Isolation and properties of two classes of low-density vesicles from Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Trans-species activity of a nonself recognition domain

Background

The ability to distinguish nonself from self is a fundamental characteristic of biological systems. In the filamentous fungus Neurospora crassa, multiple incompatibility genes mediate nonself recognition during vegetative growth. One of these genes, un-24, encodes both nonself recognition function and the large subunit of a type I ribonucleotide reductase, an evolutionarily conserved enzyme that is essential for the conversion of NDP precursors into dNDPs for use in DNA synthesis. Previous studies have shown that co-expression of the two allelic forms of un-24, Oakridge (OR) and Panama (PA), in the same cell results in cell death.

Results

We identify a 135 amino acid nonself recognition domain in the C-terminus region of UN-24 that confers an incompatibility-like phenotype when expressed in the yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Low-level expression of this domain results in several cytological and phenotypic characteristics consistent with an incompatibility reaction in filamentous fungi. These incompatibility phenotypes are correlated with the presence of a non-reducible complex consisting of the PA incompatibility domain and Rnr1p, a large subunit of ribonucleotide reductase in yeast. When the PA incompatibility domain is switched to high-level expression, the incompatibility phenotype transitions to wild-type concomitant with the appearance of a complex containing the PA incompatibility domain and Ssa1p, an Hsp70 homolog.

Conclusions

Results from this study provide insights into the mechanism and control of vegetative nonself recognition mediated by ribonucleotide reductase in N. crassa, thus establishing the yeast system as a powerful tool to study fungal nonself recognition. Our work shows that heat shock proteins may function to deactivate vegetative incompatibility systems, as required for entry into the sexual cycle. Finally, our results suggest that variations on the PA incompatibility domain may serve as novel and specific antimicrobial peptides.

Localized deposition of chitin on the yeast cell surface in response to mating pheromone

Treatment of a mating-type Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells with the pheromone alpha-factor (secreted by alpha mating-type cells) induces the synthesis of chitin. Small daughter cells, which start with no detectable chitin, make 3 times more chitin when grown in the presence of alpha-factor than do untreated exponentially growing cells. Budding cells accumulate chitin in the nascent division septum [Cabib, E. & Bowers, B. (1975) J. Bacteriol. 124, 1586), as detected by staining with the fluorescent dye primulin. In the absence of a division septum, alpha-factor-treated cells accumulate chitin in the area of pheromone-stimulated growth. Enzymatic lysis of budding and pheromone-treated cells allows the separation of membrane-bound chitin synthase (UDP-2-acetamido-2-deoxy-D-glucose: chitin 4-beta-acetamidodeoxyglucosyltransferase, EC 2.4.1.16) activity from a dense particulate fraction containing chitin. Chitin synthase activity is associated with both the plasma membrane and small intracellular particles. During pheromone treatment, the levels of chitin synthase in the plasma membrane and in intracellular particle fractions increase 11- and 4-fold, respectively. Although chitin synthase is made as zymogen that requires proteolytic activation, the plasma membrane of pheromone-treated cells shows a significant fraction of preactivated enzyme; intracellular membrane-bound synthase is found exclusively in the zymogen form.

Metabolic utilization of 57Fe-labeled coprogen in Neurospora crassa. An in vivo Mössbauer study

Mössbauer spectra of whole cells of Neurospora crassa arg-5 ota aga (a siderophore-free mutant) show that the siderophore coprogen is accumulated inside the cell as an entity. 57Fe from 57Fe-labeled coprogen is slowly removed from the complex (45% in 27 h). The rate of removal depends on the degree of iron starvation of the cells. The distribution of 55Fe from [55Fe]coprogen in vacuoles, membranes, and cytoplasm has been also determined. From this it is clear that coprogen is accumulated in the cytoplasm. In addition to its role as a siderophore, coprogen serves as an iron-storage compound. No holoferritins could be detected. We therefore conclude that this type of iron-storage protein is lacking in N. crassa. Metabolized iron was found predominantly to exist as an envelope of Fe(II) high-spin (delta = 1.2-1.3 mm s-1; delta EQ = 3.0-3.1 mm s-1 at 4.2 K) and fast-relaxing Fe(III) high-spin species (delta approximately equal to 0.25 mm s-1 and 0.45 mm s-1; delta EQ approximately equal to 0.6 mm s-1 and 0.55 mm s-1, respectively, at 4.2 K). An assignment of these major iron metabolites is difficult. The Mössbauer data of the Fe(II) species do not fit those reported for heme, cytochromes and ferredoxins. We therefore assume that this iron metabolite represents a novel internal iron compound. One of the Fe(III) species becomes the dominant component of the cell spectra after 65 h of metabolization and might correspond to an iron-storage compound with iron oxide cores similar to bacterioferritin. After 27 h of growth in mycelia supplied with 57Fe-labeled coprogen, the siderophore ferricrocin was observed in the cell spectra. This is unexpected, since N. crassa arg-5 ota aga is unable to synthesize ornithine. We assume that ferricrocin is synthesized by the use of coprogen degradation products.