Arg-Pro-X-Ser/Thr is a consensus phosphoacceptor sequence for the meiosis-specific Ime2 protein kinase in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Meiotic Cytokinesis in Saccharomyces cerevisiae: Spores That Just Need Closure

In the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, sporulation occurs during starvation of a diploid cell and results in the formation of four haploid spores forming within the mother cell ascus. Meiosis divides the genetic material that is encapsulated by the prospore membrane that grows to surround the haploid nuclei; this membrane will eventually become the plasma membrane of the haploid spore. Cellularization of the spores occurs when the prospore membrane closes to capture the haploid nucleus along with some cytoplasmic material from the mother cell, and thus, closure of the prospore membrane is the meiotic cytokinetic event. This cytokinetic event involves the removal of the leading-edge protein complex, a complex of proteins that localizes to the leading edge of the growing prospore membrane. The development and closure of the prospore membrane must be coordinated with other meiotic exit events such as spindle disassembly. Timing of the closure of the prospore membrane depends on the meiotic exit pathway, which utilizes Cdc15, a Hippo-like kinase, and Sps1, an STE20 family GCKIII kinase, acting in parallel to the E3 ligase Ama1-APC/C. This review describes the sporulation process and focuses on the development of the prospore membrane and the regulation of prospore membrane closure.

Identification of 14-3-3 proteins, Polo kinase, and RNA-binding protein Pes4 as key regulators of meiotic commitment in budding yeast

The initiation of the cell division process of meiosis requires exogenous signals that activate internal gene regulatory networks. Meiotic commitment ensures the irreversible continuation of meiosis, even upon withdrawal of the meiosis-inducing signals. A loss of meiotic commitment can cause highly abnormal polyploid cells and can ultimately lead to germ cell tumors. Despite the importance of meiotic commitment, only a few genes involved in commitment are known. In this study, we have discovered six new regulators of meiotic commitment in budding yeast: the Bcy1 protein involved in nutrient sensing, the meiosis-specific kinase Ime2, Polo kinase Cdc5, RNA-binding protein Pes4, and the 14-3-3 proteins Bmh1 and Bmh2. Decreased levels of these proteins cause a failure to establish or maintain meiotic commitment. Importantly, we found that Bmh1 and Bmh2 are involved in multiple processes throughout meiosis and in meiotic commitment. First, cells depleted of both Bmh1 and Bmh2 trigger the pachytene checkpoint, likely due to a role in DNA double-strand break repair. Second, Bmh1 interacts directly with the middle meiosis transcription factor Ndt80, and both Bmh1 and Bmh2 maintain Ndt80 levels. Third, Bmh1 and Bmh2 bind to Cdc5 and enhance its kinase activity. Finally, Bmh1 binds to Pes4, which regulates the timing of the translation of several mRNAs in meiosis II and is required to maintain meiotic commitment. Our results demonstrate that meiotic commitment is actively maintained throughout meiosis, with the 14-3-3 proteins and Polo kinase serving as key regulators of this developmental program.

Phospho-Regulation of Meiotic Prophase

Germ cells undergoing meiosis rely on an intricate network of surveillance mechanisms that govern the production of euploid gametes for successful sexual reproduction. These surveillance mechanisms are particularly crucial during meiotic prophase, when cells execute a highly orchestrated program of chromosome morphogenesis and recombination, which must be integrated with the meiotic cell division machinery to ensure the safe execution of meiosis. Dynamic protein phosphorylation, controlled by kinases and phosphatases, has emerged as one of the main signaling routes for providing readout and regulation of chromosomal and cellular behavior throughout meiotic prophase. In this review, we discuss common principles and provide detailed examples of how these phosphorylation events are employed to ensure faithful passage of chromosomes from one generation to the next.

