scholarly journals Casein kinase II mediates multiple phosphorylation of Saccharomyces cerevisiae eIF-2 alpha (encoded by SUI2), which is required for optimal eIF-2 function in S. cerevisiae.

1994 ◽  
Vol 14 (8) ◽  
pp. 5139-5153 ◽  
Author(s):  
L Feng ◽  
H Yoon ◽  
T F Donahue

Previous studies have demonstrated that the alpha subunit of eukaryotic initiation factor 2 (eIF-2 alpha), encoded by the SUI2 gene in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, is phosphorylated at Ser-51 by the GCN2 kinase in response to general amino acid control. Here we describe that yeast eIF-2 alpha is a constitutively phosphorylated protein species that is multiply phosphorylated by a GCN2-independent mechanism. 32Pi labeling and isoelectric focusing analysis of a SUI2+ delta gcn2 strain identifies eIF-2 alpha as radiolabeled and a single isoelectric protein species. Treatment of SUI2+ delta gcn2 strain extracts with phosphatase results in the identification of three additional isoelectric forms of eIF-2 alpha that correspond to the stepwise removal of three phosphates from the protein. Mutational analysis of SUI2 coupled with biochemical analysis of eIF-2 alpha maps the sites to the carboxyl region of SUI2 that correspond to Ser residues at amino acid positions 292, 294, and 301 that compose consensus casein kinase II sequences. 32Pi labeling or isoelectric focusing analysis of eIF-2 alpha from conditional casein kinase II mutants indicated that phosphorylation of eIF-2 alpha is abolished or dephosphorylated forms of eIF-2 alpha are detected when these strains are grown at the restrictive growth conditions. Furthermore, yeast casein kinase II phosphorylates recombinant wild-type eIF-2 alpha protein in vitro but does not phosphorylate recombinant eIF-2 alpha that contains Ser-to-Ala mutations at all three consensus casein kinase II sequences. These data strongly support the conclusion that casein kinase II directly phosphorylates eIF-2 alpha at one or all of these Ser amino acids in vivo. Although substitution of SUI2 genes mutated at these sites for the wild-type gene have no obvious effect on cell growth, one test that we have used appears to demonstrate that the inability to phosphorylate these sites has a physiological consequence on eIF-2 function in S. cerevisiae. Haploid strains constructed to contain Ser-to-Ala mutations at the consensus casein kinase II sequences in SUI2 in combination with a mutated allele of either the GCN2, GCN3, or GCD7 gene have synthetic growth defects. These genetic data appear to indicate that the modifications that we describe at the carboxyl end of the eIF-2 alpha protein are required for optimal eIF-2 function in S. cerevisiae.

1994 ◽  
Vol 14 (8) ◽  
pp. 5139-5153
Author(s):  
L Feng ◽  
H Yoon ◽  
T F Donahue

Previous studies have demonstrated that the alpha subunit of eukaryotic initiation factor 2 (eIF-2 alpha), encoded by the SUI2 gene in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, is phosphorylated at Ser-51 by the GCN2 kinase in response to general amino acid control. Here we describe that yeast eIF-2 alpha is a constitutively phosphorylated protein species that is multiply phosphorylated by a GCN2-independent mechanism. 32Pi labeling and isoelectric focusing analysis of a SUI2+ delta gcn2 strain identifies eIF-2 alpha as radiolabeled and a single isoelectric protein species. Treatment of SUI2+ delta gcn2 strain extracts with phosphatase results in the identification of three additional isoelectric forms of eIF-2 alpha that correspond to the stepwise removal of three phosphates from the protein. Mutational analysis of SUI2 coupled with biochemical analysis of eIF-2 alpha maps the sites to the carboxyl region of SUI2 that correspond to Ser residues at amino acid positions 292, 294, and 301 that compose consensus casein kinase II sequences. 32Pi labeling or isoelectric focusing analysis of eIF-2 alpha from conditional casein kinase II mutants indicated that phosphorylation of eIF-2 alpha is abolished or dephosphorylated forms of eIF-2 alpha are detected when these strains are grown at the restrictive growth conditions. Furthermore, yeast casein kinase II phosphorylates recombinant wild-type eIF-2 alpha protein in vitro but does not phosphorylate recombinant eIF-2 alpha that contains Ser-to-Ala mutations at all three consensus casein kinase II sequences. These data strongly support the conclusion that casein kinase II directly phosphorylates eIF-2 alpha at one or all of these Ser amino acids in vivo. Although substitution of SUI2 genes mutated at these sites for the wild-type gene have no obvious effect on cell growth, one test that we have used appears to demonstrate that the inability to phosphorylate these sites has a physiological consequence on eIF-2 function in S. cerevisiae. Haploid strains constructed to contain Ser-to-Ala mutations at the consensus casein kinase II sequences in SUI2 in combination with a mutated allele of either the GCN2, GCN3, or GCD7 gene have synthetic growth defects. These genetic data appear to indicate that the modifications that we describe at the carboxyl end of the eIF-2 alpha protein are required for optimal eIF-2 function in S. cerevisiae.


