized a regulator of G protein signaling (RGS) homolog in C. albicans with sequence similarity to the SST2 gene of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Disruption of this gene, which had been designated SST2, causes an opaque MTL a/MTL a derivative of strain SC5314 to show hypersensitivity to the C. albicans α-factor. This hypersensitivity generates an enhanced cell cycle arrest detected in halo assays but reduces the overall mating efficiency of the cells. Transcriptional profiling of the pheromone-regulated gene expression in the sst2 mutant shows a pattern of gene induction similar to that observed in wild-type cells, but the responsiveness is heightened. This involvement of an RGS in the sensitivity to pheromone is consistent with the prediction that the mating response pathway in C. albicans requires the activation of a heterotrimeric G protein.


1992 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 1977-1985 ◽  
Author(s):  
C Sadhu ◽  
D Hoekstra ◽  
M J McEachern ◽  
S I Reed ◽  
J B Hicks

We have isolated a gene, designated CAG1, from Candida albicans by using the G-protein alpha-subunit clone SCG1 of Saccharomyces cerevisiae as a probe. Amino acid sequence comparison revealed that CAG1 is more homologous to SCG1 than to any other G protein reported so far. Homology between CAG1 and SCG1 not only includes the conserved guanine nucleotide binding domains but also spans the normally variable regions which are thought to be involved in interaction with the components of the specific signal transduction pathway. Furthermore, CAG1 contains a central domain, previously found only in SCG1. cag1 null mutants of C. albicans created by gene disruption produced no readily detectable phenotype. The C. albicans CAG1 gene complemented both the growth and mating defects of S. cerevisiae scg1 null mutants when carried on either a low- or high-copy-number plasmid. In diploid C. albicans, the CAG1 transcript was readily detectable in mycelial and yeast cells of both the white and opaque forms. However, the CAG1-specific transcript in S. cerevisiae transformants containing the C. albicans CAG1 gene was observed only in haploid cells. This transcription pattern matches that of SCG1 in S. cerevisiae and is caused by a1-alpha 2 mediated repression in diploid cells. That is, CAG1 behaves as a haploid-specific gene in S. cerevisiae, subject to control by the a1-alpha 2 mating-type regulation pathway. We infer from these results that C. albicans may have a signal transduction system analogous to that controlling mating type in S. cerevisiae or possibly even a sexual pathway that has so far remained undetected.


2015 ◽  
Vol 26 (18) ◽  
pp. 3343-3358 ◽  
Author(s):  
Beverly Errede ◽  
Lior Vered ◽  
Eintou Ford ◽  
Matthew I. Pena ◽  
Timothy C. Elston

Mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathways control many cellular processes, including differentiation and proliferation. These pathways commonly activate MAPK isoforms that have redundant or overlapping function. However, recent studies have revealed circumstances in which MAPK isoforms have specialized, nonoverlapping roles in differentiation. The mechanisms that underlie this specialization are not well understood. To address this question, we sought to establish regulatory mechanisms that are unique to the MAPK Fus3 in pheromone-induced mating and chemotropic fate transitions of the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Our investigations reveal a previously unappreciated role for inactive Fus3 as a potent negative regulator of pheromone-induced chemotropism. We show that this inhibitory role is dependent on inactive Fus3 binding to the α-subunit of the heterotrimeric G-protein. Further analysis revealed that the binding of catalytically active Fus3 to the G-protein is required for gradient tracking and serves to suppress cell-to-cell variability between mating and chemotropic fates in a population of pheromone-responding cells.


1986 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 1044-1049
Author(s):  
D P Romero ◽  
A E Dahlberg

The phosphorylation state of the alpha subunit of initiation factor 2 (eIF-2 alpha) in Saccharomyces cerevisiae has been determined by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis and autoradiography of lysates from cultures grown under a variety of conditions. The alpha subunit was maintained in a phosphorylated state during logarithmic growth on fermentable and nonfermentable carbon sources, during starvation for an essential amino acid, during heat shock, during stationary phase, and during sporulation. Only when cells were starved for a carbon source for 2 h in 1 M sorbitol was eIF-2 alpha isolated in the nonphosphorylated state. This is in contrast with the studies in rabbit reticulocyte lysates, in which arrested protein synthesis was correlated with a relative increase in the extent of phosphorylation of eIF-2 alpha.


1990 ◽  
Vol 268 (2) ◽  
pp. 449-457 ◽  
Author(s):  
M Bushfield ◽  
G J Murphy ◽  
B E Lavan ◽  
P J Parker ◽  
V J Hruby ◽  
...  