Sexual Differentiation Is Coordinately Regulated by Cryptococcus neoformans CRK1 and GAT1

The heterothallic basidiomycetous fungus Cryptococcus neoformans has two mating types, MATa and MATα. Morphological progression of bisexual reproduction in C. neoformans is as follows: yeast to hyphal transition, filament extension, basidium formation, meiosis, and sporulation. C. neoformans Cdk-related kinase 1 (CRK1) is a negative regulator of bisexual mating. In this study, we characterized the morphological features of mating structures in the crk1 mutant and determined the genetic interaction of CRK1 in the regulatory networks of sexual differentiation. In the bilateral crk1 mutant cross, despite shorter length of filaments than in the wild-type cross, dikaryotic filaments and other structures still remained intact during bisexual mating, but the timing of basidium formation was approximately 18 h earlier than in the cross between wild type strains. Furthermore, gene expression analyses revealed that CRK1 modulated the expression of genes involved in the progression of hyphal elongation, basidium formation, karyogamy and meiosis. Phenotypic results showed that, although deletion of C. neoformans CRK1 gene increased the efficiency of bisexual mating, filamentation in the crk1 mutant was blocked by MAT2 or ZNF2 mutation. A bioinformatics survey predicted the C. neoformans GATA transcriptional factor Gat1 as a potential substrate of Crk1 kinase. Our genetic and phenotypic findings revealed that C. neoformansGAT1 and CRK1 formed a regulatory circuit to negatively regulate MAT2 to control filamentation progression and transition during bisexual mating.

Characterization of the C-terminal sequence of NS5A necessary for the assembly and production of classical swine fever virus infectious particles

Recent studies show that classical swine fever virus (CSFV) NS5A is an essential replicase component, but it is not known how NS5A participates in viral particle production. In this study, deletion and substitution mutations were introduced into the C-terminus of CSFV NS5A. The efficiency of Core protein release and extracellular and intracellular infectivity levels were assessed and NS5A-Core interaction was investigated. These results suggested that CSFV NS5A was a key factor for the assembly of infectious CSFV particles. The C-terminal sequence from amino acids 478 to 487 and amino acids S481 and T482 were necessary for CSFV assembly and production. The effect of NS5A on CSFV assembly and production might be related to NS5A-Core interaction. T482 was found to be conserved in the C-terminus of NS5A proteins of pestiviruses and hepatitis C virus (HCV), therefore suggesting that it might be important for these virus assembly and production.

Multisite phosphorylation of the Sum1 transcriptional repressor by S-phase kinases controls exit from meiotic prophase in yeast

Activation of the meiotic transcription factor Ndt80 is a key regulatory transition in the life cycle of Saccharomyces cerevisiae because it triggers exit from pachytene and entry into meiosis. The NDT80 promoter is held inactive by a complex containing the DNA-binding protein Sum1 and the histone deacetylase Hst1. Meiosis-specific phosphorylation of Sum1 by the protein kinases Cdk1, Ime2, and Cdc7 is required for NDT80 expression. Here, we show that the S-phase-promoting cyclin Clb5 activates Cdk1 to phosphorylate most, and perhaps all, of the 11 minimal cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) phospho-consensus sites (S/T-P) in Sum1. Nine of these sites can individually promote modest levels of meiosis, yet these sites function in a quasiadditive manner to promote substantial levels of meiosis. Two Cdk1 sites and an Ime2 site individually promote high levels of meiosis, likely by preparing Sum1 for phosphorylation by Cdc7. Chromatin immunoprecipitation reveals that the phosphorylation sites are required for removal of Sum1 from the NDT80 promoter. We also find that Sum1, but not its partner protein Hst1, is required to repress NDT80 transcription. Thus, while the phosphorylation of Sum1 may lead to dissociation from DNA by influencing Hst1, it is the presence of Sum1 on DNA that determines whether NDT80 will be expressed.

CDK-dependent nuclear localization of B-cyclin Clb1 promotes FEAR activation during meiosis I in budding yeast

Cyclin-dependent kinases (CDK) are master regulators of the cell cycle in eukaryotes. CDK activity is regulated by the presence, post-translational modification and spatial localization of its regulatory subunit cyclin. In budding yeast, the B-cyclin Clb1 is phosphorylated and localizes to the nucleus during meiosis I. However the functional significance of Clb1's phosphorylation and nuclear localization and their mutual dependency is unknown. In this paper, we demonstrate that meiosis-specific phosphorylation of Clb1 requires its import to the nucleus but not vice versa. While Clb1 phosphorylation is dependent on activity of both CDK and polo-like kinase Cdc5, its nuclear localization requires CDK but not Cdc5 activity. Furthermore we show that increased nuclear localization of Clb1 during meiosis enhances activation of FEAR (Cdc Fourteen Early Anaphase Release) pathway. We discuss the significance of our results in relation to regulation of exit from meiosis I.

