scholarly journals Transport of a fluorescent macromolecule via endosomes to the vacuole in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

1987 ◽  
Vol 104 (1) ◽  
pp. 67-75 ◽  
Author(s):  
M Makarow ◽  
L T Nevalainen

Fluorescein isothiocyanate-conjugated dextran (FITC-dextran) is internalized by endocytosis into the lysosome-like vacuoles of Saccharomyces cerevisiae (Makarow, M., 1985, EMBO (Eur. Mol. Biol. Organ.) J. 4:1861-1866). Here we show that under energy depletion conditions FITC-dextran accumulated in a cytoplasmic compartment, from which it could be chased to the vacuole when the energy block was removed. The internal pH of the intermediate compartment under energy depletion was determined by fluorometry to be 5.8. The pH could be raised by the lysosomotropic agent ammonium chloride, the protonophore carbonyl cyanide p-trifluoromethoxyphenyl-hydrazone (CCCP) and the ATPase inhibitors dicyclohexylcarbodiimide (DCCD) and sodium vanadate. The pH of the vacuole was found to be 6.5. It was raised by ammonium chloride, CCCP, and DCCD, but not with sodium vanadate. Efrapeptin had no effect on the internal pH of either compartment. By dissecting the endocytic pathway, two portions of the route leading to the vacuole could be studied separately. The internalization of FITC-dextran from the extracellular fluid to the intermediate compartment followed linear kinetics, was independent of energy, and occurred at temperatures of between 15 degrees and 37 degrees C. Transfer of the marker from the intermediate compartment to the vacuole required energy, took place at temperatures between 19 degrees and 37 degrees C, and had a half-time of 7 min at 37 degrees C. Transport of the marker from the exterior of the cell to the vacuole did not require acidic pH values in the intermediate compartment or the vacuole. We suggest that the cytoplasmic compartment revealed by FITC-dextran, under energy depletion, represents the equivalent of the endosomes of mammalian cells.

2006 ◽  
Vol 26 (10) ◽  
pp. 3752-3763 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter H. Thorpe ◽  
Vanessa A. Marrero ◽  
Margaret H. Savitzky ◽  
Ivana Sunjevaric ◽  
Tom C. Freeman ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT The RAD52 gene is essential for homologous recombination in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. RAD52 is the archetype in an epistasis group of genes essential for DNA damage repair. By catalyzing the replacement of replication protein A with Rad51 on single-stranded DNA, Rad52 likely promotes strand invasion of a double-stranded DNA molecule by single-stranded DNA. Although the sequence and in vitro functions of mammalian RAD52 are conserved with those of yeast, one difference is the presence of introns and consequent splicing of the mammalian RAD52 pre-mRNA. We identified two novel splice variants from the RAD52 gene that are expressed in adult mouse tissues. Expression of these splice variants in tissue culture cells elevates the frequency of recombination that uses a sister chromatid template. To characterize this dominant phenotype further, the RAD52 gene from the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae was truncated to model the mammalian splice variants. The same dominant sister chromatid recombination phenotype seen in mammalian cells was also observed in yeast. Furthermore, repair from a homologous chromatid is reduced in yeast, implying that the choice of alternative repair pathways may be controlled by these variants. In addition, a dominant DNA repair defect induced by one of the variants in yeast is suppressed by overexpression of RAD51, suggesting that the Rad51-Rad52 interaction is impaired.


2001 ◽  
Vol 154 (2) ◽  
pp. 331-344 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Kornitzer ◽  
Rakefet Sharf ◽  
Tamar Kleinberger

Adenovirus early region 4 open reading frame 4 (E4orf4) protein has been reported to induce p53-independent, protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A)–dependent apoptosis in transformed mammalian cells. In this report, we show that E4orf4 induces an irreversible growth arrest in Saccharomyces cerevisiae at the G2/M phase of the cell cycle. Growth inhibition requires the presence of yeast PP2A-Cdc55, and is accompanied by accumulation of reactive oxygen species. E4orf4 expression is synthetically lethal with mutants defective in mitosis, including Cdc28/Cdk1 and anaphase-promoting complex/cyclosome (APC/C) mutants. Although APC/C activity is inhibited in the presence of E4orf4, Cdc28/Cdk1 is activated and partially counteracts the E4orf4-induced cell cycle arrest. The E4orf4–PP2A complex physically interacts with the APC/C, suggesting that E4orf4 functions by directly targeting PP2A to the APC/C, thereby leading to its inactivation. Finally, we show that E4orf4 can induce G2/M arrest in mammalian cells before apoptosis, indicating that E4orf4-induced events in yeast and mammalian cells are highly conserved.


