scholarly journals Saccharomyces cerevisiae G1 Cyclins Are Differentially Involved in Invasive and Pseudohyphal Growth Independent of the Filamentation Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase Pathway

Genetics ◽  
1999 ◽  
Vol 153 (4) ◽  
pp. 1535-1546 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan D J Loeb ◽  
Tatiana A Kerentseva ◽  
Ting Pan ◽  
Marisa Sepulveda-Becerra ◽  
Haoping Liu

Abstract Several lines of evidence suggest that the morphogenetic transition from the yeast form to pseudohyphae in Saccharomyces cerevisiae may be regulated by the cyclin-dependent kinase (Cdk). To examine this hypothesis, we mutated all of the G1 cyclin genes in strains competent to form pseudohyphae. Interestingly, mutation of each G1 cyclin results in a different filamentation phenotype, varying from a significant defect in cln1/cln1 strains to enhancement of filament production in cln3/cln3 strains. cln1 cln2 double mutants are more defective in pseudohyphal development and haploid invasive growth than cln1 strains. FLO11 transcription, which correlates with the level of invasive growth, is low in cln1 cln2 mutants and high in grr1 cells (defective in proteolysis of Cln1,2), suggesting that Cln1,2/Cdks regulate the pseudohyphal transcriptional program. Epistasis analysis reveals that Cln1,2/Cdk and the filamentation MAP kinase pathway function in parallel in regulating filamentous and invasive growth. Cln1 and Cln2, but not Ste20 or Ste12, are responsible for most of the elevated FLO11 transcription in grr1 strains. Furthermore, phenotypic comparison of various filamentation mutants illustrates that cell elongation and invasion/cell-cell adhesion during filamentation are separable processes controlled by the pseudohyphal transcriptional program. Potential targets for G1 cyclin/Cdks during filamentous growth are discussed.

2008 ◽  
Vol 19 (7) ◽  
pp. 3028-3039 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julian C. Rutherford ◽  
Gordon Chua ◽  
Timothy Hughes ◽  
Maria E. Cardenas ◽  
Joseph Heitman

The ammonium permease Mep2 is required for the induction of pseudohyphal growth, a process in Saccharomyces cerevisiae that occurs in response to nutrient limitation. Mep2 has both a transport and a regulatory function, supporting models in which Mep2 acts as a sensor of ammonium availability. Potentially similar ammonium permease-dependent regulatory cascades operate in other fungi, and they may also function in animals via the homologous Rh proteins; however, little is known about the molecular mechanisms that mediate ammonium sensing. We show that Mep2 is localized to the cell surface during pseudohyphal growth, and it is required for both filamentous and invasive growth. Analysis of site-directed Mep2 mutants in residues lining the ammonia-conducting channel reveal separation of function alleles (transport and signaling defective; transport-proficient/signaling defective), indicating transport is necessary but not sufficient to sense ammonia. Furthermore, Mep2 overexpression enhances differentiation under normally repressive conditions and induces a transcriptional profile that is consistent with activation of the mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase pathway. This finding is supported by epistasis analysis establishing that the known role of the MAP kinase pathway in pseudohyphal growth is linked to Mep2 function. Together, these data strengthen the model that Mep2-like proteins are nutrient sensing transceptors that govern cellular differentiation.


2010 ◽  
Vol 78 (5) ◽  
pp. 2153-2162 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohamed Hafez ◽  
Kelly Hayes ◽  
Marie Goldrick ◽  
Richard K. Grencis ◽  
Ian S. Roberts

