The conserved Wobble uridine tRNA thiolase Ctu1-Ctu2 is required to maintain genome integrity.

Modified nucleosides close to the anticodon are important for the proper decoding of mRNA by the ribosome. Particularly, the uridine at the first anticodon position (U34) of glutamate, lysine, and glutamine tRNAs is universally thiolated (S(2)U34), which is proposed to be crucial for both restriction of wobble in the corresponding split codon box and efficient codon-anticodon interaction. Here we show that the highly conserved complex Ctu1-Ctu2 (cytosolic thiouridylase) is responsible for the 2-thiolation of cytosolic tRNAs in the nematode and fission yeast. In both species, inactivation of the complex leads to loss of thiolation on tRNAs and to a thermosensitive decrease of viability associated with marked ploidy abnormalities and aberrant development. Increased level of the corresponding tRNAs suppresses the fission yeast defects, and our data suggest that these defects could result from both misreading and frame shifting during translation. Thus, a translation defect due to unmodified tRNAs results in severe genome instability.

A gene-specific requirement of RNA polymerase II CTD phosphorylation for sexual differentiation in S. pombe.

BACKGROUND: The switch from cellular proliferation to differentiation occurs to a large extent through specific programs of gene expression. In fission yeast, the master regulator of sexual differentiation, ste11, is induced by environmental conditions leading to mating and meiosis. RESULTS: We show that phosphorylation of serine 2 (S2P) in the C-terminal domain of the largest subunit of the RNA polymerase II (PolII) enzyme by the Lsk1 cyclin-dependent kinase has only a minor impact on global gene expression during vegetative growth but is critical for the induction of ste11 transcription during sexual differentiation. The recruitment of the Lsk1 kinase initiates in the vicinity of the transcription start site of ste11, resulting in a marked increase of S2P on the ste11 unit, including an extended 5' untranslated region (5'UTR). This pattern contrasts with the classical gradient of S2P toward the 3' region. In the absence of S2P, both PolII occupancy at the ste11 locus and ste11 expression are impaired. This results in sterility, which is rescued by expression of the ste11 coding sequence from the adh1 promoter. CONCLUSION: Thus, the S2P polymerase plays a specific, regulatory role in cell differentiation through the induction of ste11.

Recruitment of P-TEFb (Cdk9-Pch1) to chromatin by the cap-methyl transferase Pcm1 in fission yeast.

Capping of nascent pre-mRNAs is thought to be a prerequisite for productive elongation and associated serine 2 phosphorylation of the C-terminal domain (CTD) of RNA polymerase II (PolII). The mechanism mediating this link is unknown, but is likely to include the capping machinery and P-TEPb. We report that the fission yeast P-TEFb (Cdk9-Pch1) forms a complex with the cap-methyltransferase Pcm1 and these proteins colocalise on chromatin. Ablation of Cdk9 function through chemical genetics causes growth arrest and abolishes serine 2 phosphorylation on the PolII CTD. Strikingly, depletion of Pcm1 also leads to a dramatic decrease of phospho-serine 2. Chromatin immunoprecipitations show a severe decrease of chromatin-bound Cdk9-Pch1 when Pcm1 is depleted. On the contrary, Cdk9 is not required for association of Pcm1 with chromatin. Furthermore, compromising Cdk9 activity leads to a promoter-proximal PolII stalling and sensitivity to 6-azauracil, reflecting elongation defects. The in vivo data presented here strongly support the existence of a molecular mechanism where the cap-methyltransferase recruits P-TEFb to chromatin, thereby ensuring that only properly capped transcripts are elongated.

Repression of ergosterol level during oxidative stress by fission yeast F-box protein Pof14 independently of SCF.

We describe a new member of the F-box family, Pof14, which forms a canonical, F-box dependent SCF (Skp1, Cullin, F-box protein) ubiquitin ligase complex. The Pof14 protein has intrinsic instability that is abolished by inactivation of its Skp1 interaction motif (the F-box), Skp1 or the proteasome, indicating that Pof14 stability is controlled by an autocatalytic mechanism. Pof14 interacts with the squalene synthase Erg9, a key enzyme in ergosterol metabolism, in a membrane-bound complex that does not contain the core SCF components. pof14 transcription is induced by hydrogen peroxide and requires the Pap1 transcription factor and the Sty1 MAP kinase. Pof14 binds to and decreases Erg9 activity in vitro and a pof14 deletion strain quickly loses viability in the presence of hydrogen peroxide due to its inability to repress ergosterol synthesis. A pof14 mutant lacking the F-box and an skp1-3 ts mutant behave as wild type in the presence of oxidant showing that Pof14 function is independent of SCF. This indicates that modulation of ergosterol level plays a key role in adaptation to oxidative stress.