The Schizosaccharomyces pombe gene encoding gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase I is regulated by non-fermentable carbon sources and nitrogen starvation.

In our previous study, the first structural gene (GGTI) encoding g-glutamyl transpeptidase was cloned and characterized from the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe, and its transcription, using the GGTI-lacZ fusion gene, containing the 1,085 bp upstream region from the translational initiation point, was found to be enhanced by sodium nitroprusside and L-buthionine-(S,R)-sulfoximine (BSO). In the present work, regulation of the GGTI gene was further elucidated. Non-fermentable carbon sources, such as acetate and ethanol, markedly enhanced the synthesis of beta-galactosidase from the GGTI-lacZ fusion gene. However, its induction by non-fermentable carbon sources appeared to be independent of the presence of the Pap1 protein. Nitrogen starvation also gave rise to induction of GGTI gene expression in a Pap1-independent manner. The three additional fusion plasmids, carrying 754, 421 and 156 bp regions, were constructed. The sequence responsible for the induction by non-fermentable carbon sources and nitrogen starvation was identified to exist within a -421 bp region of the GGTI gene. Taken together, the S. pombe GGTI gene is regulated by non-fermentable carbon sources and nitrogen starvation.