ABSTRACT Escherichia coli strain Nissle 1917, which has been widely used as a probiotic for the treatment of inflammatory bowel disorders, expresses a K5 capsule, the expression of which is often associated with extraintestinal and urinary tract isolates of E. coli. Previously, it had been shown that the expression of a K5 capsule by Nissle 1917 was important in mediating interactions with epithelial cells and the extent of chemokine expression. In this paper, we show that infection with Nissle 1917 induces expression of Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) and TLR5 in Caco-2 cells and that maximal induction of TLR5 required the K5 capsule. In addition, purified K5 polysaccharide was capable of inducing expression of TLR5 and mCD14 and potentiated the activity of both TLR4 and TLR5 agonists to increase the proinflammatory response. Infection with Nissle 1917 also increased the expression of the adaptor molecules MyD88 and TRIF, which was K5 capsule dependent. By Western blot analysis, it was possible to show that induction of interleukin-8 by Nissle 1917 was predominantly through the mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase pathway and that expression of the K5 capsule was important for activation of the MAP kinase pathway. This paper provides new information on the function of the K5 capsule in mediating interactions between Nissle 1917 and epithelial cells and the mechanisms that underlie the probiotic properties of Nissle 1917.


1995 ◽  
Vol 15 (10) ◽  
pp. 5524-5530 ◽  
Author(s):  
P Erhardt ◽  
J Troppmair ◽  
U R Rapp ◽  
G M Cooper

Growth factor stimulation of the mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase pathway in fibroblasts is inhibited by cyclic AMP (cAMP) as a result of inhibition of Raf-1. In contrast, cAMP inhibits neither nerve growth factor-induced MAP kinase activation nor differentiation in PC12 pheochromocytoma cells. Instead, in PC12 cells cAMP activates MAP kinase. Since one of the major differences between the Ras/Raf/MAP kinase cascades of these cell types is the expression of B-Raf in PC12 cells, we compared the effects of cAMP on Raf-1 and B-Raf. In PC12 cells maintained in serum-containing medium, B-Raf was refractory to inhibition by cAMP, whereas Raf-1 was effectively inhibited. In contrast, both B-Raf and Raf-1 were inhibited by cAMP in serum-starved PC12 cells. The effect of cAMP is thus dependent upon growth conditions, with B-Raf being resistant to cAMP inhibition in the presence of serum. These results were extended by studies of Rat-1 fibroblasts into which B-Raf had been introduced by transfection. As in PC12 cells, B-Raf was resistant to inhibition by cAMP in the presence of serum, whereas Raf-1 was effectively inhibited. In addition, the expression of B-Raf rendered Rat-1 cells resistant to the inhibitory effects of cAMP on both growth factor-induced activation of MAP kinase and mitogenesis. These results indicate that Raf-1 and B-Raf are differentially sensitive to inhibition by cAMP and that B-Raf expression can contribute to cell type-specific differences in the regulation of the MAP kinase pathway. In contrast to the situation in PC12 cells, cAMP by itself did not stimulate MAP kinase in B-Raf-expressing Rat-1 cells. The activation of MAP kinase by cAMP in PC12 cells was inhibited by the expression of a dominant negative Ras mutant, indicating that cAMP acts on a target upstream of Ras. Thus, it appears that a signaling component upstream of Ras is also require for cAMP stimulation of MAP kinase in PC12 cells.


2002 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 174-180 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. D. Ault ◽  
J. S. Fassler ◽  
R. J. Deschenes

ABSTRACT The SLN1 two-component signaling pathway of Saccharomyces cerevisiae utilizes a multistep phosphorelay mechanism to control osmotic stress responses via the HOG1 mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway and the transcription factor Skn7p. Sln1p consists of a sensor kinase module that undergoes histidine autophosphorylation and a receiver module that autocatalytically transfers the phosphoryl group from histidine to aspartate. The Sln1p aspartyl phosphate is then transferred to Ypd1p, which in turn transfers the phosphoryl group to a conserved aspartate on one of two response regulators, Ssk1p and Skn7p. Activated alleles of SLN1 (sln1*) were previously identified that appear to increase the level of phosphorylation of downstream targets Ssk1p and Skn7p. In principle, the phenotype of sln1* alleles could arise from an increase in autophosphorylation or phosphotransfer activities or a decrease in an intrinsic or extrinsic dephosphorylation activity. Genetic analysis of the activated mutants has been unable to distinguish between these possibilities. In this report, we address this issue by analyzing phosphorelay and phosphohydrolysis reactions involving the Sln1p-associated receiver. The results are consistent with a model in which the activated phenotype of the sln1* allele, sln1-22, arises from a shift in the phosphotransfer equilibrium from Sln1p to Ypd1p, rather than from impaired dephosphorylation of the system in response to osmotic stress.