Diversification of a protein kinase cascade: IME-2 is involved in nonself recognition and programmed cell death in Neurospora crassa

Kinase cascades and the modification of proteins by phosphorylation are major mechanisms for cell signaling and communication, and evolution of these signaling pathways can contribute to new developmental or environmental response pathways. The Saccharomyces cerevisiae kinase Ime2 has been well characterized for its role in meiosis. However, recent studies have revealed alternative functions for Ime2 in both S. cerevisiae and other fungi. In the filamentous fungus Neurospora crassa, the IME2 homolog (ime-2) is not required for meiosis. Here we determine that ime-2 interacts genetically with a transcription factor vib-1 during nonself recognition and programmed cell death (PCD). Mutations in vib-1 (Δvib-1) suppress PCD due to nonself recognition events; however, a Δvib-1 Δime-2 mutant restored wild-type levels of cell death. A role for ime-2 in the post-translational processing and localization of a mitochondrial matrix protein was identified, which may implicate mitochondria in N. crassa nonself recognition and PCD. Further, Δvib-1 strains do not produce extracellular proteases, but protease secretion reverted to near wild-type levels in a Δvib-1 Δime-2 strain. Mass spectrometry analysis revealed that the VIB-1 protein is phosphorylated at several sites, including a site that matches the IME-2 consensus. The genetic and biochemical data for ime-2 and vib-1 indicate that IME-2 is a negative regulator of VIB-1 and suggest parallel negative regulation by IME-2 of a cell death pathway in N. crassa that functions in concert with the VIB-1 cell death pathway. Thus, IME2 kinase function has evolved following the divergence of S. cerevisiae and N. crassa and provides insight into the evolution of kinases and their regulatory targets.

The Sum1/Ndt80 transcriptional switch and commitment to meiosis in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Cells encounter numerous signals during the development of an organism that induce division, differentiation, and apoptosis. These signals need to be present for defined intervals in order to induce stable changes in the cellular phenotype. The point after which an inducing signal is no longer needed for completion of a differentiation program can be termed the "commitment point." Meiotic development in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae (sporulation) provides a model system to study commitment. Similar to differentiation programs in multicellular organisms, the sporulation program in yeast is regulated by a transcriptional cascade that produces early, middle, and late sets of sporulation-specific transcripts. Although critical meiosis-specific events occur as early genes are expressed, commitment does not take place until middle genes are induced. Middle promoters are activated by the Ndt80 transcription factor, which is produced and activated shortly before most middle genes are expressed. In this article, I discuss the connection between Ndt80 and meiotic commitment. A transcriptional regulatory pathway makes NDT80 transcription contingent on the prior expression of early genes. Once Ndt80 is produced, the recombination (pachytene) checkpoint prevents activation of the Ndt80 protein. Upon activation, Ndt80 triggers a positive autoregulatory loop that leads to the induction of genes that promote exit from prophase, the meiotic divisions, and spore formation. The pathway is controlled by multiple feed-forward loops that give switch-like properties to the commitment transition. The conservation of regulatory components of the meiotic commitment pathway and the recently reported ability of Ndt80 to increase replicative life span are discussed.

