scholarly journals Yeast J-protein Sis1 prevents prion toxicity by moderating depletion of prion protein

Genetics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jyotsna Kumar ◽  
Michael Reidy ◽  
Daniel C Masison

Abstract [PSI+] is a prion of Saccharomyces cerevisiae Sup35, an essential ribosome release factor. In [PSI+] cells, most Sup35 is sequestered into insoluble amyloid aggregates. Despite this depletion, [PSI+] prions typically affect viability only modestly, so [PSI+] must balance sequestering Sup35 into prions with keeping enough Sup35 functional for normal growth. Sis1 is an essential J-protein regulator of Hsp70 required for propagation of amyloid-based yeast prions. C-terminally truncated Sis1 (Sis1JGF) supports cell growth in place of wild type Sis1. Sis1JGF also supports [PSI+] propagation, yet [PSI+ ] is highly toxic to cells expressing only Sis1JGF. We searched extensively for factors that mitigate the toxicity and identified only Sis1, suggesting Sis1 is uniquely needed to protect from [PSI+ ] toxicity. We find the C-terminal substrate-binding domain of Sis1 has a critical and transferable activity needed for the protection. In [PSI+] cells that express Sis1JGF in place of Sis1, Sup35 was less soluble and formed visibly larger prion aggregates. Exogenous expression of a truncated Sup35 that cannot incorporate into prions relieved [PSI+] toxicity. Together our data suggest that Sis1 has separable roles in propagating Sup35 prions and in moderating Sup35 aggregation that are crucial to the balance needed for propagation of what otherwise would be lethal [PSI+] prions.

1991 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 3868-3878 ◽  
Author(s):  
A L Munn ◽  
L Silveira ◽  
M Elgort ◽  
G S Payne

The gene encoding clathrin heavy chain in Saccharomyces cerevisiae (CHC1) is not essential for growth in most laboratory strains tested. However, in certain genetic backgrounds, a deletion of CHC1 (chc1) results in cell death. Lethality in these chc1 strains is determined by a locus designated SCD1 (suppressor of clathrin deficiency) which is unlinked to CHC1 (S. K. Lemmon and E. W. Jones, Science 238:504-509, 1987). The lethal allele of SCD1 has no effect on cell growth when the wild-type version of CHC1 is present. This result led to the proposal that most yeast strains are viable in the absence of clathrin heavy chain because they possess the SCD1 suppressor. Discovery of another yeast strain that cannot grow without clathrin heavy chain has allowed us to perform a genetic test of the suppressor hypothesis. Genetic crosses show that clathrin-deficient lethality in the latter strain is conferred by a single genetic locus (termed CDL1, for clathrin-deficient lethality). By constructing strains in which CHC1 expression is regulated by the GAL10 promoter, we demonstrate that the lethal alleles of SCD1 and CDL1 are recessive. In both cases, very low expression of CHC1 can allow cells to escape from lethality. Genetic complementation and segregation analyses indicate that CDL1 and SCD1 are distinct genes. The lethal CDL1 allele does not cause a defect in the secretory pathway of either wild-type or clathrin heavy-chain-deficient yeast. A systematic screen to identify mutants unable to grow in the absence of clathrin heavy chain uncovered numerous genes similar to SCD1 and CDL1. These findings argue against the idea that viability of chc1 cells is due to genetic suppression, since this hypothesis would require the existence of a large number of unlinked genes, all of which are required for suppression. Instead, lethality appears to be a common, nonspecific occurrence when a second-site mutation arises in a strain whose cell growth is already severely compromised by the lack of clathrin heavy chain.


2007 ◽  
Vol 6 (6) ◽  
pp. 907-918 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dana Schaefer ◽  
Pierre Côte ◽  
Malcolm Whiteway ◽  
Richard J. Bennett

ABSTRACT Mating in Candida albicans and Saccharomyces cerevisiae is regulated by the secretion of peptide pheromones that initiate the mating process. An important regulator of pheromone activity in S. cerevisiae is barrier activity, involving an extracellular aspartyl protease encoded by the BAR1 gene that degrades the alpha pheromone. We have characterized an equivalent barrier activity in C. albicans and demonstrate that the loss of C. albicans BAR1 activity results in opaque a cells exhibiting hypersensitivity to alpha pheromone. Hypersensitivity to pheromone is clearly seen in halo assays; in response to alpha pheromone, a lawn of C. albicans Δbar1 mutant cells produces a marked zone in which cell growth is inhibited, whereas wild-type strains fail to show halo formation. C. albicans mutants lacking BAR1 also exhibit a striking mating defect in a cells, but not in α cells, due to overstimulation of the response to alpha pheromone. The block to mating occurs prior to cell fusion, as very few mating zygotes were observed in mixes of Δbar1 a and α cells. Finally, in a barrier assay using a highly pheromone-sensitive strain, we were able to demonstrate that barrier activity in C. albicans is dependent on Bar1p. These studies reveal that a barrier activity to alpha pheromone exists in C. albicans and that the activity is analogous to that caused by Bar1p in S. cerevisiae.


