scholarly journals Loss of the TOR Kinase Tor2 Mimics Nitrogen Starvation and Activates the Sexual Development Pathway in Fission Yeast

2007 ◽  
Vol 27 (8) ◽  
pp. 3154-3164 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tomohiko Matsuo ◽  
Yoko Otsubo ◽  
Jun Urano ◽  
Fuyuhiko Tamanoi ◽  
Masayuki Yamamoto

ABSTRACT Fission yeast has two TOR (target of rapamycin) kinases, namely Tor1 and Tor2. Tor1 is required for survival under stressed conditions, proper G1 arrest, and sexual development. In contrast, Tor2 is essential for growth. To analyze the functions of Tor2, we constructed two temperature-sensitive tor2 mutants. Interestingly, at the restrictive temperature, these mutants mimicked nitrogen starvation by arresting the cell cycle in G1 phase and initiating sexual development. Microarray analysis indicated that expression of nitrogen starvation-responsive genes was induced extensively when Tor2 function was suppressed, suggesting that Tor2 normally mediates a signal from the nitrogen source. As with mammalian and budding yeast TOR, we find that fission yeast TOR also forms multiprotein complexes analogous to TORC1 and TORC2. The raptor homologue, Mip1, likely forms a complex predominantly with Tor2, producing TORC1. The rictor/Avo3 homologue, Ste20, and the Avo1 homologue, Sin1, appear to form TORC2 mainly with Tor1 but may also bind Tor2. The Lst8 homologue, Wat1, binds to both Tor1 and Tor2. Our analysis shows, with respect to promotion of G1 arrest and sexual development, that the loss of Tor1 (TORC2) and the loss of Tor2 (TORC1) exhibit opposite effects. This highlights an intriguing functional relationship among TOR kinase complexes in the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe.

1995 ◽  
Vol 108 (3) ◽  
pp. 895-905 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Kumada ◽  
S. Su ◽  
M. Yanagida ◽  
T. Toda

Fission yeast nuc2+ gene encodes a protein of a tetratricopeptide repeat (TPR) family which is conserved throughout evolution. We previously showed that nuc2 is required for exit from the mitotic metaphase. In this study, we present evidence which shows that nuc2 has two additional roles in the cell cycle. We showed that the nuc2 mutant is sterile even at the permissive temperature and septation occurs in the absence of chromosome separation at the restrictive temperature. The nuc2 mutant fails to arrest at the G1 phase upon nitrogen starvation at the permissive temperature which is a prerequisite for conjugation. Upon starvation, however, the nuc2 mutant ceased division normally and induced starvation-dependent gene expression. Therefore, the nuc2 mutant is deficient only for failure to block DNA replication upon starvation. At the lower restrictive temperature, the nuc2 mutant showed a ‘cut’ phenotype where septation and cytokinesis takes place without the completion of mitosis. Ectopic overexpression of the nuc2+ gene caused multiple rounds of S and M phases in the complete absence of septum formation. We propose that nuc2 is a novel cell cycle regulator essential for three events; firstly for exit from mitosis, secondly for DNA replication restraint under nutrient starvation and thirdly for inhibition of septation and cytokinesis until the completion of mitosis.


1999 ◽  
Vol 112 (4) ◽  
pp. 559-567 ◽  
Author(s):  
D.T. Liang ◽  
J.A. Hodson ◽  
S.L. Forsburg

MCM proteins are a conserved family of eukaryotic replication factors implicated in the initiation of DNA replication and in the discrimination between replicated and unreplicated chromatin. However, most mcm mutants in yeast arrest the cell cycle after bulk DNA synthesis has occurred. We investigated the basis for this late S phase arrest by analyzing the effects of a temperature-sensitive mutation in fission yeast cdc19(+)(mcm2(+)). cdc19-P1 cells show a dramatic loss of viability at the restrictive temperature, which is not typical of all S phase mutants. The cdc19-P1 cell cycle arrest requires an intact damage-response checkpoint and is accompanied by increased rates of chromosome loss and mitotic recombination. Chromosomes from cdc19-P1 cells migrate aberrantly in pulsed-field gels, typical of strains arrested with unresolved replication intermediates. The cdc19-P1 mutation reduces the level of the Cdc19 protein at all temperatures. We compared the effects of disruptions of cdc19(+)(mcm2(+)), cdc21(+)(mcm4(+)), nda4(+)(mcm5(+)) and mis5(+)(mcm6(+)); in all cases, the null mutants underwent delayed S phase but were unable to proceed through the cell cycle. Examination of protein levels suggests that this delayed S phase reflects limiting, but not absent, MCM proteins. Thus, reduced dosage of MCM proteins allows replication initiation, but is insufficient for completion of S phase and cell cycle progression.