1992 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 1357-1365
Author(s):  
J M Nigro ◽  
R Sikorski ◽  
S I Reed ◽  
B Vogelstein

Human wild-type and mutant p53 genes were expressed under the control of a galactose-inducible promoter in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The growth rate of the yeast was reduced in cells expressing wild-type p53, whereas cells transformed with mutant p53 genes derived from human tumors were less affected. Coexpression of the normal p53 protein with the human cell cycle-regulated protein kinase CDC2Hs resulted in much more pronounced growth inhibition that for p53 alone. Cells expressing p53 and CDC2Hs were partially arrested in G1, as determined by morphological analysis and flow cytometry. p53 was phosphorylated when expressed in the yeast, but differences in phosphorylation did not explain the growth inhibition attributable to coexpression of p53 and CDC2Hs. These results suggest that wild-type p53 has a growth-inhibitory activity in S. cerevisiae similar to that observed in mammalian cells and suggests that this yeast may provide a useful model for defining the pathways through which p53 acts.


Genetics ◽  
2003 ◽  
Vol 165 (2) ◽  
pp. 707-720
Author(s):  
Jose Oca-Cossio ◽  
Lesley Kenyon ◽  
Huiling Hao ◽  
Carlos T Moraes

Abstract The possibility of expressing mitochondrial DNA-coded genes in the nuclear-cytoplasmic compartment provides an attractive system for genetic treatment of mitochondrial disorders associated with mitochondrial DNA mutations. In theory, by recoding mitochondrial genes to adapt them to the universal genetic code and by adding a DNA sequence coding for a mitochondrial-targeting sequence, one could achieve correct localization of the gene product. Such transfer has occurred in nature, and certain species of algae and plants express a number of polypeptides that are commonly coded by mtDNA in the nuclear-cytoplasmic compartment. In the present study, allotopic expression of three different mtDNA-coded polypeptides (ATPase8, apocytochrome b, and ND4) into COS-7 and HeLa cells was analyzed. Among these, only ATPase8 was correctly expressed and localized to mitochondria. The full-length, as well as truncated forms, of apocytochrome b and ND4 decorated the periphery of mitochondria, but also aggregated in fiber-like structures containing tubulin and in some cases also vimentin. The addition of a hydrophilic tail (EGFP) to the C terminus of these polypeptides did not change their localization. Overexpression of molecular chaperones also did not have a significant effect in preventing aggregations. Allotopic expression of apocytochrome b and ND4 induced a loss of mitochondrial membrane potential in transfected cells, which can lead to cell death. Our observations suggest that only a subset of mitochondrial genes can be replaced allotopically. Analyses of the hydrophobic patterns of different polypeptides suggest that hydrophobicity of the N-terminal segment is the main determinant for the importability of peptides into mammalian mitochondria.


1992 ◽  
Vol 12 (9) ◽  
pp. 4084-4092
Author(s):  
P C McCabe ◽  
H Haubruck ◽  
P Polakis ◽  
F McCormick ◽  
M A Innis

The rap1A gene encodes a 21-kDa, ras-related GTP-binding protein (p21rap1A) of unknown function. A close structural homolog of p21rap1A (65% identity in the amino-terminal two-thirds) is the RSR1 gene product (Rsr1p) of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Although Rsr1p is not essential for growth, its presence is required for nonrandom selection of bud sites. To assess the similarity of these proteins at the functional level, wild-type and mutant forms of p21rap1A were tested for complementation of activities known to be fulfilled by Rsr1p. Expression of p21rap1A, like multicopy expression of RSR1, suppressed the conditional lethality of a temperature-sensitive cdc24 mutation. Point mutations predicted to affect the localization of p21rap1A or its ability to cycle between GDP and GTP-bound states disrupted suppression of cdc24ts, while other mutations in the 61-65 loop region improved suppression. Expression of p21rap1A could not, however, suppress the random budding phenotype of rsr1 cells. p21rap1A also apparently interfered with the normal activity of Rsrlp, causing random budding in diploid wild-type cells, suggesting an inability of p21rap1A to interact appropriately with Rsr1p regulatory proteins. Consistent with this hypothesis, we found an Rsr1p-specific GTPase-activating protein (GAP) activity in yeast membranes which was not active toward p21rap1A, indicating that p21rap1A may be predominantly GTP bound in yeast cells. Coexpression of human Rap1-specific GAP suppressed the random budding due to expression of p21rap1A or its derivatives, including Rap1AVal-12. Although Rap1-specific GAP stimulated the GTPase of Rsr1p in vitro, it did not dominantly interfere with Rsr1p function in vivo. A chimera consisting of Rap1A1-165::Rsr1p166-272 did not exhibit normal Rsr1p function in the budding pathway. These results indicated that p21rap1A and Rsr1p share at least partial functional homology, which may have implications for p21rap1A function in mammalian cells.