2008 ◽  
Vol 52 (4) ◽  
pp. 1325-1329 ◽  
Author(s):  
Georgios Chamilos ◽  
Russell E. Lewis ◽  
Gregory A. Lamaris ◽  
Nathaniel D. Albert ◽  
Dimitrios P. Kontoyiannis

ABSTRACT Gliotoxin (GT) is a secondary fungal metabolite with pleiotropic immunosuppressive properties that have been implicated in Aspergillus virulence. However, the mechanisms of GT cytotoxicity and its molecular targets in eukaryotic cells have not been fully characterized. We screened a haploid library of Saccharomyces cerevisiae single-gene deletion mutants (4,787 strains in EUROSCARF) to identify nonessential genes associated with GT increased resistance (GT-IR) and increased sensitivity (GT-IS). The susceptibility of the wild-type parental strain BY4741 to GT was initially assessed by broth microdilution methods using different media. GT-IR and GT-IS were defined as a fourfold increase and decrease, respectively, in MIC, and this was additionally confirmed by susceptibility testing on agar yeast extract-peptone-glucose plates. The specificity of GT-IR and GT-IS mutants exhibiting normal growth compared with the wild-type strain was further tested in studies of their susceptibility to conventional antifungal agents, cycloheximide, and H2O2. GT-IR was associated with the disruption of genes acting in general metabolism (OPI1, SNF1, IFA38), mitochondrial function (RTG2), DNA damage repair (RAD18), and vesicular transport (APL2) and genes of unknown function (YGL235W, YOR345C, YLR456W, YGL072C). The disruption of three genes encoding transsulfuration (CYS3), mitochondrial function (MEF2), and an unknown function (YKL037W) led to GT-IS. Specificity for GT-IR and GT-IS was observed in all mutants. Importantly, the majority (69%) of genes implicated in GT-IR (6/10) and GT-IS (2/3) have human homologs. We identified novel Saccharomyces genes specifically implicated in GT-IR or GT-IS. Because most of these genes are evolutionarily conserved, further characterization of their function could improve our understanding of GT cytotoxicity mechanisms in humans.


2000 ◽  
Vol 20 (20) ◽  
pp. 7427-7437 ◽  
Author(s):  
Randal J. Shaw ◽  
Daniel Reines

ABSTRACT IMP dehydrogenase (IMPDH) is the rate-limiting enzyme in the de novo synthesis of guanine nucleotides. It is a target of therapeutically useful drugs and is implicated in the regulation of cell growth rate. In the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, mutations in components of the RNA polymerase II (Pol II) transcription elongation machinery confer increased sensitivity to a drug that inhibits IMPDH, 6-azauracil (6AU), by a mechanism that is poorly understood. This phenotype is thought to reflect the need for an optimally functioning transcription machinery under conditions of lowered intracellular GTP levels. Here we show that in response to the application of IMPDH inhibitors such as 6AU, wild-type yeast strains induce transcription of PUR5, one of four genes encoding IMPDH-related enzymes. Yeast elongation mutants sensitive to 6AU, such as those with a disrupted gene encoding elongation factor SII or those containing amino acid substitutions in Pol II subunits, are defective inPUR5 induction. The inability to fully inducePUR5 correlates with mutations that effect transcription elongation since 6AU-sensitive strains deleted for genes not related to transcription elongation are competent to induce PUR5. DNA encompassing the PUR5 promoter and 5′ untranslated region supports 6AU induction of a luciferase reporter gene in wild-type cells. Thus, yeast sense and respond to nucleotide depletion via a mechanism of transcriptional induction that restores nucleotides to levels required for normal growth. An optimally functioning elongation machinery is critical for this response.


