scholarly journals A synthetic lethal screen identifies SLK1, a novel protein kinase homolog implicated in yeast cell morphogenesis and cell growth.

1992 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 1162-1178 ◽  
Author(s):  
C Costigan ◽  
S Gehrung ◽  
M Snyder
Keyword(s):  
Cell Growth ◽  
Vegetative Growth ◽  
Sequence Similarity ◽  
Growth Control ◽  
Cell Morphogenesis ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Extra Copy ◽  
Synthetic Lethal ◽  
Cell Biol ◽  
Regulatory Link

The Saccharomyces cerevisiae SPA2 protein localizes at sites involved in polarized cell growth in budding cells and mating cells. spa2 mutants have defects in projection formation during mating but are healthy during vegetative growth. A synthetic lethal screen was devised to identify mutants that require the SPA2 gene for vegetative growth. One mutant, called slk-1 (for synthetic lethal kinase), has been characterized extensively. The SLK1 gene has been cloned, and sequence analysis predicts that the SLK1 protein is 1,478 amino acid residues in length. Approximately 300 amino acids at the carboxy terminus exhibit sequence similarity with the catalytic domains of protein kinases. Disruption mutations have been constructed in the SLK1 gene. slk1 null mutants cannot grow at 37 degrees C, but many cells can grow at 30, 24, and 17 degrees C. Dead slk1 mutant cells usually have aberrant cell morphologies, and many cells are very small, approximately one-half the diameter of wild-type cells. Surviving slk1 cells also exhibit morphogenic defects; these cells are impaired in their ability to form projections upon exposure to mating pheromones. During vegetative growth, a higher fraction of slk1 cells are unbudded compared with wild-type cells, and under nutrient limiting conditions, slk1 cells exhibit defects in cell cycle arrest. The different slk1 mutant defects are partially rescued by an extra copy of the SSD1/SRK1 gene. SSD1/SRK1 has been independently isolated as a suppressor of mutations in genes involved in growth control, sit4, pde2, bcy1, and ins1 (A. Sutton, D. Immanuel, and K.T. Arnat, Mol. Cell. Biol. 11:2133-2148, 1991; R.B. Wilson, A.A. Brenner, T.B. White, M.J. Engler, J.P. Gaughran, and K. Tatchell, Mol. Cell. Biol. 11:3369-3373, 1991). These data suggest that SLK1 plays a role in both cell morphogenesis and the control of cell growth. We speculate that SLK1 may be a regulatory link for these two cellular processes.

A synthetic lethal screen identifies SLK1, a novel protein kinase homolog implicated in yeast cell morphogenesis and cell growth

1992 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 1162-1178
Author(s):  
C Costigan ◽  
S Gehrung ◽  
M Snyder
Keyword(s):  
Cell Growth ◽  
Vegetative Growth ◽  
Sequence Similarity ◽  
Growth Control ◽  
Cell Morphogenesis ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Extra Copy ◽  
Synthetic Lethal ◽  
Cell Biol ◽  
Regulatory Link

