A cytoskeletal localizing domain in the cyclase-associated protein, CAP/Srv2p, regulates access to a distant SH3-binding site.

In the yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, adenylyl cyclase consists of a 200-kDa catalytic subunit (CYR1) and a 70-kDa subunit (CAP/SRV2). CAP/Srv2p assists the small G protein Ras to activate adenylyl cyclase. CAP also regulates the cytoskeleton through an actin sequestering activity and is directed to cortical actin patches by a proline-rich SH3-binding site (P2). In this report we analyze the role of the actin cytoskeleton in Ras/cAMP signaling. Two alleles of CAP, L16P(Srv2) and R19T (SupC), first isolated in genetic screens for mutants that attenuate cAMP levels, reduced adenylyl cyclase binding, and cortical actin patch localization. A third mutation, L27F, also failed to localize but showed no loss of either cAMP signaling or adenylyl cyclase binding. However, all three N-terminal mutations reduced CAP-CAP multimer formation and SH3 domain binding, although the SH3-binding site is about 350 amino acids away. Finally, disruption of the actin cytoskeleton with latrunculin-A did not affect the cAMP phenotypes of the hyperactive Ras2(Val19) allele. These data identify a novel region of CAP that controls access to the SH3-binding site and demonstrate that cytoskeletal localization of CAP or an intact cytoskeleton per se is not necessary for cAMP signaling.

Structure determination and characterization of Saccharomyces cerevisiae profilin.

The structure of profilin from the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae has been determined by X-ray crystallography at 2.3 A resolution. The overall fold of yeast profilin is similar to the fold observed for other profilin structures. The interactions of yeast and human platelet profilins with rabbit skeletal muscle actin were characterized by titration microcalorimetry, fluorescence titrations, and nucleotide exchange kinetics. The affinity of yeast profilin for rabbit actin (2.9 microM) is approximately 30-fold weaker than the affinity of human platelet profilin for rabbit actin (0.1 microM), and the relative contributions of entropic and enthalpic terms to the overall free energy of binding are different for the two profilins. The titration of pyrene-labeled rabbit skeletal actin with human profilin yielded a Kd of 2.8 microM, similar to the Kd of 2.0 microM for the interaction between yeast profilin and pyrene-labeled yeast actin. The binding data are discussed in the context of the known crystal structures of profilin and actin, and the residues present at the actin-profilin interface. The affinity of yeast profilin for poly-L-proline was determined from fluorescence measurements and is similar to the reported affinity of Acanthamoeba profilin for poly-L-proline. Yeast profilin was shown to catalyze adenine nucleotide exchange from yeast actin almost 2 orders of magnitude less efficiently than human profilin and rabbit skeletal muscle actin. The in vivo and in vitro properties of yeast profilin mutants with altered poly-L-proline and actin binding sites are discussed in the context of the crystal structure.

Identification of MYO4, a second class V myosin gene in yeast.

We have isolated a fourth myosin gene (MYO4) in yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae). MYO4 encodes a approximately 170 kDa (1471 amino acid) class V myosin, using the classification devised by Cheney et al. (1993a; Cell Motil. Cytoskel. 24, 215-223); the motor domain is followed by a neck region containing six putative calmodulin-binding sites and a tail with a short potential 'coiled-coil' domain. A comparison with other myosins in GenBank reveals that Myo4 protein is most closely related to the yeast Myo2 protein, another class V myosin. Deletion of MYO4 produces no detectable phenotype, either alone or in conjunction with mutations in myo2 or other myosin genes, the actin gene, or secretory genes. However, overexpression of MYO4 or MYO2 results in several morphological abnormalities, including the formation of short strings of unseparated cells in diploid strains, or clusters of cells in haploid strains. Alterations of MYO4 or MYO2 indicate that neither the motor domains nor tails of these myosins are required to confer the overexpression phenotype, whereas the neck region may be required. Although this phenotype is similar to that seen upon MYO1 deletion, we provide evidence that the overexpression of Myo4p or Myo2p is not simply interfering with Myo1p function.

Mutational analysis of yeast profilin.

We have mutated two regions within the yeast profilin gene in an effort to functionally dissect the roles of actin and phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate (PIP2) binding in profilin function. A series of truncations was carried out at the C terminus of profilin, a region that has been implicated in actin binding. Removal of the last three amino acids nearly eliminated the ability of profilin to bind polyproline in vitro but had no dramatic in vivo effects. Thus, the extreme C terminus is implicated in polyproline binding, but the physiological relevance of this interaction is called into question. More extensive truncation, of up to eight amino acids, had in vivo effects of increasing severity and resulted in changes in conformation and expression level of the mutant profilins. However, the ability of these mutants to bind actin in vitro was not eliminated, suggesting that this region cannot be solely responsible for actin binding. We also mutagenized a region of profilin that we hypothesized might be involved in PIP2 binding. Alteration of basic amino acids in this region produced mutant profilins that functioned well in vivo. Many of these mutants, however, were unable to suppress the loss of adenylate cyclase-associated protein (Cap/Srv2p [A. Vojtek, B. Haarer, J. Field, J. Gerst, T. D. Pollard, S. S. Brown, and M. Wigler, Cell 66:497-505, 1991]), indicating that a defect could be demonstrated in vivo. In vitro assays demonstrated that the inability to suppress loss of Cap/Srv2p correlated with a defect in the interaction with actin, independently of whether PIP2 binding was reduced. Since our earlier studies of Acanthamoeba profilins suggested the importance of PIP2 binding for suppression, we conclude that both activities are implicated and that an interplay between PIP2 binding and actin binding may be important for profilin function.

Purification of profilin from Saccharomyces cerevisiae and analysis of profilin-deficient cells.

We have isolated profilin from yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) and have microsequenced a portion of the protein to confirm its identity; the region microsequenced agrees with the predicted amino acid sequence from a profilin gene recently isolated from S. cerevisiae (Magdolen, V., U. Oechsner, G. Müller, and W. Bandlow. 1988. Mol. Cell. Biol. 8:5108-5115). Yeast profilin resembles profilins from other organisms in molecular mass and in the ability to bind to polyproline, retard the rate of actin polymerization, and inhibit hydrolysis of ATP by monomeric actin. Using strains that carry disruptions or deletions of the profilin gene, we have found that, under appropriate conditions, cells can survive without detectable profilin. Such cells grow slowly, are temperature sensitive, lose the normal ellipsoidal shape of yeast cells, often become multinucleate, and generally grow much larger than wild-type cells. In addition, these cells exhibit delocalized deposition of cell wall chitin and have dramatically altered actin distributions.