Viruses ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 349 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea N. Killian ◽  
Sarah C. Miller ◽  
Justin K. Hines

Yeast prions are protein-based genetic elements found in the baker’s yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, most of which are amyloid aggregates that propagate by fragmentation and spreading of small, self-templating pieces called propagons. Fragmentation is carried out by molecular chaperones, specifically Hsp104, Hsp70, and Hsp40. Like other amyloid-forming proteins, amyloid-based yeast prions exhibit structural polymorphisms, termed “strains” in mammalian systems and “variants” in yeast, which demonstrate diverse phenotypes and chaperone requirements for propagation. Here, the known differential interactions between chaperone proteins and yeast prion variants are reviewed, specifically those of the yeast prions [PSI+], [RNQ+]/[PIN+], and [URE3]. For these prions, differences in variant-chaperone interactions (where known) with Hsp104, Hsp70s, Hsp40s, Sse1, and Hsp90 are summarized, as well as some interactions with chaperones of other species expressed in yeast. As amyloid structural differences greatly impact chaperone interactions, understanding and accounting for these variations may be crucial to the study of chaperones and both prion and non-prion amyloids.


2001 ◽  
Vol 21 (13) ◽  
pp. 4321-4329 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlo W. T. van Roermund ◽  
Roy Drissen ◽  
Marlene van den Berg ◽  
Lodewijk Ijlst ◽  
Ewald H. Hettema ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT We have characterized the role of YPR128cp, the orthologue of human PMP34, in fatty acid metabolism and peroxisomal proliferation inSaccharomyces cerevisiae. YPR128cp belongs to the mitochondrial carrier family (MCF) of solute transporters and is localized in the peroxisomal membrane. Disruption of theYPR128c gene results in impaired growth of the yeast with the medium-chain fatty acid (MCFA) laurate as a single carbon source, whereas normal growth was observed with the long-chain fatty acid (LCFA) oleate. MCFA but not LCFA β-oxidation activity was markedly reduced in intact ypr128cΔ mutant cells compared to intact wild-type cells, but comparable activities were found in the corresponding lysates. These results imply that a transport step specific for MCFA β-oxidation is impaired in ypr128cΔ cells. Since MCFA β-oxidation in peroxisomes requires both ATP and CoASH for activation of the MCFAs into their corresponding coenzyme A esters, we studied whether YPR128cp is an ATP carrier. For this purpose we have used firefly luciferase targeted to peroxisomes to measure ATP consumption inside peroxisomes. We show that peroxisomal luciferase activity was strongly reduced in intact ypr128cΔ mutant cells compared to wild-type cells but comparable in lysates of both cell strains. We conclude that YPR128cp most likely mediates the transport of ATP across the peroxisomal membrane.


1991 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 3868-3878
Author(s):  
A L Munn ◽  
L Silveira ◽  
M Elgort ◽  
G S Payne

The gene encoding clathrin heavy chain in Saccharomyces cerevisiae (CHC1) is not essential for growth in most laboratory strains tested. However, in certain genetic backgrounds, a deletion of CHC1 (chc1) results in cell death. Lethality in these chc1 strains is determined by a locus designated SCD1 (suppressor of clathrin deficiency) which is unlinked to CHC1 (S. K. Lemmon and E. W. Jones, Science 238:504-509, 1987). The lethal allele of SCD1 has no effect on cell growth when the wild-type version of CHC1 is present. This result led to the proposal that most yeast strains are viable in the absence of clathrin heavy chain because they possess the SCD1 suppressor. Discovery of another yeast strain that cannot grow without clathrin heavy chain has allowed us to perform a genetic test of the suppressor hypothesis. Genetic crosses show that clathrin-deficient lethality in the latter strain is conferred by a single genetic locus (termed CDL1, for clathrin-deficient lethality). By constructing strains in which CHC1 expression is regulated by the GAL10 promoter, we demonstrate that the lethal alleles of SCD1 and CDL1 are recessive. In both cases, very low expression of CHC1 can allow cells to escape from lethality. Genetic complementation and segregation analyses indicate that CDL1 and SCD1 are distinct genes. The lethal CDL1 allele does not cause a defect in the secretory pathway of either wild-type or clathrin heavy-chain-deficient yeast. A systematic screen to identify mutants unable to grow in the absence of clathrin heavy chain uncovered numerous genes similar to SCD1 and CDL1. These findings argue against the idea that viability of chc1 cells is due to genetic suppression, since this hypothesis would require the existence of a large number of unlinked genes, all of which are required for suppression. Instead, lethality appears to be a common, nonspecific occurrence when a second-site mutation arises in a strain whose cell growth is already severely compromised by the lack of clathrin heavy chain.