2004 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 100-107 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephanie Merchan ◽  
Dolores Bernal ◽  
Ramón Serrano ◽  
Lynne Yenush

ABSTRACT The Mpk1 pathway of Saccharomyces cerevisiae is a key determinant of cell wall integrity. A genetic link between the Mpk1 kinase and the Ppz phosphatases has been reported, but the nature of this connection was unclear. Recently, the Ppz phosphatases were shown to be regulators of K+ and pH homeostasis. Here, we demonstrate that Ppz-deficient strains display increased steady-state K+ levels and sensitivity to increased KCl concentrations. Given these observations and the fact that K+ is the major determinant of intracellular turgor pressure, we reasoned that the connection between PPZ1 and -2 and MPK1 was due to the combination of increased internal turgor pressure in Ppz-deficient strains and cell wall instability observed in strains lacking MPK1. Accordingly, the MPK1 gene was up-regulated, the Mpk1 protein was overexpressed, and the phosphorylated active form was more abundant in Ppz-deficient strains. Moreover, the expression of genes previously identified as targets of the Mpk1 pathway are also up-regulated in strains lacking PPZ1 and -2. The transcriptional and posttranslational modifications of Mpk1 were not observed when the internal K+ concentration (and thus turgor pressure) was lowered by disrupting the TRK1 and -2 K+ transporter genes or when the cell wall was stabilized by the addition of sorbitol. Moreover, we present genetic evidence showing that both the Wsc1 and Mid2 branches of the Mpk1 pathway contribute to this response. Finally, despite its role in G1/S transition, increased levels of activated Mpk1 do not appear to be responsible for the cell cycle phenotype observed in Ppz-deficient strains.


2002 ◽  
Vol 1 (6) ◽  
pp. 954-966 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nancy Lee ◽  
James W. Kronstad

ABSTRACT Ustilago maydis, a pathogen of maize, is a useful model for the analysis of mating, pathogenicity, and the morphological transition between budding and filamentous growth in fungi. As in other fungi, these processes are regulated by conserved signaling mechanisms, including the cyclic AMP (cAMP)/protein kinase A (PKA) pathway and at least one mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAP kinase) pathway. A current challenge is to identify additional factors that lie downstream of the cAMP pathway and that influence morphogenesis in U. maydis. In this study, we identified suppressor mutations that restored budding growth to a constitutively filamentous mutant with a defect in the gene encoding a catalytic subunit of PKA. Complementation of one suppressor mutation unexpectedly identified the ras2 gene, which is predicted to encode a member of the well-conserved ras family of small GTP-binding proteins. Deletion of the ras2 gene in haploid cells altered cell morphology, eliminated pathogenicity on maize seedlings, and revealed a role in the production of aerial hyphae during mating. We also used an activated ras2 allele to demonstrate that Ras2 promotes pseudohyphal growth via a MAP kinase cascade involving the MAP kinase kinase Fuz7 and the MAP kinase Ubc3. Overall, our results reveal an additional level of crosstalk between the cAMP signaling pathway and a MAP kinase pathway influenced by Ras2.


2004 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 557-560 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tao Xue ◽  
C. Kim Nguyen ◽  
Angela Romans ◽  
Gregory S. May

ABSTRACT We show that the mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase pathway that responds to osmotic stress in Aspergillus fumigatus is also involved in nutritional sensing. This MAP kinase regulates conidial germination in response to the nitrogen source and is activated upon starvation for either carbon or nitrogen during vegetative growth.


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