Lipid Rafts in Protein Sorting and Cell Polarity in Budding Yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae

2002 ◽  
Vol 383 (10) ◽  
pp. 1475-1480 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Bagnat ◽  
K. Simons

Abstract Cellular membranes contain many types and species of lipids. One of the most important functional consequences of this heterogeneity is the existence of microdomains within the plane of the membrane. Sphingolipid acyl chains have the ability of forming tightly packed platforms together with sterols. These platforms or lipid rafts constitute segregation and sorting devices into which proteins specifically associate. In budding yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, lipid rafts serve as sorting platforms for proteins destined to the cell surface. The segregation capacity of rafts also provides the basis for the polarization of proteins at the cell surface during mating. Here we discuss some recent findings that stress the role of lipid rafts as key players in yeast protein sorting and cell polarity.

2006 ◽  
Vol 5 (10) ◽  
pp. 1611-1621 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tian Ye ◽  
Raúl García-Salcedo ◽  
José Ramos ◽  
Stefan Hohmann

ABSTRACT Gis4 is a new component of the system required for acquisition of salt tolerance in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The gis4Δ mutant is sensitive to Na+ and Li+ ions but not to osmotic stress. Genetic evidence suggests that Gis4 mediates its function in salt tolerance, at least partly, together with the Snf1 protein kinase and in parallel with the calcineurin protein phosphatase. When exposed to salt stress, mutants lacking gis4Δ display a defect in maintaining low intracellular levels of Na+ and Li+ ions and exporting those ions from the cell. This defect is due to diminished expression of the ENA1 gene, which encodes the Na+ and Li+ export pump. The protein sequence of Gis4 is poorly conserved and does not reveal any hints to its molecular function. Gis4 is enriched at the cell surface, probably due to C-terminal farnesylation. The CAAX box at the C terminus is required for cell surface localization but does not seem to be strictly essential for the function of Gis4 in salt tolerance. Gis4 and Snf1 seem to share functions in the control of ion homeostasis and ENA1 expression but not in glucose derepression, the best known role of Snf1. Together with additional evidence that links Gis4 genetically and physically to Snf1, it appears that Gis4 may function in a pathway in which Snf1 plays a specific role in controlling ion homeostasis. Hence, it appears that the conserved Snf1 kinase plays roles in different pathways controlling nutrient as well as stress response.


1992 ◽  
Vol 70 (10-11) ◽  
pp. 946-953
Author(s):  
Adele Rowley ◽  
Gerald C. Johnston ◽  
Richard A. Singer

The eukaryotic cell cycle is regulated at two points, the G1-S and G2-M boundaries. The molecular basis for these regulatory activities has recently been elucidated, in large part by the use of molecular and genetic analyses using unicellular yeast. The molecular characterization of cell-cycle regulation has revealed striking functional conservation among evolutionarily diverse cell types. For many eukaryotic cells, regulation of cell proliferation occurs primarily in the G1 interval. The G2 regulatory step, termed start, requires the activation of a highly conserved p34 protein kinase by association with a functionally redundant family of proteins, the G1 cyclins. Here we review studies using the genetically tractable budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, which have provided insight into the role of G1 cyclins in the regulation of start.Key words: cell cycle, cyclin proteins, cdc2 protein kinase, start.


Genetics ◽  
1994 ◽  
Vol 136 (4) ◽  
pp. 1287-1296 ◽  
Author(s):  
J Chenevert ◽  
N Valtz ◽  
I Herskowitz

Abstract In response to mating pheromones, cells of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae adopt a polarized "shmoo" morphology, in which the cytoskeleton and proteins involved in mating are localized to a cell-surface projection. This polarization is presumed to reflect the oriented morphogenesis that occurs between mating partners to facilitate cell and nuclear fusion. To identify genes involved in pheromone-induced cell polarization, we have isolated mutants defective in mating to an enfeebled partner and studied a subset of these mutants. The 34 mutants of interest are proficient for pheromone production, arrest in response to pheromone, mate to wild-type strains, and exhibit normal cell polarity during vegetative growth. The mutants were divided into classes based on their morphological responses to mating pheromone. One class is unable to localize cell-surface growth in response to mating factor and instead enlarges in a uniform manner. These mutants harbor special alleles of genes required for cell polarization during vegetative growth, BEM1 and CDC24. Another class of mutants forms bilobed, peanut-like shapes when treated with pheromone and defines two genes, PEA1 and PEA2. PEA1 is identical to SPA2. A third class forms normally shaped but tiny shmoos and defines the gene TNY1. A final group of mutants exhibits apparently normal shmoo morphology. The nature of their mating defect is yet to be determined. We discuss the possible roles of these gene products in establishing cell polarity during mating.


1990 ◽  
Vol 111 (1) ◽  
pp. 131-142 ◽  
Author(s):  
A E Adams ◽  
D I Johnson ◽  
R M Longnecker ◽  
B F Sloat ◽  
J R Pringle

Budding in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae involves a polarized deposition of new cell surface material that is associated with a highly asymmetric disposition of the actin cytoskeleton. Mutants defective in gene CDC24, which are unable to bud or establish cell polarity, have been of great interest with regard to both the mechanisms of cellular morphogenesis and the mechanisms that coordinate cell-cycle events. To gain further insights into these problems, we sought additional mutants with defects in budding. We report here that temperature-sensitive mutants defective in genes CDC42 and CDC43, like cdc24 mutants, fail to bud but continue growth at restrictive temperature, and thus arrest as large unbudded cells. Nearly all of the arrested cells appear to begin nuclear cycles (as judged by the occurrence of DNA replication and the formation and elongation of mitotic spindles), and many go on to complete nuclear division, supporting the hypothesis that the events associated with budding and those of the nuclear cycle represent two independent pathways within the cell cycle. The arrested mutant cells display delocalized cell-surface deposition associated with a loss of asymmetry of the actin cytoskeleton. CDC42 maps distal to the rDNA on chromosome XII and CDC43 maps near lys5 on chromosome VII.


Microbiology ◽  
1997 ◽  
Vol 143 (6) ◽  
pp. 1867-1876 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. A. Radcliffe ◽  
K. M. Binley ◽  
J. Trevethick ◽  
M. Hall ◽  
P. E. Sudbery

1990 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 175-179 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Baranowska ◽  
D. Zaborowska ◽  
W. J. Jachymczyk ◽  
J. Żuk

1991 ◽  
Vol 37 (5) ◽  
pp. 397-403 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hiroshi Kuriyama ◽  
Itaru Umeda ◽  
Harumi Kobayashi

Asexual yeast flocculation was studied using strong flocculents of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The inhibitory effect of cations on flocculation is considered to be caused by competition between those cations and Ca2+ at the binding site of the Ca2+-requiring protein that is involved in flocculation. Inhibition of flocculation by various cations occurred in the following order: La3+, Sr2+, Ba2+, Mn2+, Al3+, and Na+. Cations such as Mg2+, Co2+, and K+ promoted flocculation. This promoting effect may be based on the reduction of electrostatic repulsive force between cells caused by binding of these cations anionic groups present on the cell surface. In flocculation induced by these cations, trace amounts of Ca2+ excreted on the cell surface may activate the corresponding protein. The ratio of Sr2+/Ca2+ below which cells flocculated varied among strains: for strains having the FLO5 gene, it was 400 to 500; for strains having the FLO1 gene, about 150; and for two alcohol yeast strains, 40 to 50. This suggests that there are several different types of cell surface proteins involved in flocculation in different yeast strains. Key words: yeast, flocculation, protein, cation, calcium.


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