Hepatocytes contain the Gi2 and Gi3 forms of the ‘Gi-family’ of guanine-nucleotide-binding proteins (G-proteins), but not Gi1. The anti-peptide antisera AS7 and I3B were shown to immunoprecipitate Gi2 and Gi3 selectively, and the antiserum CS1 immunoprecipitated the stimulatory G-protein Gs. Treatment of intact, 32P-labelled hepatocytes with one of glucagon, TH-glucagon ([1-N-alpha-trinitrophenylhistidine, 12-homoarginine]glucagon), Arg-vasopressin, angiotensin-II, the phorbol ester TPA (12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol 13-acetate) and 8-bromo-cyclic AMP elicited a time- and dose-dependent increase in the labelling of the alpha-subunit of immunoprecipitated Gi2 which paralleled the loss of ability of low concentrations of the non-hydrolysable GTP analogue guanosine 5′-[beta gamma-imido]triphosphate (p[NH]ppG) to inhibit forskolin-stimulated adenylate cyclase activity (‘Gi’-function). The immunoprecipitation of phosphorylated Gi-2 alpha-subunit by the antiserum AS7 was blocked in a dose-dependent fashion by the inclusion of the C-terminal decapeptide of transducin, but not that of Gz (a ‘Gi-like’ G-protein which lacks the C-terminal cysteine group which is ADP-ribosylated by pertussis toxin in other members of the Gi family), in the immunoprecipitation assay. No labelling of the alpha-subunits of either Gi3 or Gs was observed. alpha-Gi2 was labelled in the basal state and this did not change over 15 min in the absence of ligand addition. In contrast to the monophasic dose-effect curves seen with vasopressin, angiotensin and TPA, the dose-effect curve for the glucagon-mediated increase in the labelling of alpha-Gi2 was markedly biphasic where the loss of Gi function paralleled the high-affinity component of the labelling of alpha-Gi2 caused by glucagon. TPA, TH-glucagon, angiotensin-II and vasopressin achieved similar maximal increases in the labelling of alpha-Gi2, which was approximately half that found after treatment of hepatocytes with either high glucagon concentrations (1 microM) or 8-bromocyclic AMP. Analysis of the phosphoamino acid content of immunoprecipitated alpha-Gi2 showed the presence of phosphoserine only. Incubation of hepatocyte membranes with [gamma-32P]ATP and purified protein kinase C, but not protein kinase A, led to the incorporation of label into immunoprecipitated alpha-Gi2. This labelling was abolished if membranes were obtained from cells which had received prior treatment with ligands shown to cause the phosphorylation of alpha-Gi2 in intact cells. We suggest that there are two possible sites for the phosphorylation of alpha-Gi2; one for C-kinase and the other for an unidentified kinase whose action is triggered by A-kinase activation.


1989 ◽  
Vol 260 (1) ◽  
pp. 307-310 ◽  
Author(s):  
B Rouot ◽  
J Carrette ◽  
M Lafontan ◽  
P Lan Tran ◽  
J A Fehrentz ◽  
...  

Rat adipose tissue possesses two Bordetella pertussis toxin (PTX) substrates and, in the same 39-41 kDa molecular mass range, positive immunoreactivity has also been reported with antibodies against the alpha subunit of Go, the major brain GTP-binding protein (G-protein). In this study, the presence of the brain Go alpha subunit at 39 kDa in adipocytes was reassessed, since direct correspondence between PTX substrates and Go alpha immunoreactivity has not yet been clearly established. On resolutive SDS/polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis, the PTX substrates of human adipocytes were compared with the three PTX substrates found in brain. No ADP-ribosylated substrate at the level of the 39 kDa brain Go alpha could be detected in adipocyte membranes. Immunoblotting of human adipocyte membranes stained with our anti-Go alpha antibodies confirmed the presence of a positive immunoreactivity in this tissue, but the apparent molecular mass of the immunoreactive polypeptide in adipocytes was higher than that found in nervous tissues. Taken together, these results indicate that the brain Go alpha subunit is not present in adipose tissue. They also suggest the existence of a G-protein in adipocytes which is immunologically related to Go alpha but having a slightly higher molecular mass.


1995 ◽  
Vol 15 (7) ◽  
pp. 3635-3643 ◽  
Author(s):  
H G Dohlman ◽  
D Apaniesk ◽  
Y Chen ◽  
J Song ◽  
D Nusskern

Genetic analysis of cell-cell signaling in Saccharomyces cerevisiae has led to the identification of a novel factor, known as Sst2p, that promotes recovery after pheromone-induced growth arrest (R. K. Chan and C. A. Otte, Mol. Cell. Biol. 2:11-20, 1982). Loss-of-function mutations lead to increased pheromone sensitivity, but this phenotype is partially suppressed by overexpression of the G protein alpha subunit gene (GPA1). Suppression is allele specific, however, suggesting that there is direct interaction between the two gene products. To test this model directly, we isolated and characterized several dominant gain-of-function mutants of SST2. These mutations block the normal pheromone response, including a loss of pheromone-stimulated gene transcription, cell cycle growth arrest, and G protein myristoylation. Although the SST2 mutations confer a pheromone-resistant phenotype, they do not prevent downstream activation by overexpression of G beta (STE4), a constitutively active G beta mutation (STE4Hpl), or a disruption of GPA1. None of the SST2 alleles affects the expression or stability of G alpha. These results point to the G protein alpha subunit as being the direct target of Sst2p action and underscore the importance of this novel desensitization factor in G-protein-mediated signaling.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document