2005 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 82-89 ◽  
Author(s):  
So-Young Kim ◽  
Elizabeth A. Craig

ABSTRACT The Hsp70 Ssb and J protein Zuo1 of Saccharomyces cerevisiae are ribosome-associated molecular chaperones, proposed to be involved in the folding of newly synthesized polypeptide chains. Cells lacking Ssb and/or Zuo1 have been reported to be hypersensitive to cationic aminoglycoside protein synthesis inhibitors that affect translational fidelity and to NaCl. Since we found that Δssb1 Δssb2 (Δssb1,2), Δzuo1, and wild-type cells have very similar levels of translational misreading in the absence of aminoglycosides, we asked whether the sensitivities to aminoglycosides and NaCl represent a general increase in sensitivity to cations. We found that Δssb1,2 and Δzuo1 cells are hypersensitive to a wide range of cations. This broad sensitivity is similar to that of cells having lowered activity of major plasma membrane transporters, such as the major K+ transporters Trk1 and Trk2 or their regulators Hal4 and Hal5. Like Δhal4,5 cells, Δssb1,2 and Δzuo1 cells have increased intracellular levels of Na+ and Li+ upon challenge with higher-than-normal levels of these cations, due to an increased rate of influx. In the presence of aminoglycosides, Δssb1,2, Δzuo1, and Δhal 4,5 cells have similarly increased levels of translational misreading. We conclude that, in vivo, the major cause of the aminoglycoside sensitivity of cells lacking ribosome-associated molecular chaperones is a general increase in cation influx, perhaps due to altered maturation of membrane proteins.


Genetics ◽  
1996 ◽  
Vol 142 (2) ◽  
pp. 383-391 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yasumasa Tsukamoto ◽  
Jun-ichi Kato ◽  
Hideo Ikeda

Abstract To examine the mechanism of illegitimate recombination in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, we have developed a plasmid system for quantitative analysis of deletion formation. A can1 cyh2 cell carrying two negative selection markers, the CAN1 and CYH2 genes, on a YCp plasmid is sensitive to canavanine and cycloheximide, but the cell becomes resistant to both drugs when the plasmid has a deletion over the CAN1 and CYH2 genes. Structural analysis of the recombinant plasmids obtained from the resistant cells showed that the plasmids had deletions at various sites of the CAN1-CYH2 region and there were only short regions of homology (1-5 bp) at the recombination junctions. The results indicated that the deletion detected in this system were formed by illegitimate recombination. Study on the effect of several rad mutations showed that the recombination rate was reduced by 30-, 10-, 10-, and 10-fold in the rad52, rad50, mre11, and xrs2 mutants, respectively, while in the rud51, 54, 55, and 57 mutants, the rate was comparable to that in the wild-type strain. The rad52 mutation did not affect length of homology at junction sites of illegitimate recombination.


Genetics ◽  
1989 ◽  
Vol 123 (1) ◽  
pp. 81-95 ◽  
Author(s):  
E J Louis ◽  
J E Haber

Abstract The presence of the tRNA ochre suppressors SUP11 and SUP5 is found to induce meiosis I nondisjunction in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The induction increases with increasing dosage of the suppressor and decreases in the presence of an antisuppressor. The effect is independent of the chromosomal location of SUP11. Each of five different chromosomes monitored exhibited nondisjunction at frequencies of 0.1%-1.1% of random spores, which is a 16-160-fold increase over wild-type levels. Increased nondisjunction is reflected by a marked increase in tetrads with two and zero viable spores. In the case of chromosome III, for which a 50-cM map interval was monitored, the resulting disomes are all in the parental nonrecombinant configuration. Recombination along chromosome III appears normal both in meioses that have no nondisjunction and in meioses for which there was nondisjunction of another chromosome. We propose that a proportion of one or more proteins involved in chromosome pairing, recombination or segregation are aberrant due to translational read-through of the normal ochre stop codon. Hygromycin B, an antibiotic that can suppress nonsense mutations via translational read-through, also induces nonrecombinant meiosis I nondisjunction. Increases in mistranslation, therefore, increase the production of aneuploids during meiosis. There was no observable effect of SUP11 on mitotic chromosome nondisjunction; however some disomes caused SUP11 ade2-ochre strains to appear white or red, instead of pink.


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