Yeast IME2 functions early in meiosis upstream of cell cycle-regulated SBF and MBF targets

Background

In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the G1 cyclin/cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) complexes Cln1,-2,-3/Cdk1 promote S phase entry during the mitotic cell cycle but do not function during meiosis. It has been proposed that the meiosis-specific protein kinase Ime2, which is required for normal timing of pre-meiotic DNA replication, is equivalent to Cln1,-2/Cdk1. These two CDK complexes directly catalyze phosphorylation of the B-type cyclin/CDK inhibitor Sic1 during the cell cycle to enable its destruction. As a result, Clb5,-6/Cdk1 become activated and facilitate initiation of DNA replication. While Ime2 is required for Sic1 destruction during meiosis, evidence now suggests that Ime2 does not directly catalyze Sic1 phosphorylation to target it for destabilization as Cln1,-2/Cdk1 do during the cell cycle.

Methodology/Principal Findings

We demonstrated that Sic1 is eventually degraded in meiotic cells lacking the IME2 gene (ime2Δ), supporting an indirect role of Ime2 in Sic1 destruction. We further examined global RNA expression comparing wild type and ime2Δ cells. Analysis of these expression data has provided evidence that Ime2 is required early in meiosis for normal transcription of many genes that are also periodically expressed during late G1 of the cell cycle.

Conclusions/Significance

Our results place Ime2 at a position in the early meiotic pathway that lies upstream of the position occupied by Cln1,-2/Cdk1 in the analogous cell cycle pathway. Thus, Ime2 may functionally resemble Cln3/Cdk1 in promoting S phase entry, or it could play a role even further upstream in the corresponding meiotic cascade.

Cdc7-Dbf4 is a gene-specific regulator of meiotic transcription in yeast

Meiosis divides the chromosome number of the cell in half by having two rounds of chromosome segregation follow a single round of chromosome duplication. The first meiotic division is unique in that homologous pairs of sister chromatids segregate to opposite poles. Recent work in budding and fission yeast has shown that the cell cycle kinase, Cdc7-Dbf4, is required for many meiosis-specific chromosomal functions necessary for proper disjunction at meiosis I. This work reveals another role for Cdc7 in meiosis as a gene-specific regulator of the global transcription factor, Ndt80, which is required for exit from pachytene and entry into the meiotic divisions in budding yeast. Cdc7-Dbf4 promotes NDT80 transcription by relieving repression mediated by a complex of Sum1, Rfm1, and a histone deacetylase, Hst1. Sum1 exhibits meiosis-specific Cdc7-dependent phosphorylation, and mass spectrometry analysis reveals a dynamic and complex pattern of phosphorylation events, including four constitutive cyclin-dependent kinase (Cdk1) sites and 11 meiosis-specific Cdc7-Dbf4-dependent sites. Analysis of various phosphorylation site mutants suggests that Cdc7 functions with both Cdk1 and the meiosis-specific kinase Ime2 to control this critical transition point during meiosis.

The Ime2 protein kinase family in fungi: more duties than just meiosis

Ime2 of the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae belongs to a family of conserved protein kinases displaying sequence similarities to both cyclin-dependent kinases and mitogen-activated protein kinases. Ime2 has a pivotal role for meiosis and sporulation. The involvement of this protein kinase in the regulation of various key events in meiosis, such as the initiation of DNA replication, the expression of meiosis-specific genes and the passage through the two consecutive rounds of nuclear divisions has been characterized in detail. More than 20 years after the identification of the IME2 gene, a recent report has provided the first evidence for a function of this gene outside of meiosis, which is the regulation of pseudohyphal growth. In the last few years, Ime2-related protein kinases from various fungal species were studied. Remarkably, these homologues are not generally required for meiosis, but instead have other specific tasks. In filamentous ascomycete species, Ime2 homologues are involved in the inhibition of fruiting body formation in response to environmental signals. In the pathogenic basidiomycetes Ustilago maydis and Cryptococcus neoformans, members of this kinase family apparently have primary roles in regulating mating. Thus, Ime2-related kinases exhibit an amazing variety in controlling sexual developmental programs in fungi.

