Synthetic Lethal Screening in Protein Phosphatase Pathways

The IPL2 gene is known to be required for normal polarized cell growth in the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. We now show that IPL2 is identical to the previously identified BEM2 gene. bem2 mutants are defective in bud site selection at 26 degrees C and localized cell surface growth and organization of the actin cytoskeleton at 37 degrees C. BEM2 encodes a protein with a COOH-terminal domain homologous to sequences found in several GTPase-activating proteins, including human Bcr. The GTPase-activating protein-domain from the Bem2 protein (Bem2p) or human Bcr can functionally substitute for Bem2p. The Rho1 and Rho2 GTPases are the likely in vivo targets of Bem2p because bem2 mutant phenotypes can be partially suppressed by increasing the gene dosage of RHO1 or RHO2. CDC55 encodes the putative regulatory B subunit of protein phosphatase 2A, and mutations in BEM2 have previously been identified as suppressors of the cdc55-1 mutation. We show here that mutations in the previously identified GRR1 gene can suppress bem2 mutations. grr1 and cdc55 mutants are both elongated in shape and cold-sensitive for growth, and cells lacking both GRR1 and CDC55 exhibit a synthetic lethal phenotype. bem2 mutant phenotypes also can be suppressed by the SSD1-vl (also known as SRK1) mutation, which was shown previously to suppress mutations in the protein phosphatase-encoding SIT4 gene. Cells lacking both BEM2 and SIT4 exhibit a synthetic lethal phenotype even in the presence of the SSD1-v1 suppressor. These genetic interactions together suggest that protein phosphorylation and dephosphorylation play an important role in the BEM2-mediated process of polarized cell growth.

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The Yeast Ser/Thr Phosphatases Sit4 and Ppz1 Play Opposite Roles in Regulation of the Cell Cycle

Molecular and Cellular Biology ◽

10.1128/mcb.19.3.2408 ◽

1999 ◽

Vol 19 (3) ◽

pp. 2408-2415 ◽

Cited By ~ 56

Author(s):

Josep Clotet ◽

Eloi Garí ◽

Martí Aldea ◽

Joaquín Ariño

Keyword(s):

Cell Cycle ◽

Protein Phosphatase ◽

Slow Growth ◽

Negative Regulator ◽

Yeast Cells ◽

Growth Defect ◽

Gene Encoding ◽

Synthetic Lethal ◽

Bud Emergence ◽

Normal Transition

ABSTRACT Yeast cells overexpressing the Ser/Thr protein phosphatase Ppz1 display a slow-growth phenotype. These cells recover slowly from α-factor or nutrient depletion-induced G1 arrest, showing a considerable delay in bud emergence as well as in the expression of the G1 cyclins Cln2 and Clb5. Therefore, an excess of the Ppz1 phosphatase interferes with the normal transition from G1 to S phase. The growth defect is rescued by overexpression of the HAL3/SIS2 gene, encoding a negative regulator of Ppz1. High-copy-number expression of HAL3/SIS2has been reported to improve cell growth and to increase expression of G1 cyclins in sit4 phosphatase mutants. We show here that the described effects of HAL3/SIS2 onsit4 mutants are fully mediated by the Ppz1 phosphatase. The growth defect caused by overexpression ofPPZ1 is intensified in strains with low G1cyclin levels (such as bck2Δ or cln3Δ mutants), whereas mutation of PPZ1 rescues the synthetic lethal phenotype of sit4 cln3 mutants. These results reveal a role for Ppz1 as a regulatory component of the yeast cell cycle, reinforce the notion that Hal3/Sis2 serves as a negative modulator of the biological functions of Ppz1, and indicate that the Sit4 and Ppz1 Ser/Thr phosphatases play opposite roles in control of the G1/S transition.

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