1993 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 1920-1932 ◽  
Author(s):  
J L Bushman ◽  
A I Asuru ◽  
R L Matts ◽  
A G Hinnebusch

Starvation of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae for an amino acid signals increased translation of GCN4, a transcriptional activator of amino acid biosynthetic genes. We have isolated and characterized the GCD6 and GCD7 genes and shown that their products are required to repress GCN4 translation under nonstarvation conditions. We find that both GCD6 and GCD7 show sequence similarities to components of a high-molecular-weight complex (the GCD complex) that appears to be the yeast equivalent of translation initiation factor 2B (eIF-2B), which catalyzes GDP-GTP exchange on eIF-2. Furthermore, we show that GCD6 is 30% identical to the largest subunit of eIF-2B isolated from rabbit reticulocytes. Deletion of either GCD6 or GCD7 is lethal, and nonlethal mutations in these genes increase GCN4 translation in the same fashion described for defects in known subunits of eIF-2 or the GCD complex; derepression of GCN4 is dependent on short open reading frames in the GCN4 mRNA leader and occurs independently of eIF-2 alpha phosphorylation by protein kinase GCN2, which is normally required to stimulate GCN4 translation. Together, our results provide evidence that GCD6 and GCD7 are subunits of eIF-2B in S. cerevisiae and further implicate this GDP-GTP exchange factor in gene-specific translational control.


1996 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 892-898 ◽  
Author(s):  
D J Hockman ◽  
M C Schultz

Casein kinase II (CKII) is a ubiquitous and highly conserved serine/threonine protein kinase found in the nucleus and cytoplasm of most cells. Using a combined biochemical and genetic approach in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, we assessed the role of CKII in specific transcription by RNA polymerases I, II, and III. CKII is not required for basal transcription by RNA polymerases I and II but is important for polymerase III transcription. Polymerase III transcription is high in extracts with normal CKII activity but low in extracts from a temperature-sensitive mutant that has decreased CKII activity due to a lesion in the enzyme's catalytic alpha' subunit. Polymerase III transcription of 5S rRNA and tRNA templates in the temperature-sensitive extract is rescued by purified, wild-type CKII. An inhibitor of CKII represses polymerase III transcription in wild-type extract, and this repression is partly overcome by supplementing reaction mixtures with active CKII. Finally, we show that polymerase III transcription in vivo is impaired when CKII is inactivated. Our results demonstrate that CKII, an oncogenic protein kinase previously implicated in cell cycle and growth control, is required for high-level transcription by RNA polymerase III.


2018 ◽  
Vol 475 (8) ◽  
pp. 1523-1534 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcos Caballero-Molada ◽  
María D. Planes ◽  
Helena Benlloch ◽  
Sergio Atares ◽  
Miguel A. Naranjo ◽  
...  

In eukaryotic cells, amino acid biosynthesis is feedback-inhibited by amino acids through inhibition of the conserved protein kinase Gcn2. This decreases phosphorylation of initiation factor eIF2α, resulting in general activation of translation but inhibition of translation of mRNA for transcription factor (TF) Gcn4 in yeast or ATF4 in mammals. These TFs are positive regulators of amino acid biosynthetic genes. As several enzymes of amino acid biosynthesis contain iron–sulfur clusters (ISCs) and iron excess is toxic, iron and amino acid homeostasis should be co-ordinated. Working with the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, we found that amino acid supplementation down-regulates expression of genes for iron uptake and decreases intracellular iron content. This cross-regulation requires Aft1, the major TF activated by iron scarcity, as well as Gcn2 and phosphorylatable eIF2α but not Gcn4. A mutant with constitutive activity of Gcn2 (GCN2c) shows less repression of iron transport genes by amino acids and increased nuclear localization of Aft1 in an iron-poor medium, and increases iron content in this medium. As Aft1 is activated by depletion of mitochondrial ISCs, it is plausible that the Gcn2–eIF2α pathway inhibits the formation of these complexes. Accordingly, the GCN2c mutant has strongly reduced activity of succinate dehydrogenase, an iron–sulfur mitochondrial enzyme, and is unable to grow in media with very low iron or with galactose instead of glucose, conditions where formation of ISCs is specially needed. This mechanism adjusts the uptake of iron to the needs of amino acid biosynthesis and expands the list of Gcn4-independent activities of the Gcn2–eIF2α regulatory system.


