Tyrosine phosphorylation of a yeast 40 kDa protein occurs in response to mating pheromone

Dynamic localization of Fus3 mitogen-activated protein kinase is necessary to evoke appropriate responses and avoid cytotoxic effects

Cellular responses to many external stimuli are mediated by mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs). We investigated whether dynamic intracellular movement contributes to the spatial and temporal characteristics of the responses elicited by a prototypic MAPK, Fus3, in the mating pheromone response pathway in budding yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae). Confining Fus3 in the nucleus, via fusion to a histone H2B, reduced MAPK activation and diminished all responses (pheromone-induced gene expression, cell cycle arrest, projection formation, and mating). Elimination of MAPK phosphatases restored more robust outputs for all responses, indicating that nuclear sequestration impedes full MAPK activation but does not abrogate its functional competence. Restricting Fus3 to the plasma membrane, via fusion to a lipid-modified CCaaX motif, led to MAPK hyperactivation yet severely impaired all response outputs. Fus3-CCaaX also caused aberrant cell morphology and a proliferation defect. Unlike similar phenotypes induced by pathway hyperactivation via upstream components, these deleterious effects were independent of the downstream transcription factor Ste12. Thus, appropriate cellular responses require free subcellular MAPK transit to disseminate MAPK activity optimally because preventing dynamic MAPK movement either markedly impaired signal-dependent activation and/or resulted in improper biological outputs.

Sumoylation of transcription factor Tec1 regulates signaling of mitogen-activated protein kinase pathways in yeast

Tec1 is a transcription factor in the yeast mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway that controls invasive growth. Previously we reported that a fraction of Tec1 protein is sumoylated on residue lysine 54 in normally growing cells. Here we describe regulation and functional consequences of Tec1 sumoylation. We found that activation of Kss1, the MAPK that directly activates Tec1, results in a decrease in Tec1 sumoylation and a concurrent increase of Tec1 transcriptional activity. Consistent with a role of sumoylation in inhibiting Tec1 activity, specifically increasing sumoylation of Tec1 by fusing it to the sumoylating enzyme Ubc9 leads to a dramatic decrease of Tec1 transcriptional activity. Invasive growth is also compromised in Tec1-Ubc9. In contrast, fusing sumoylation-site mutant Tec1, i.e., Tec1^K54R, to Ubc9 did not significantly alter transcriptional activation and had a less effect on invasive growth. Taken together, these findings provide evidence for regulated sumoylation as a mechanism to modulate the activity of Tec1 and validate Ubc9 fusion-directed sumoylation as a useful approach for studying protein sumoylation.

Aberrant processing of the WSC family and Mid2p cell surface sensors results in cell death of Saccharomyces cerevisiae O-mannosylation mutants

Protein O mannosylation is a crucial protein modification in uni- and multicellular eukaryotes. In humans, a lack of O-mannosyl glycans causes congenital muscular dystrophies that are associated with brain abnormalities. In yeast, protein O mannosylation is vital; however, it is not known why impaired O mannosylation results in cell death. To address this question, we analyzed the conditionally lethal Saccharomyces cerevisiae protein O-mannosyltransferase pmt2 pmt4Delta mutant. We found that pmt2 pmt4Delta cells lyse as small-budded cells in the absence of osmotic stabilization and that treatment with mating pheromone causes pheromone-induced cell death. These phenotypes are partially suppressed by overexpression of upstream elements of the protein kinase C (PKC1) cell integrity pathway, suggesting that the PKC1 pathway is defective in pmt2 pmt4Delta mutants. Congruently, induction of Mpk1p/Slt2p tyrosine phosphorylation does not occur in pmt2 pmt4Delta mutants during exposure to mating pheromone or elevated temperature. Detailed analyses of the plasma membrane sensors of the PKC1 pathway revealed that Wsc1p, Wsc2p, and Mid2p are aberrantly processed in pmt mutants. Our data suggest that in yeast, O mannosylation increases the activity of Wsc1p, Wsc2p, and Mid2p by enhancing their stability. Reduced O mannosylation leads to incorrect proteolytic processing of these proteins, which in turn results in impaired activation of the PKC1 pathway and finally causes cell death in the absence of osmotic stabilization.

MAP kinase pathways in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae

A cascade of three protein kinases known as a mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascade is commonly found as part of the signaling pathways in eukaryotic cells. Almost two decades of genetic and biochemical experimentation plus the recently completed DNA sequence of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae genome have revealed just five functionally distinct MAPK cascades in this yeast. Sexual conjugation, cell growth, and adaptation to stress, for example, all require MAPK-mediated cellular responses. A primary function of these cascades appears to be the regulation of gene expression in response to extracellular signals or as part of specific developmental processes. In addition, the MAPK cascades often appear to regulate the cell cycle and vice versa. Despite the success of the gene hunter era in revealing these pathways, there are still many significant gaps in our knowledge of the molecular mechanisms for activation of these cascades and how the cascades regulate cell function. For example, comparison of different yeast signaling pathways reveals a surprising variety of different types of upstream signaling proteins that function to activate a MAPK cascade, yet how the upstream proteins actually activate the cascade remains unclear. We also know that the yeast MAPK pathways regulate each other and interact with other signaling pathways to produce a coordinated pattern of gene expression, but the molecular mechanisms of this cross talk are poorly understood. This review is therefore an attempt to present the current knowledge of MAPK pathways in yeast and some directions for future research in this area.

