scholarly journals Altered Phosphotransfer in an Activated Mutant of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae Two-Component Osmosensor Sln1p

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.

2003 ◽  
Vol 2 (6) ◽  
pp. 1304-1314 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jade Mei-Yeh Lu ◽  
Robert J. Deschenes ◽  
Jan S. Fassler

Sln1p is a plasma membrane-localized two-component histidine kinase that functions as an osmotic stress sensor inSaccharomyces cerevisiae. Changes in osmotic pressure modulate Sln1p kinase activity, which, together with Ypd1p, a phosphorelay intermediate, changes the phosphorylation status of two response regulators, Ssk1p and Skn7p. Ssk1p controls the activity of the HOG1 mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway. Skn7p is a nuclearly localized transcription factor that regulates genes involved in cell wall integrity and other processes. Subcellular compartmentalization may therefore play an important role in eukaryotic two-component pathway regulation. We have studied the subcellular localization of SLN1 pathway components and find that Ypd1p is a dynamic protein with a role in shuttling the osmotic stress signal from Sln1p to Ssk1p in the cytosol and to Skn7p in the nucleus. The need to translocate the signal into different intracellular compartments contributes a spatial dimension to eukaryotic two-component pathways compared to the prototypical two-component pathways of prokaryotes.


2004 ◽  
Vol 3 (6) ◽  
pp. 1544-1556 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jade Mei-Yeh Lu ◽  
Robert J. Deschenes ◽  
Jan S. Fassler

ABSTRACT Yeast Sln1p is an osmotic stress sensor with histidine kinase activity. Modulation of Sln1 kinase activity in response to changes in the osmotic environment regulates the activity of the osmotic response mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway and the activity of the Skn7p transcription factor, both important for adaptation to changing osmotic stress conditions. Many aspects of Sln1 function, such as how kinase activity is regulated to allow a rapid response to the continually changing osmotic environment, are not understood. To gain insight into Sln1p function, we conducted a two-hybrid screen to identify interactors. Mog1p, a protein that interacts with the yeast Ran1 homolog, Gsp1p, was identified in this screen. The interaction with Mog1p was characterized in vitro, and its importance was assessed in vivo. mog1 mutants exhibit defects in SLN1-SKN7 signal transduction and mislocalization of the Skn7p transcription factor. The requirement for Mog1p in normal localization of Skn7p to the nucleus does not fully account for the mog1-related defects in SLN1-SKN7 signal transduction, raising the possibility that Mog1p may play a role in Skn7 binding and activation of osmotic response genes.


1999 ◽  
Vol 19 (8) ◽  
pp. 5474-5485 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martijn Rep ◽  
Vladimír Reiser ◽  
Ulrike Gartner ◽  
Johan M. Thevelein ◽  
Stefan Hohmann ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT After a sudden shift to high osmolarity, Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells respond by transiently inducing the expression of stress-protective genes. Msn2p and Msn4p have been described as two transcription factors that determine the extent of this response. Inmsn2 msn4 mutants, however, many promoters still show a distinct rise in transcriptional activity upon osmotic stress. Here we describe two structurally related nuclear factors, Msn1p and a newly identified protein, Hot1p (for high-osmolarity-induced transcription), which are also involved in osmotic stress-induced transcription.hot1 single mutants are specifically compromised in the transient induction of GPD1 and GPP2, which encode enzymes involved in glycerol biosynthesis, and exhibit delayed glycerol accumulation after stress exposure. Similar to agpd1 mutation, a hot1 defect can rescue cells from inappropriately high HOG pathway activity. In contrast, Hot1p has little influence on the osmotic stress induction of CTT1, where Msn1p appears to play a more prominent role. Cells lacking Msn1p, Msn2p, Msn4p, and Hot1p are almost devoid of the short-term transcriptional response of the genes GPD1,GPP2, CTT1, and HSP12 to osmotic stress. Such cells also show a distinct reduction in the nuclear residence of the mitogen-activated protein kinase Hog1p upon osmotic stress. Thus, Hot1p and Msn1p may define an additional tier of transcriptional regulators that control responses to high-osmolarity stress.


2000 ◽  
Vol 182 (18) ◽  
pp. 5121-5126 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yoshiyuki Tsujimoto ◽  
Shingo Izawa ◽  
Yoshiharu Inoue

ABSTRACT We screened the genome of Saccharomyces cerevisiae for the genes responsive to oxidative stress by using the lacZtransposon-insertion library. As a result, we found that expression of the DOG2 gene coding for 2-deoxyglucose-6-phosphate phosphatase was induced by oxidative stress. The expression ofDOG2 was also induced by osmotic stress. We found a putative cis element (STRE, a stress response element) in the DOG2 promoter adjacent to a consensus sequence to which the Mig1p repressor is known to bind. The basal levels ofDOG2 gene expression were increased in amig1Δ mutant, while the derepression of DOG2was not observed in a snf1Δ mutant under glucose-deprived conditions. Induction of the DOG2 gene expression by osmotic stress was observed in any of the three disruptantspbs2Δ, hog1Δ, and snf1Δ. However, the osmotic induction was completely abolished in both thesnf1Δ pbs2Δ mutant and the snf1Δ hog1Δ mutant. Additionally, these single mutants as well as double mutants failed to induce DOG2 expression by oxidative stress. These results suggest that Snf1p kinase and the high-osmolarity glycerol–mitogen-activated protein kinase cascade are likely to be involved in the signaling pathway of oxidative stress and osmotic stress in regulation of DOG2.


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.


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.


2003 ◽  
Vol 14 (11) ◽  
pp. 4526-4540 ◽  
Author(s):  
Binggang Sun ◽  
Hui Ma ◽  
Richard A. Firtel

Mitogen-activated protein kinase cascades regulate various cellular functions, including growth, cell differentiation, development, and stress responses. We have identified a new Dictyostelium kinase (stress-activated protein kinase [SAPK]α), which is related to members of the mixed lineage kinase class of mitogen-activated protein kinase kinases. SAPKα is activated by osmotic stress, heat shock, and detachment from the substratum and by a membrane-permeable cGMP analog, a known regulator of stress responses in Dictyostelium. SAPKα is important for cellular resistance to stresses, because SAPKα null cells exhibit reduced viability in response to osmotic stress. We found that SAPKα mutants affect cellular processes requiring proper regulation of the actin cytoskeleton, including cell motility, morphogenesis, cytokinesis, and cell adhesion. Overexpression of SAPKα results in highly elevated basal and chemoattractant-stimulated F-actin levels and strong aggregation and developmental defects, including a failure to polarize and chemotax, and abnormal morphogenesis. These phenotypes require a kinase-active SAPKα. SAPKα null cells exhibit reduced chemoattractant-stimulated F-actin levels, cytokinesis, developmental and adhesion defects, and a motility defect that is less severe than that exhibited by SAPKα-overexpressing cells. SAPKα colocalizes with F-actin in F-actin–enriched structures, including membrane ruffles and pseudopodia during chemotaxis. Although SAPKα is required for these F-actin–mediated processes, it is not detectably activated in response to chemoattractant stimulation.


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