1991 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 3105-3114
Author(s):  
J Schnier ◽  
H G Schwelberger ◽  
Z Smit-McBride ◽  
H A Kang ◽  
J W Hershey

Translation intitiation factor eIF-5A (previously named eIF-4D) is a highly conserved protein that promotes formation of the first peptide bond. One of its lysine residues is modified by spermidine to form hypusine, a posttranslational modification unique to eIF-5A. To elucidate the function of eIF-5A and determine the role of its hypusine modification, the cDNA encoding human eIF-5A was used as a probe to identify and clone the corresponding genes from the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Two genes named TIF51A and TIF51B were cloned and sequenced. The two yeast proteins are closely related, sharing 90% sequence identity, and each is ca. 63% identical to the human protein. The purified protein expressed from the TIF51A gene substitutes for HeLa eIF-5A in the mammalian methionyl-puromycin synthesis assay. Strains lacking the A form of eIF-5A, constructed by disruption of TIF51A with LEU2, grow slowly, whereas strains lacking the B form, in which HIS3 was used to disrupt TIF51B, show no growth rate phenotype. However, strains with both TIF51A and TIF51B disrupted are not viable, indicating that eIF-5a is essential for cell growth in yeast cells. Northern (RNA) blot analysis shows two mRNA species, a larger mRNA (0.9 kb) transcribed from TIF51A and a smaller mRNA (0.8 kb) encoded by TIF51B. Under the aerobic growth conditions of this study, the 0.8-kb TIF51B transcript is not detected in the wild-type strain and is expressed only when TIF51A is disrupted. The TIF51A gene was altered by site-directed mutagenesis at the site of hypusination by changing the Lys codon to that for Arg, thereby producing a stable protein that retains the positive charge but is not modified to the hypusine derivative. The plasmid shuffle technique was used to replace the wild-type gene with the mutant form, resulting in failure of the yeast cells to grow. This result indicates that hypusine very likely is required for the vital in vivo function of eIF-5A and suggests a precise, essential role for the polyamine spermidine in cell metabolism.


1985 ◽  
Vol 5 (8) ◽  
pp. 1839-1846 ◽  
Author(s):  
S B Baim ◽  
D F Pietras ◽  
D C Eustice ◽  
F Sherman

The CYC1-239-O mutation in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae produces a -His-Leu- replacement of the normal -Ala-Gly- sequence at amino acid positions 5 and 6, which lie within a dispensable region of iso-1-cytochrome c; this mutation can accommodate the formation of a hairpin structure at the corresponding site in the mRNA. The amount of the altered protein was diminished to 20% of the wild-type level, whereas the amount of the mRNA remained normal. However, in contrast to the normal CYC1+ mRNA that is associated mainly with four to seven ribosomes, the bulk of the CYC1-239-O mRNA is associated with one to four ribosomes. These results suggest that the stable secondary structure within the translated region of the CYC1 mRNA diminishes translation by inhibiting elongation.


1994 ◽  
Vol 14 (8) ◽  
pp. 5569-5578 ◽  
Author(s):  
K Mitsui ◽  
S Yaguchi ◽  
K Tsurugi