Ime1 and Ime2 are required for pseudohyphal growth of Saccharomyces cerevisiae on nonfermentable carbon sources

Pseudohyphal growth and meiosis are two differentiation responses to nitrogen starvation of diploid Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Nitrogen starvation in the presence of fermentable carbon sources is thought to induce pseudohyphal growth, whereas nitrogen and sugar starvation induces meiosis. In contrast to the genetic background routinely used to study pseudohyphal growth (Σ1278b), nonfermentable carbon sources stimulate pseudohyphal growth in the efficiently sporulating strain SK1. Pseudohyphal SK1 cells can exit pseudohyphal growth to complete meiosis. Two stimulators of meiosis, Ime1 and Ime2, are required for pseudohyphal growth of SK1 cells in the presence of nonfermentable carbon sources. Epistasis analysis suggests that Ime1 and Ime2 act in the same order in pseudohyphal growth as in meiosis. The different behaviors of strains SK1 and Σ1278b are in part attributable to differences in cyclic AMP (cAMP) signaling. In contrast to Σ1278b cells, hyperactivation of cAMP signaling using constitutively active Ras2(G19V) inhibited pseudohyphal growth in SK1 cells. Our data identify the SK1 genetic background as an alternative genetic background for the study of pseudohyphal growth and suggest an overlap between signaling pathways controlling pseudohyphal growth and meiosis. Based on these findings, we propose to include exit from pseudohyphal growth and entry into meiosis in the life cycle of S. cerevisiae.

The Cdk1 and Ime2 protein kinases trigger exit from meiotic prophase in Saccharomyces cerevisiae by inhibiting the Sum1 transcriptional repressor

The induction of middle meiotic promoters is a key regulatory event in the life cycle of Saccharomyces cerevisiae that controls exit from prophase, meiosis, and spore formation. The Sum1 repressor and Ndt80 activator proteins control middle promoters by binding to overlapping DNA elements. NDT80 is controlled by a tightly regulated middle meiotic promoter through a positive autoregulatory loop and is repressed in vegetative cells by Sum1. It has previously been shown that the meiosis-specific kinase Ime2 promotes the removal of Sum1 from DNA. Here, we show that Sum1 is also regulated by the cyclin-dependent kinase, Cdk1. While sum1 phosphosite mutants that are insensitive to Cdk1 or Ime2 complete meiosis and form spores, a mutant that is insensitive to both Ime2 and Cdk1 (sum1-ci) blocks meiotic development in prophase with an ndt80Delta-like phenotype. Ectopic expression of NDT80 or mutation of a Sum1-binding element in the NDT80 promoter bypasses the sum1-ci block. Hst1 is a NAD(+)-dependent histone deacetylase that is linked to Sum1 by the Rfm1 tethering factor. Deletion of HST1 or RFM1 also bypasses the sum1-ci block. These results demonstrate that Sum1 functions as a key meiotic brake through the NDT80 promoter and that Cdk1 and Ime2 trigger exit from meiotic prophase by inhibiting the Sum1 transcriptional repression complex.

The Ime2 protein kinase enhances the disassociation of the Sum1 repressor from middle meiotic promoters

Meiotic development in Saccharomyces cerevisiae (sporulation) is controlled by the sequential transcription of temporally distinct sets of meiosis-specific genes. The induction of middle genes controls exit from meiotic prophase, the completion of the nuclear divisions, and spore formation. Middle promoters are controlled through DNA elements termed middle sporulation elements (MSEs) that are bound by the Sum1 repressor during vegetative growth and by the Ndt80 activator during meiosis. It has been proposed that the induction of middle promoters is controlled by competition between Ndt80 and Sum1 for MSE occupancy. Here, we show that the Sum1 repressor can be removed from middle promoters in meiotic cells independent of Ndt80 expression. This process requires the phosphorylation of Sum1 by the meiosis-specific cyclin-dependent kinase-like kinase Ime2. The deletion of HST1, which encodes a Sir2 paralog that interacts with Sum1, bypasses the requirement for this phosphorylation. These findings suggest that in the presence of Ndt80, Sum1 may be displaced from MSEs through a competition-based mechanism but that in the absence of Ndt80, Sum1 is removed from chromatin in a separate pathway requiring the phosphorylation of Sum1 by Ime2 and the inhibition of Hst1.