The Saccharomyces cerevisiae SPA2 protein localizes at sites involved in polarized cell growth in budding cells and mating cells. spa2 mutants have defects in projection formation during mating but are healthy during vegetative growth. A synthetic lethal screen was devised to identify mutants that require the SPA2 gene for vegetative growth. One mutant, called slk-1 (for synthetic lethal kinase), has been characterized extensively. The SLK1 gene has been cloned, and sequence analysis predicts that the SLK1 protein is 1,478 amino acid residues in length. Approximately 300 amino acids at the carboxy terminus exhibit sequence similarity with the catalytic domains of protein kinases. Disruption mutations have been constructed in the SLK1 gene. slk1 null mutants cannot grow at 37 degrees C, but many cells can grow at 30, 24, and 17 degrees C. Dead slk1 mutant cells usually have aberrant cell morphologies, and many cells are very small, approximately one-half the diameter of wild-type cells. Surviving slk1 cells also exhibit morphogenic defects; these cells are impaired in their ability to form projections upon exposure to mating pheromones. During vegetative growth, a higher fraction of slk1 cells are unbudded compared with wild-type cells, and under nutrient limiting conditions, slk1 cells exhibit defects in cell cycle arrest. The different slk1 mutant defects are partially rescued by an extra copy of the SSD1/SRK1 gene. SSD1/SRK1 has been independently isolated as a suppressor of mutations in genes involved in growth control, sit4, pde2, bcy1, and ins1 (A. Sutton, D. Immanuel, and K.T. Arnat, Mol. Cell. Biol. 11:2133-2148, 1991; R.B. Wilson, A.A. Brenner, T.B. White, M.J. Engler, J.P. Gaughran, and K. Tatchell, Mol. Cell. Biol. 11:3369-3373, 1991). These data suggest that SLK1 plays a role in both cell morphogenesis and the control of cell growth. We speculate that SLK1 may be a regulatory link for these two cellular processes.

scholarly journals The EGP1 gene may be a positive regulator of protein phosphatase type 1 in the growth control of Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

1995 ◽  
Vol 15 (7) ◽  
pp. 3767-3776 ◽  
Author(s):  
N Hisamoto ◽  
D L Frederick ◽  
K Sugimoto ◽  
K Tatchell ◽  
K Matsumoto
Keyword(s):  
Saccharomyces Cerevisiae ◽  
Cell Growth ◽  
Protein Phosphatase ◽  
Double Mutant ◽  
Growth Control ◽  
Restrictive Temperature ◽  
Extra Copy ◽  
Additional Gene ◽  
Positive Modulator

The Saccharomyces cerevisiae GLC7 gene encodes the catalytic subunit of type 1 protein phosphatase (PP1) and is required for cell growth. A cold-sensitive glc7 mutant (glc7Y170) arrests in G2/M but remains viable at the restrictive temperature. In an effort to identify additional gene products that function in concert with PP1 to regulate growth, we isolated a mutation (gpp1) that exacerbated the growth phenotype of the glc7Y170 mutation, resulting in rapid death of the double mutant at the nonpermissive temperature. We identified an additional gene, EGP1, as an extra-copy suppressor of the glc7Y170 gpp1-1 double mutant. The nucleotide sequence of EGP1 predicts a leucine-rich repeat protein that is similar to Sds22, a protein from the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe that positively modulates PP1. EGP1 is essential for cell growth but becomes dispensable upon overexpression of the GLC7 gene. Egp1 and PP1 directly interact, as assayed by coimmunoprecipitation. These results suggest that Egp1 functions as a positive modulator of PP1 in the growth control of S. cerevisiae.

scholarly journals Novel Developmental Genes, fruCD, of Myxococcus xanthus: Involvement of a Cell Division Protein in Multicellular Development

2003 ◽  
Vol 185 (11) ◽  
pp. 3317-3324 ◽  
Author(s):  
Takuya Akiyama ◽  
Sumiko Inouye ◽  
Teruya Komano
Keyword(s):  
Vegetative Growth ◽  
Transcription Initiation ◽  
Growth And Development ◽  
Sequence Similarity ◽  
Myxococcus Xanthus ◽  
Spore Formation ◽  
Amino Acid Sequence Similarity ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Developmental Genes ◽  
Multicellular Development