Genetics ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 154 (2) ◽  
pp. 599-607
Author(s):  
Joan Kiely ◽  
S B Haase ◽  
Paul Russell ◽  
Janet Leatherwood

Abstract orp2 is an essential gene of the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe with 22% identity to budding yeast ORC2. We isolated temperature-sensitive alleles of orp2 using a novel plasmid shuffle based on selection against thymidine kinase. Cells bearing the temperature-sensitive allele orp2-2 fail to complete DNA replication at a restrictive temperature and undergo cell cycle arrest. Cell cycle arrest depends on the checkpoint genes rad1 and rad3. Even when checkpoint functions are wild type, the orp2-2 mutation causes high rates of chromosome and plasmid loss. These phenotypes support the idea that Orp2 is a replication initiation factor. Selective spore germination allowed analysis of orp2 deletion mutants. These experiments showed that in the absence of orp2 function, cells proceed into mitosis despite a lack of DNA replication. This suggests either that the Orp2 protein is a part of the checkpoint machinery or more likely that DNA replication initiation is required to induce the replication checkpoint signal.


1996 ◽  
Vol 7 (7) ◽  
pp. 1083-1094 ◽  
Author(s):  
K Lundgren ◽  
S Allan ◽  
S Urushiyama ◽  
T Tani ◽  
Y Ohshima ◽  
...  

The fission-yeast gene cdc28+ was originally identified in a screen for temperature-sensitive mutants that exhibit a cell-division cycle arrest and was found to be required for mitosis. We undertook a study of this gene to understand more fully the general requirements for entry into mitosis. Cells carrying the conditional lethal cdc28-P8 mutation divide once and arrest in G2 after being shifted to the restrictive temperature. We cloned the cdc28+ gene by complementation of the temperature-sensitive growth arrest in cdc28-P8. DNA sequence analysis indicated that cdc28+ encodes a member of the DEAH-box family of putative RNA-dependent ATPases or helicases. The Cdc28 protein is most similar to the Prp2, Prp16, and Prp22 proteins from budding yeast, which are required for the splicing of mRNA precursors. Consistent with this similarity, the cdc28-P8 mutant accumulates unspliced precursors at the restrictive temperature. Independently, we isolated a temperature-sensitive pre-mRNA splicing mutant prp8-1 that exhibits a cell-cycle phenotype identical to that of cdc28-P8. We have shown that cdc28 and prp8 are allelic. These results suggest a connection between pre-mRNA splicing and progression through the cell cycle.


Genetics ◽  
1993 ◽  
Vol 134 (1) ◽  
pp. 63-80 ◽  
Author(s):  
T A Weinert ◽  
L H Hartwell

Abstract In eucaryotes a cell cycle control called a checkpoint ensures that mitosis occurs only after chromosomes are completely replicated and any damage is repaired. The function of this checkpoint in budding yeast requires the RAD9 gene. Here we examine the role of the RAD9 gene in the arrest of the 12 cell division cycle (cdc) mutants, temperature-sensitive lethal mutants that arrest in specific phases of the cell cycle at a restrictive temperature. We found that in four cdc mutants the cdc rad9 cells failed to arrest after a shift to the restrictive temperature, rather they continued cell division and died rapidly, whereas the cdc RAD cells arrested and remained viable. The cell cycle and genetic phenotypes of the 12 cdc RAD mutants indicate the function of the RAD9 checkpoint is phase-specific and signal-specific. First, the four cdc RAD mutants that required RAD9 each arrested in the late S/G2 phase after a shift to the restrictive temperature when DNA replication was complete or nearly complete, and second, each leaves DNA lesions when the CDC gene product is limiting for cell division. Three of the four CDC genes are known to encode DNA replication enzymes. We found that the RAD17 gene is also essential for the function of the RAD9 checkpoint because it is required for phase-specific arrest of the same four cdc mutants. We also show that both X- or UV-irradiated cells require the RAD9 and RAD17 genes for delay in the G2 phase. Together, these results indicate that the RAD9 checkpoint is apparently activated only by DNA lesions and arrests cell division only in the late S/G2 phase.