1996 ◽  
Vol 7 (12) ◽  
pp. 1909-1919 ◽  
Author(s):  
M Ziman ◽  
J S Chuang ◽  
R W Schekman

In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the synthesis of chitin, a cell-wall polysaccharide, is temporally and spatially regulated with respect to the cell cycle and morphogenesis. Using immunological reagents, we found that steady-state levels of Chs1p and Chs3p, two chitin synthase enzymes, did not fluctuate during the cell cycle, indicating that they are not simply regulated by synthesis and degradation. Previous cell fractionation studies demonstrated that chitin synthase I activity (CSI) exists in a plasma membrane form and in intracellular membrane-bound particles called chitosomes. Chitosomes were proposed to act as a reservoir for regulated transport of chitin synthase enzymes to the division septum. We found that Chs1p and Chs3p resided partly in chitosomes and that this distribution was not cell cycle regulated. Pulse-chase cell fractionation experiments showed that chitosome production was blocked in an endocytosis mutant (end4-1), indicating that endocytosis is required for the formation or maintenance of chitosomes. Additionally, Ste2p, internalized by ligand-induced endocytosis, cofractionated with chitosomes, suggesting that these membrane proteins populate the same endosomal compartment. However, in contrast to Ste2p, Chs1p and Chs3p were not rapidly degraded, thus raising the possibility that the temporal and spatial regulation of chitin synthesis is mediated by the mobilization of an endosomal pool of chitin synthase enzymes.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Reem Hanna

<p>Peloruside A, a natural product isolated from the marine sponge Mycale hentscheli, is a microtubule-stabilising agent that has a similar mechanism of action to the anticancer drug paclitaxel and is cytotoxic to cultured mammalian cells. Peloruside appears to bind to a distinct site on mammalian tubulin that is different from that of the taxoid-site drugs. Because of the high sequence homology between yeast and mammalian tubulin, Saccharomyces cerevisiae (S. cerevisiae) was used as a model organism to characterise the peloruside-binding site with the aim of advancing our understanding about this site on mammalian tubulin. Wild type S. cerevisiae (BY4741) was sensitive to peloruside at uM concentrations; however, a strain that lacks the mad2 (Mitotic Arrest Deficient 2) gene showed increased sensitivity to the drug at much lower uM concentrations. This gene is a component of the spindle-assembly checkpoint complex that delays the onset of anaphase in cells with defects in mitotic spindle assembly. The main aims of this project were to define the binding site of peloruside A using yeast tubulin to see if microtubule function and/or morphology is altered in yeast by peloruside, and to identify any secondary drug targets "friends of the target" through chemical genetic interactions profiling (Homozygous deletion profiling microarray). Site-directed mutagenesis was used to mutate two conserved amino acids (A296T; R306H) known to confer resistance to peloruside in mammalian cells. Based on a published computer model of the peloruside binding site on mammalian tubulin, we also mutated three other amino acids, two that were predicted to affect peloruside binding (Q291M and N337L), and one that was predicted to affect laulimalide binding but have little affect on peloruside binding (V333W). We also included a negative control that was predicted to have no effect on peloruside binding (R282Q) and would affect epothilone binding. We found that of the six point mutations, only Q291M failed to confer resistance in yeast and instead it increased the inhibition to the drug. Using a bud index assay, confocal microscopy, and flow cytometry, 40-50 uM peloruside was shown to block cells in G2/M of the cell cycle, confirming a direct action of the drug on microtubule function. Homozygous profiling (HOP) microarray analysis of a deletion mutant set of yeast genes was also carried out to identify gene products that interact with peloruside in order to link the drug to specific networks or biochemical pathways in the cells. From site-directed mutagenesis, we concluded that peloruside binds to yeast B-tubulin in the region predicted by the published model of the binding site, and therefore mapping the site on yeast tubulin could provide useful information about the mammalian binding site for peloruside. The bud index, flow cytometry, and confocal microscopy experiments provided further evidence that peloruside interacts with yeast tubulin. From HOP we found that peloruside has roles in the cell cycle, as expected, and has effects on protein transport, secretion, cell wall synthesis, and steroid biosynthesis pathways.</p>


2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-21 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cheng Jin

Glycosylation is a conserved posttranslational modification that is found in all eukaryotes, which helps generate proteins with multiple functions. Our knowledge of glycosylation mainly comes from the investigation of the yeastSaccharomyces cerevisiaeand mammalian cells. However, during the last decade, glycosylation in the human pathogenic moldAspergillus fumigatushas drawn significant attention. It has been revealed that glycosylation inA. fumigatusis crucial for its growth, cell wall synthesis, and development and that the process is more complicated than that found in the budding yeastS. cerevisiae. The present paper implies that the investigation of glycosylation inA. fumigatusis not only vital for elucidating the mechanism of fungal cell wall synthesis, which will benefit the design of new antifungal therapies, but also helps to understand the role of protein glycosylation in the development of multicellular eukaryotes. This paper describes the advances in functional analysis of protein glycosylation inA. fumigatus.


2012 ◽  
Vol 177 (1) ◽  
pp. 70-80 ◽  
Author(s):  
Unai Silván ◽  
Céline Boiteux ◽  
Rosmarie Sütterlin ◽  
Ulrich Schroeder ◽  
Hans Georg Mannherz ◽  
...  

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