ABSTRACT Myxococcus xanthus is a gram-negative soil bacterium that undergoes multicellular development upon nutrient starvation. In the present study, two novel developmental genes, fruC and fruD, of M. xanthus were identified and characterized. The FruD protein has significant amino acid sequence similarity to the DivIVA proteins of many bacteria including Bacillus subtilis. Vegetative cells of the fruD mutant exhibited a filamentous phenotype. The fruC and fruD mutants displayed similar delayed-development phenotypes. The formation of tightly aggregated mounds by fruC and fruD mutants was slower than that by the wild-type strain. Spore formation by the fruC and fruD mutants initiated after 30 h poststarvation, whereas wild-type M. xanthus initiated spore formation after 18 h. The fruCD genes were constitutively expressed as an operon during vegetative growth and development. S1 mapping revealed that transcription initiation sites of the fruCD operon were located 114 (P1) and 55 bp (P2) upstream of the fruC initiation codon. Only the P1 promoter was active during vegetative growth, while both the P1 and P2 promoters were active during development. The FruD protein was produced as a cytoplasmic protein and formed an oligomer during vegetative growth and development.

scholarly journals ncl-1 Is Required for the Regulation of Cell Size and Ribosomal RNA Synthesis in Caenorhabditis elegans

1998 ◽  
Vol 140 (6) ◽  
pp. 1321-1329 ◽  
Author(s):  
Deborah J. Frank ◽  
Mark B. Roth
Keyword(s):  
Caenorhabditis Elegans ◽  
Cell Growth ◽  
Ribosomal Rna ◽  
Zinc Finger Protein ◽  
Growth Control ◽  
Loss Of Function ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Ribosome Synthesis ◽  
Growth Loss ◽  
Polymerase I

Regulation of ribosome synthesis is an essential aspect of growth control. Thus far, little is known about the factors that control and coordinate these processes. We show here that the Caenorhabditis elegans gene ncl-1 encodes a zinc finger protein and may be a repressor of RNA polymerase I and III transcription and an inhibitor of cell growth. Loss of function mutations in ncl-1, previously shown to result in enlarged nucleoli, result in increased rates of rRNA and 5S RNA transcription and enlarged cells. Furthermore, ncl-1 adult worms are larger, have more protein, and have twice as much rRNA as wild-type worms. Localization studies show that the level of NCL-1 protein is independently regulated in different cells of the embryo. In wild-type embryos, cells with the largest nucleoli have the lowest level of NCL-1 protein. Based on these results we propose that ncl-1 is a repressor of ribosome synthesis and cell growth.

scholarly journals Bacillus subtilis Cells Lacking Penicillin-Binding Protein 1 Require Increased Levels of Divalent Cations for Growth

1998 ◽  
Vol 180 (17) ◽  
pp. 4555-4563 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Murray ◽  
David L. Popham ◽  
Peter Setlow
Keyword(s):  
Bacillus Subtilis ◽  
Cell Growth ◽  
Divalent Cation ◽  
Vegetative Growth ◽  
Binding Protein ◽  
Divalent Cations ◽  
Penicillin Binding Protein ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Deficient Medium ◽  
Spore Outgrowth

ABSTRACT Bacillus subtilis strains lacking penicillin-binding protein 1 (PBP1), encoded by ponA, required greater amounts of Mg2+ or Ca2+ for vegetative growth or spore outgrowth than the wild-type strain and strains lacking other high-molecular-weight (HMW) PBPs. Growth of ponA cells in a medium low in Mg2+ also resulted in greatly increased cell bending compared to wild-type cells or cells lacking other HMW PBPs. The addition of high levels of Mg2+ to growth media eliminated these phenotypes of a ponA mutant. In contrast to the effects of divalent cations, NaCl did not restoreponA cell growth in a divalent-cation-deficient medium. Surprisingly, wild-type cells swelled and then lysed during both vegetative growth and spore outgrowth when 500 mM NaCl was included in a divalent-cation-deficient medium. Again, Mg2+ addition was sufficient to allow normal vegetative growth and spore outgrowth of both wild-type and ponA cells in a medium with 500 mM NaCl. These studies demonstrate that (i) while HMW PBPs possess largely redundant functions in rich medium, when divalent cations are limiting, PBP1 is required for cell growth and spore outgrowth; and (ii) high levels of NaCl induce cell lysis in media deficient in divalent cations during both vegetative growth and spore outgrowth.