Sic1-induced DNA rereplication during meiosis

Orderly progression through meiosis requires strict regulation of DNA metabolic events, so that a single round of DNA replication is systematically followed by a recombination phase and 2 rounds of chromosome segregation. We report here the disruption of this sequence of events in Saccharomyces cerevisiae through meiosis-specific induction of the cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) inhibitor Sic1 mutated at multiple phosphorylation sites. Accumulation of this stabilized version of Sic1 led to significant DNA rereplication in the absence of normal chromosome segregation. Deletion of DMC1 abolished DNA rereplication, but additional deletion of RAD17 restored the original phenotype. Therefore, activation of the meiotic recombination checkpoint, which arrests meiotic progression at pachytene, suppressed DNA rereplication resulting from Sic1 stabilization. In contrast to deletion of DMC1, deletion of NDT80, which encodes a transcription factor required for pachytene exit, did not inhibit DNA rereplication. Our results provide strong evidence that CDK activity is required to prevent inappropriate initiation of DNA synthesis before the meiotic divisions.

The Ras/cAMP pathway and the CDK-like kinase Ime2 regulate the MAPK Smk1 and spore morphogenesis in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Meiotic development (sporulation) in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae is induced by nutritional deprivation. Smk1 is a meiosis-specific MAP kinase homolog that controls spore morphogenesis after the meiotic divisions have taken place. In this study, recessive mutants that suppress the sporulation defect of a smk1-2 temperature-sensitive hypomorph were isolated. The suppressors are partial function alleles of CDC25 and CYR1, which encode the Ras GDP/GTP exchange factor and adenyl cyclase, respectively, and MDS3, which encodes a kelch-domain protein previously implicated in Ras/cAMP signaling. Deletion of PMD1, which encodes a Mds3 paralog, also suppressed the smk1-2 phenotype, and a mds3-Delta pmd1-Delta double mutant was a more potent suppressor than either single mutant. The mds3-Delta, pmd1-Delta, and mds3-Delta pmd1-Delta mutants also exhibited mitotic Ras/cAMP phenotypes in the same rank order. The effect of Ras/cAMP pathway mutations on the smk1-2 phenotype required the presence of low levels of glucose. Ime2 is a meiosis-specific CDK-like kinase that is inhibited by low levels of glucose via its carboxy-terminal regulatory domain. IME2-DeltaC241, which removes the carboxy-terminal domain of Ime2, exacerbated the smk1-2 spore formation phenotype and prevented cyr1 mutations from suppressing smk1-2. Inhibition of Ime2 in meiotic cells shortly after Smk1 is expressed revealed that Ime2 promotes phosphorylation of Smk1's activation loop. These findings demonstrate that nutrients can negatively regulate Smk1 through the Ras/cAMP pathway and that Ime2 is a key activator of Smk1 signaling.

The C-terminal region of the meiosis-specific protein kinase Ime2 mediates protein instability and is required for normal spore formation in budding yeast

The cyclin-dependent kinase Cdk1 and the related kinase Ime2 act in concert to trigger progression of the meiotic cell cycle in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. These kinases share several functions and substrates during meiosis, but their regulation seems to be clearly different. In contrast to Cdk1, no cyclin seems to be involved in the regulation of Ime2 activity. Ime2 is a highly unstable protein, and we aimed to elucidate the relevance of Ime2 instability. We first determined the sequence elements required for Ime2 instability by constructing a set of deletions in the IME2 gene. None of the small deletions in Ime2 affected its instability, but deletion of a 241 amino acid C-terminal region resulted in a highly stabilized protein. Thus, the C-terminal domain of Ime2 is important for mediating protein instability. The stabilized, truncated Ime2 protein is highly active in vivo. Replacement of the IME2 gene with the truncated IME2DeltaC241 in diploid strains did not interfere with meiotic nuclear divisions, but caused abnormalities in spore formation, as manifested by the appearance of many asci with a reduced spore number such as triads and dyads. The truncated Ime2 caused a reduction of spore number in a dominant manner. We conclude that downregulation of Ime2 kinase activity mediated by the C-terminal domain is required for the efficient production of normal four-spore asci. Our data suggest a role for Ime2 in spore number control in S. cerevisiae.