1991 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 5718-5726
Author(s):  
A Rowley ◽  
R A Singer ◽  
G C Johnston

The cell cycle of the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae has been investigated through the study of conditional cdc mutations that specifically affect cell cycle performance. Cells bearing the cdc68-1 mutation (J. A. Prendergast, L. E. Murray, A. Rowley, D. R. Carruthers, R. A. Singer, and G. C. Johnston, Genetics 124:81-90, 1990) are temperature sensitive for the performance of the G1 regulatory event, START. Here we describe the CDC68 gene and present evidence that the CDC68 gene product functions in transcription. CDC68 encodes a 1,035-amino-acid protein with a highly acidic and serine-rich carboxyl terminus. The abundance of transcripts from several unrelated genes is decreased in cdc68-1 mutant cells after transfer to the restrictive temperature, while at least one transcript, from the HSP82 gene, persists in an aberrant fashion. Thus, the cdc68-1 mutation has both positive and negative effects on gene expression. Our findings complement those of Malone et al. (E. A. Malone, C. D. Clark, A. Chiang, and F. Winston, Mol. Cell. Biol. 11:5710-5717, 1991), who have independently identified the CDC68 gene (as SPT16) as a transcriptional suppressor of delta-insertion mutations. Among transcripts that rapidly become depleted in cdc68-1 mutant cells are those of the G1 cyclin genes CLN1, CLN2, and CLN3/WHI1/DAF1, whose activity has been previously shown to be required for the performance of START. The decreased abundance of cyclin transcripts in cdc68-1 mutant cells, coupled with the suppression of cdc68-1-mediated START arrest by the CLN2-1 hyperactive allele of CLN2, shows that the CDC68 gene affects START through cyclin gene expression.


1996 ◽  
Vol 109 (12) ◽  
pp. 2865-2874 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Bastians ◽  
H. Ponstingl

We identified a novel human protein serine/threonine phosphatase cDNA, designated protein phosphatase 6 (PP6) by using a homology-based polymerase chain reaction. The predicted amino acid sequence indicates a 35 kDa protein showing high homology to other protein phosphatases including human PP2A (57%), human PP4 (59%), rat PPV (98%), Drosophila PPV (74%), Schizosaccharomyces pombe ppe1 (68%) and Saccharomyces cerevisiae Sit4p (61%). In human cells, three forms of PP6 mRNA were found with highest levels of expression in testis, heart and skeletal muscle. The PP6 protein was detected in lysates of human heart muscle and in bull testis. Complementation studies using a temperature sensitive mutant strain of S. cerevisiae SIT4, which is required for the G1 to S transition of the cell cycle, showed that PP6 can rescue the mutant growth arrest. In addition, a loss of function mutant of S. pombe ppe1, described as a gene interacting with the pim1/spi1 mitotic checkpoint and involved in cell shape control, can be complemented by expression of human PP6. These data indicate that human PP6 is a functional homologue of budding yeast Sit4p and fission yeast ppe1, implying a function of PP6 in cell cycle regulation.


1987 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 775-779
Author(s):  
A Fainsod ◽  
G Diamond ◽  
M Marcus ◽  
F H Ruddle

We report here the cloning of a human cell cycle gene capable of complementing a temperature-sensitive (ts) S-phase cell cycle mutation in a Chinese hamster cell line. Cloning was performed as follows. A human genomic library in phage lambda containing 600,000 phages was screened with labeled cDNA synthesized from an mRNA fraction enriched for the specific cell cycle gene message. Plaques containing DNA inserts which hybridized to the cDNA were picked, and their DNAs were assayed for transient complementation in DNA transformation experiments. The transient complementation assay we developed is suitable for most cell cycle genes and indeed for many genes whose products are required for cell proliferation. Of 845 phages screened, 1 contained an insert active in transient complementation of the ts cell cycle mutation. Introduction of this phage into the ts cell cycle mutant also gave rise to stable transformants which grew normally at the restrictive temperature for the ts mutant cells.


2007 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 155-170 ◽  
Author(s):  
Toshiki A. Kohda ◽  
Kayoko Tanaka ◽  
Mami Konomi ◽  
Mamiko Sato ◽  
Masako Osumi ◽  
...  

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