scholarly journals The Neurofibromatosis 2 Protein, Merlin, Regulates Glial Cell Growth in an ErbB2- and Src-Dependent Manner

2008 ◽  
Vol 29 (6) ◽  
pp. 1472-1486 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Sean Houshmandi ◽  
Ryan J. Emnett ◽  
Marco Giovannini ◽  
David H. Gutmann
Keyword(s):  
Nervous System ◽  
Cell Growth ◽  
Glial Cell ◽  
Growth Control ◽  
Conditional Knockout ◽  
Dependent Manner ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Neurofibromatosis 2 ◽  
Cancer Predisposition Syndrome ◽  
Src Activation

ABSTRACT Individuals with the inherited cancer predisposition syndrome neurofibromatosis 2 (NF2) develop several central nervous system (CNS) malignancies, including glial cell neoplasms (ependymomas). Recent studies have suggested that the NF2 protein, merlin (or schwannomin), may regulate receptor tyrosine kinase signaling, intracellular mitogenic growth control pathways, or adherens junction organization in non-nervous-system cell types. For this report, we used glial fibrillary acidic protein conditional knockout mice and derivative glia to determine how merlin regulates CNS glial cell proliferation. We show that the loss of merlin in glial cells results in increased proliferation in vitro and in vivo. Merlin regulation of glial cell growth reflects deregulated Src activity, such that pharmacologic or genetic inhibition of Src activation reduces Nf2 −/− glial cell growth to wild-type levels. We further show that Src regulates Nf2 −/− glial cell growth by sequentially regulating FAK and paxillin phosphorylation/activity. Next, we demonstrate that Src activation results from merlin regulation of ErbB2 activation and that genetic or pharmacologic ErbB2 inhibition reduces Nf2 −/− glial cell Src/Src effector activation and proliferation to wild-type levels. Lastly, we show that merlin competes with Src for direct binding to ErbB2 and present a novel molecular mechanism for merlin regulation of ErbB2-dependent Src signaling and growth control.

Molecular and genetic characterization of natural variants of HIV-1 Nef gene from North India and its functional implication in down-regulation of MHC-I and CD-4

2020 ◽  
Vol 18 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Singh ◽  
L. Ronsard ◽  
M. Pandey ◽  
R. Kapoor ◽  
V.G. Ramachandran ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Biological Activities ◽  
Sequence Similarity ◽  
Eukaryotic Expression ◽  
North India ◽  
Cell Surface Expression ◽  
Functional Domains ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Down Regulation ◽  
Subtype B ◽  
Hiv 1

Background: HIV-1 Nef is an important accessory protein with multiple effector functions. Genetic studies of HIV-1 Nef gene shows extensive genetic diversity and the functional studies have been carried out mostly with Nef derived from regions dominated by subtype B (North America & Europe). Objective: This study was carried out to characterize genetic variations of the Nef gene from HIV-1 infected individuals from North-India and to find out their functional implications. Methods: The unique representative variants were sub-cloned in eukaryotic expression vector and further characterized with respect to their ability to down regulate cell surface expression of CD4 and MHC-1molecules. Results: The phylogenetic analysis of Nef variants revealed sequence similarity with either consensus subtype B or B/C recombinants. Boot scan analysis of some of our variants showed homology to B/C recombinant and some to wild type Nef B. Extensive variations were observed in most of the variants. The dN/dS ratio revealed 80% purifying selection and 20% diversifying selection implying the importance of mutations in Nef variants. Intracellular stability of Nef variants differed greatly when compared with wild type Nef B and C. There were some variants that possessed mutations in the functional domains of Nef and responsible for its differential CD4 and MHC-1 down regulation activity. Conclusion: We observed enhanced biological activities in some of the variants, perhaps arising out of amino acid substitutions in their functional domains. The CD4 and MHC-1 down-regulation activity of Nef is likely to confer immense survival advantage allowing the most rare genotype in a population to become the most abundant after a single selection event.