A gene with an open reading frame encoding a protein of 417 amino acid residues with a Gly-Thr repeat was isolated from the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae by using synthetic oligonucleotides encoding three Gly-Thr dimers as probes. The deduced amino acid sequence showed partial homology to the clock-affecting gene, per, of Drosophila melanogaster in the regions including the GT repeat. The function of the gene, named GTS1, was examined by characterizing the phenotypes of transformants with different copy numbers of the GTS1 gene produced either by inactivating the GTS1 gene by gene disruption (TM delta gts1) or by transformation with multicopy plasmid pPER119 (TMpGTS1). They grew at similar rates during the exponential growth phase, but the lag phases were shorter for TM delta gts1 and longer for TMpGTS1 cells than that for the wild type. Analyses of their cell cycle parameters using synchronized cells revealed that the unbudding period changed as a function of gene dosage; that is, the periods of TM delta gts1 and TMpGTS1 were about 20% shorter and longer, respectively, than that of the wild-type. Another significant change in the transformants was detected in the distribution of the cell size. The mean cell volume of the TM delta gts1 cells in the unbudded period (single cells) was 27% smaller than that of single wild-type cells, whereas that of single TMpGTS1 cells was 48% larger. Furthermore, in the temperature-sensitive cdc4 mutant, the GTS1 gene affected the timing of budding at the restrictive temperature. Thus, the GTS1 gene product appears to modulate the timing of budding to obtain an appropriate cell size independent of the DNA replication cycle.


1980 ◽  
Vol 192 (2) ◽  
pp. 659-664 ◽  
Author(s):  
J R Woodward ◽  
H L Kornberg

Cells of the wild-type yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) strain Y185, grown under conditions that de-repress the formation of a general amino acid permease (‘Gap’) system, bind delta-N-chloroacetyl[1-(14)C]ornithine; L- and D-amino acid substrates of the general amino acid permease system protect against this binding. The protein responsible is released from the cells by homogenization or by preparation of protoplasts; it is not released by osmotic shock. This protein is virtually absent from the wild-type strain when it is grown under conditions that repress the general amino acid permease system, and is also absent from a Gap- mutant Y185-His3, selected by its resistance to D-amino acids. This mutant and repressed wild-type cells also fail to form a number of membrane proteins elaborated by de-repressed wild-type cells. It is possible that all these proteins are components of the general amino acid permease system.


1981 ◽  
Vol 196 (2) ◽  
pp. 531-536 ◽  
Author(s):  
J R Woodward ◽  
H L Kornberg

The general amino acid permease (‘Gap’) system of the wild-type yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) strain Y185 is inhibited by the uptake and accumulation of its substrate amino acids. Surprisingly, this inhibition persists even after ‘pools’ of amino acids, accumulated initially, have returned to normal sizes. Recovery from this inhibition depends on a supply of energy and involves the synthesis of a membrane protein component of the Gap system.


1991 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 3105-3114 ◽  
Author(s):  
J Schnier ◽  
H G Schwelberger ◽  
Z Smit-McBride ◽  
H A Kang ◽  
J W Hershey

Translation intitiation factor eIF-5A (previously named eIF-4D) is a highly conserved protein that promotes formation of the first peptide bond. One of its lysine residues is modified by spermidine to form hypusine, a posttranslational modification unique to eIF-5A. To elucidate the function of eIF-5A and determine the role of its hypusine modification, the cDNA encoding human eIF-5A was used as a probe to identify and clone the corresponding genes from the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Two genes named TIF51A and TIF51B were cloned and sequenced. The two yeast proteins are closely related, sharing 90% sequence identity, and each is ca. 63% identical to the human protein. The purified protein expressed from the TIF51A gene substitutes for HeLa eIF-5A in the mammalian methionyl-puromycin synthesis assay. Strains lacking the A form of eIF-5A, constructed by disruption of TIF51A with LEU2, grow slowly, whereas strains lacking the B form, in which HIS3 was used to disrupt TIF51B, show no growth rate phenotype. However, strains with both TIF51A and TIF51B disrupted are not viable, indicating that eIF-5a is essential for cell growth in yeast cells. Northern (RNA) blot analysis shows two mRNA species, a larger mRNA (0.9 kb) transcribed from TIF51A and a smaller mRNA (0.8 kb) encoded by TIF51B. Under the aerobic growth conditions of this study, the 0.8-kb TIF51B transcript is not detected in the wild-type strain and is expressed only when TIF51A is disrupted. The TIF51A gene was altered by site-directed mutagenesis at the site of hypusination by changing the Lys codon to that for Arg, thereby producing a stable protein that retains the positive charge but is not modified to the hypusine derivative. The plasmid shuffle technique was used to replace the wild-type gene with the mutant form, resulting in failure of the yeast cells to grow. This result indicates that hypusine very likely is required for the vital in vivo function of eIF-5A and suggests a precise, essential role for the polyamine spermidine in cell metabolism.


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