Block of the cell cycle of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae by tyrphostin, an inhibitor of protein tyrosine kinase

Tyrphostins are inhibitors of the epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase. To elucidate the biological function of protein tyrosine kinases in yeast cells, a mutant hypersensitive to tyrphostin was isolated and investigated for its response to the drug. The mutation was recessive and was designated tpt1 for tyrphostin hypersensitive. A tpt1 strain cannot grow in the presence of tyrphostin, implying that a biological process sensitive to tyrphostin is essential for cell growth. Microscopic observation indicated that large-budded cells were accumulated in the presence of the inhibitor. The results suggest the involvement of protein tyrosine phosphorylation in the cell cycle progression of Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Characterization of the basal and pheromone-stimulated phosphorylation states of Ste12p

The Saccharomyces cerevisiae transcription factor Ste12p is required for basal and activated expression of pheromone-responsive genes, and for invasive growth in haploid cells. In diploid yeast, Ste12p is implicated in pseudohyphal development. The ability of Ste12p to effect these various responses in three different cell types must require stringent regulation of its transcriptional activation function and interaction with additional transcription factors. We have examined the phosphorylation state of Ste12p in untreated and pheromone-treated haploid cells, and found eight constitutively phosphorylated peptides. Phosphorylation at the constitutive sites does not require the protein kinases of the pheromone-response pathway. Treatment of haploid yeast with mating pheromone causes the appearance of novel relatively minor phosphorylations on Ste12p. Brief [35S]methionine labeling reveals novel pheromone-dependent, electrophoretically slower migrating Ste12p species. Similarly, the sole difference we observe in tryptic phosphopeptides generated from Ste12p from pheromone-treated and untreated cells is the transient appearance of two novel minor hydrophobic phosphopeptides. The pheromone-dependent phosphorylation of Ste12p requires an intact pheromone-response pathway and localization of Ste12p to the nucleus, but does not require the Ste12p DNA-binding domain. We conclude from these experiments that the pheromone-response pathway induces the formation of specific hyperphosphorylation on Ste12p, which can only be detected as apparently minor modifications in vivo. We argue that, if Ste12p is regulated by direct pheromone-responsive phosphorylation, then that phosphorylation must be represented by the two novel phosphopeptides. However, we cannot exclude the possibility that pheromone-responsive transcription is controlled by direct phosphorylation of a target other than Ste12p.

Gpi1, a Saccharomyces cerevisiae protein that participates in the first step in glycosylphosphatidylinositol anchor synthesis

The temperature-sensitive Saccharomyces cerevisiae gpi1 mutant is blocked in [3H]inositol incorporation into protein and defective in the synthesis of N-acetylglucosaminylphosphatidylinositol, the first step in glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI) anchor assembly (Leidich, S. D., Drapp, D. A., and Orlean, P. (1994) J. Biol. Chem. 269, 10193-10196). The GPI1 gene, which encodes a 609-amino acid membrane protein, was cloned by complementation of the temperature sensitivity of gpi1 and corrects the mutant's [3H]inositol labeling and enzymatic defects. Disruption of GPI1 yields viable haploid cells that are temperature-sensitive for growth, for [3H]inositol incorporation into protein, and for GPI anchor-dependent processing of the Gas1/Ggp1 protein and that lack in vitro N-acetylglucosaminylphosphatidylinositol synthetic activity. The Gpi1 protein thus participates in GPI synthesis and is required for growth at 37 degrees C. When grown at a semipermissive temperature of 30 degrees C, gpi1 cells and gpi1::URA3 disruptants form large, round, multiply budded cells with a separation defect. Homozygous gpi1/gpi1, gpi1::URA3/gpi1::URA3, gpi2/gpi2, and gpi3/gpi3 diploids undergo meiosis, but are defective in ascospore wall maturation for they fail to give the fluorescence due to the dityrosine-containing layer in the ascospore wall. These findings indicate that GPIs have key roles in the morphogenesis and development of S. cerevisiae.