scholarly journals Overexpression of the pitaya phosphoethanolamine N-methyltransferase gene (HpPEAMT) enhanced simulated drought stress in tobacco

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ai-Hua Wang ◽  
Lan Yang ◽  
Xin-Zhuan Yao ◽  
Xiao-Peng Wen
Keyword(s):  
Drought Stress ◽  
Stress Response ◽  
Transgenic Plants ◽  
Drought Tolerance ◽  
Transgenic Tobacco ◽  
Sequence Similarity ◽  
Amino Acid Sequence Similarity ◽  
Transgenic Tobacco Plants ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Tobacco Plants

AbstractPhosphoethanolamine N-methyltransferase (PEAMTase) catalyzes the methylation of phosphoethanolamine to produce phosphocholine and plays an important role in the abiotic stress response. Although the PEAMT genes has been isolated from many species other than pitaya, its role in the drought stress response has not yet been fully elucidated. In the present study, we isolated a 1485 bp cDNA fragment of HpPEAMT from pitaya (Hylocereus polyrhizus). Phylogenetic analysis showed that, during its evolution, HpPEAMT has shown a high degree of amino acid sequence similarity with the orthologous genes in Chenopodiaceae species. To further investigate the function of HpPEAMT, we generated transgenic tobacco plants overexpressing HpPEAMT, and the transgenic plants accumulated significantly more glycine betaine (GB) than did the wild type (WT). Drought tolerance trials indicated that, compared with those of the wild-type (WT) plants, the roots of the transgenic plants showed higher drought tolerance ability and exhibited improved drought tolerance. Further analysis revealed that overexpression of HpPEAM in Nicotiana tabacum resulted in upregulation of transcript levels of GB biosynthesis-related genes (NiBADH, NiCMO and NiSDC) in the leaves. Furthermore, compared with the wild-type plants, the transgenic tobacco plants displayed a significantly lower malondialdehyde (MDA) accumulation and higher activities of the superoxide dismutase (SOD) and peroxidase (POD) antioxidant enzymes under drought stress. Taken together, our results suggested that HpPEAMT enhanced the drought tolerance of transgenic tobacco.

scholarly journals SEC3 Mutations Are Synthetically Lethal With Profilin Mutations and Cause Defects in Diploid-Specific Bud-Site Selection

Genetics ◽  
1996 ◽  
Vol 144 (2) ◽  
pp. 495-510 ◽  
Author(s):  
B K Haarer ◽  
A Corbett ◽  
Y Kweon ◽  
A S Petzold ◽  
P Silver ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Site Selection ◽  
Secretory Pathway ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Synthetic Lethal ◽  
Abnormal Growth ◽  
Colony Color ◽  
Synthetically Lethal ◽  
Homozygous Diploid ◽  
Bud Site ◽  
Wild Type Yeast

Abstract Replacement of the wild-type yeast profilin gene (PFY1) with a mutated form (pfy1-111) that has codon 72 changed to encode glutamate rather than arginine results in defects similar to, but less severe than, those that result from complete deletion of the profilin gene. We have used a colony color-sectoring assay to identify mutations that cause pfy1-111, but not wild-type, cells to be inviable. These profilin synthetic lethal (psl) mutations result in various degrees of abnormal growth, morphology, and temperature sensitivity in PFY1 cells. We have examined psl1 strains in the most detail. Interestingly, these strains display a diploid-specific defect in bud-site selection; haploid strains bud normally, while homozygous diploid strains show a dramatic increase in random budding. We discovered that PSL1 is the late secretory gene, SEC3, and have found that mutations in several other late secretory genes are also synthetically lethal with pfy1-111. Our results are likely to reflect an interdependence between the actin cytoskeleton and secretory processes in directing cell polarity and growth. Moreover, they indicate that the secretory pathway is especially crucial for maintaining budding polarity in diploids.

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