A second osmosensing signal transduction pathway in yeast. Hypotonic shock activates the PKC1 protein kinase-regulated cell integrity pathway

Yeast cells respond to hypertonic shock by activation of a (MAP) mitogen-activated protein kinase cascade called the (HOG) high osmolarity glycerol response pathway. How yeast respond to hypotonic shock is unknown. Results of this investigation show that a second MAP kinase cascade in yeast called the protein kinase C1 (PKC1) pathway is activated by hypotonic shock. Tyrosine phosphorylation of the PKC1 pathway MAP kinase increased rapidly in cells following a shift of the external medium to lower osmolarity. The intensity of the response was proportional to the magnitude of the decrease in extracellular osmolarity. This response to hypotonic shock required upstream protein kinases of the PKC1 pathway. Increasing external osmolarity inhibited tyrosine phosphorylation of the PKC1 pathway MAP kinase, a response that was blocked by BCK1-20, a constitutively active mutant in an upstream protein kinase. These results indicate that yeast contain two osmosensing signal transduction pathways, the HOG pathway and the PKC1 pathway, that respond to hypertonic and hypotonic shock, respectively.

Adherence of Candida albicans to human buccal epithelial cells: host-induced protein synthesis and signaling events

The synthesis of proteins by Candida albicans was studied following adherence of blastoconidia to human buccal epithelial cells (HBEC). Initially, labeling of HBEC, C. albicans, and HBEC-C. albicans with [35S]methionine was performed. After a 3-h incubation and prior to labeling with [35S]methionine, the cultures were treated with cycloheximide to prevent HBEC protein synthesis. The HBEC-C. albicans mixture as well as C. albicans and HBEC incubated separately were extracted with beta-mercaptoethanol (beta-ME). These extracts as well as the cell residue (solubilized by boiling with sodium dodecyl sulfate [SDS]) were examined by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and autoradiography. In comparison to cultures of C. albicans incubated without HBEC, proteins with molecular masses of approximately 52 to 56 kDa from beta-ME extracts and from SDS-solubilized cells were observed only from adhering cultures. In addition, unlabeled beta-ME extracts were electrotransferred to nitrocellulose and immunoblotted with antiphosphotyrosine antibodies to determine whether cell signaling events were occurring during adherence. Proteins with molecular masses of 54 and 60 kDa were recognized only in mixed cultures of C. albicans and HBEC. These data indicate that following adherence of C. albicans to HBEC, new Candida proteins are expressed. Further, these events are accompanied by the expression of signal proteins, presumably of Candida origin.

MAP kinase pathways. Straight and narrow or tortuous and intersecting?

Stress and mitogens stimulate overlapping sets of MAP kinases in mammalian cells; MAP kinase pathways appear more distinct in yeast, but differences between the two systems may be less than is presently evident.

Positioning of cell growth and division after osmotic stress requires a MAP kinase pathway

The yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae has a genetic program for selecting and assembling a bud site on the cell cortex. Yeast cells confine their growth to the emerging bud, a process directed by cortical patches of actin filaments within the bud. We have investigated how cells regulate budding in response to osmotic stress, focusing on the role of the high osmolarity glycerol response (HOG) pathway in mediating this regulation. An increase in external osmolarity induces a growth arrest in which actin filaments are lost from the bud. This is followed by a recovery phase in which actin filaments return to their original locations and growth of the original bud resumes. After recovery from osmotic stress, haploid cells retain an axial pattern of bud site selection while diploids change their bipolar budding pattern to an increased bias for forming a bud on the opposite side of the cell from the previous bud site. Mutants lacking the mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase encoded by HOG1 or the MAP kinase kinase encoded by PBS2 (previously HOG4) show a similar growth arrest after osmotic stress. However, in the recovery phase, the mutant cells (a) do not restart growth of the original bud but rather start a new bud, (b) fail to restore actin filaments to the original bud but move them to the new one, and (c) show a more random budding pattern. These defects are elicited by an increase in osmolarity and not by other environmental stresses (e.g., heat shock or change in carbon source) that also cause a temporary growth arrest and shift in actin distribution. Thus, the HOG pathway is required for repositioning of the actin cytoskeleton and the normal spatial patterns of cell growth after recovery from osmotic stress.

An osmosensing signal transduction pathway in yeast

Yeast genes were isolated that are required for restoring the osmotic gradient across the cell membrane in response to increased external osmolarity. Two of these genes, HOG1 and PBS2, encode members of the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAP kinase) and MAP kinase kinase gene families, respectively. MAP kinases are activated by extracellular ligands such as growth factors and function as intermediate kinases in protein phosphorylation cascades. A rapid, PBS2-dependent tyrosine phosphorylation of HOG1 protein occurred in response to increases in extracellular osmolarity. These data define a signal transduction pathway that is activated by changes in the osmolarity of the extracellular environment.

Mitogen-activated protein kinases: versatile transducers for cell signaling

Mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinases are proline-directed serine/threonine protein kinases that are activated via phosphorylation of their own tyrosine residues. Highly conserved during eukaryotic evolution, they serve as common signaling components in distinct transduction pathways initiated by many stimuli. They have been implicated in the control of a broad spectrum of cellular events but are particularly known for their possible roles in cell cycle progression and the control of meiosis.