Identification and analysis of a Saccharomyces cerevisiae copper homeostasis gene encoding a homeodomain protein.

Yeast metallothionein, encoded by the CUP1 gene, and its copper-dependent transcriptional activator ACE1 play a key role in mediating copper resistance in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Using an ethyl methanesulfonate mutant of a yeast strain in which CUP1 and ACE1 were deleted, we isolated a gene, designated CUP9, which permits yeast cells to grow at high concentrations of environmental copper, most notably when lactate is the sole carbon source. Disruption of CUP9, which is located on chromosome XVI, caused a loss of copper resistance in strains which possessed CUP1 and ACE1, as well as in the cup1 ace1 deletion strain. Measurement of intracellular copper levels of the wild-type and cup9-1 mutant demonstrated that total intracellular copper concentrations were unaffected by CUP9. CUP9 mRNA levels were, however, down regulated by copper when yeast cells were grown with glucose but not with lactate or glycerol-ethanol as the sole carbon source. This down regulation was independent of the copper metalloregulatory transcription factor ACE1. The DNA sequence of CUP9 predicts an open reading frame of 306 amino acids in which a 55-amino-acid sequence showed 47% identity with the homeobox domain of the human proto-oncogene PBX1, suggesting that CUP9 is a DNA-binding protein which regulates the expression of important copper homeostatic genes.

An engineered bifunctional high affinity iron uptake protein in the yeast plasma membrane.

High affinity iron uptake in fungi is supported by a plasma membrane protein complex that includes a multicopper ferroxidase enzyme and a ferric iron permease. In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, this complex is composed of the ferroxidase Fet3p and the permease Ftr1p. Fe(II) serves as substrate for Fe-uptake by being substrate for Fet3p; the resulting Fet3p-produced Fe(III) is then transported across the membrane via Ftr1p. A model of metabolite channeling of this Fe(III) is tested here by first constructing and kinetically characterizing in Fe-uptake two Fet3p-Ftr1p chimeras in which the multicopper oxidase/ferroxidase domain of Fet3p has been fused to the Ftr1p iron permease. Although the bifunctional chimeras are as kinetically efficient in Fe-uptake as is the wild type two-component system, they lack the adaptability and fidelity in Fe-uptake of the wild type. Specifically, Fe-uptake through the Fet3p, Ftr1p complex is insensitive to a potential Fe(III) trapping agent - citrate - whereas Fe-uptake via the chimeric proteins is competitively inhibited by this Fe(III) chelator. This inhibition does not appear to be due to scavenging Fet3p-produced Fe(III) that is in equilibrium with bulk solvent but could be due to leakiness to citrate found in the bifunctional but not the two-component system. The data are consistent with a channeling model of Fe-trafficking in the Fet3p, Ftr1p complex and suggest that in this system, Fet3p serves as a redox sieve that presents Fe(III) specifically for permeation through Ftr1p.

The utilization of copper and its role in the biosynthesis of copper-containing proteins in the fungus, Dactylium dendroides.

Aspects of the utilization of copper by the fungus, Dactylium dendroides, have been studied. The organism grows normally at copper levels below 10 nM. Cells grown in medium containing 30 nM copper or less concentrate exogenous metal at all levels of added copper; copper uptake is essentially complete within 15 min and is not inhibited by cycloheximide, dinitrophenol or cyanide. These results indicate that copper absorption is not an energy-dependent process. The relationship between fungal copper status and the activities of three copper-containing enzymes, galactose oxidase, and extracellular enzyme, the cytosolic, Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase and cytochrome oxidase, has also been established. The synthesis of galactose oxidase protein (holoenzyme plus apo-enzyme) is independent of copper concentration. Cells grown in copper-free medium (less than 10 nM copper) excrete normal amounts of galactose oxidase as an apoprotein. At medium copper levels below 5 micrometer, new cultures contain enough total copper to enable the limited number of cells to attain sufficient intracellular copper to support hologalactose oxidase production. As a result of cell division, however, the amount of copper available per cell drops to a threshold of approx. 10 ng/mg below which point only apogalactose oxidase is secreted. Above 5 micrometer medium copper, holoenzyme secretion is maintained throughout cell growth. The levels of the Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase respond differently in that the protein itself apparently is synthesized in only limited amounts in copper-depleted cells. Total cellular superoxide dismutase activity is maintained under such conditions by an increase in activity associated with the mitochondrial, CN(-)-insensitive, manganese form of this enzyme. Cells grown at 10 micrometer copper show 83% of their superoxide dismutase activity to be contributed by the Cu/Zn form compared to a 17% contribution to the total activity in cells grown at 30 nM copper, indicating that the biosynthesis of the Cu/Zn and Mn-containing enzymes is coordinated. The data show that the level of copper modulates the synthesis of the cytosolic superoxide dismutase. In contrast, the cytochrome oxidase activity of D. dendroides is independent of cellular copper levels obtainable. Thus, the data also suggest that these three enzymes utilize different cellular copper pools. As cells are depleted of copper by cell division, the available copper is used to maintain Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase and cytochrome oxidase activity; at very low levels of copper, only the latter activity is maintained. The induction of the manganisuperoxide dismutase in copper-depleted cells should have practical value in the isolation of this protein.

Ligand-induced conformational changes in spin label-modified human hemoglobins and chains and their carboxypeptidase A-digested derivatives.

The reactive sulfhydryls of human adult and fetal hemoglobin and the single sulfhydryl of isolated gamma chains have been spin labeled with N-(1-oxyl-2,2,5,5-tetramethyl-3-pyrrolidinyl) iodoacetamide. Similar electron paramagnetic spectral differences between oxy- and deoxy-modified hemoglobins were observed for both these hemoglobins and for the isolated chains, indicating that ligand-induced conformational changes occur in isolated hemoglobin subunits as well as intact hemoglobin tetramers. Ligand induced changes in the reactivity of p-hydroxymercuribenzoate with the sulfhydryl groups of both intact hemoglobins and isolated subunits, observed by McDonald and Noble (1974) J. Biol. Chem. 249, 3161-3165), led them to draw a similar conclusion. Following carboxypeptidase A digestion of these modified hemoglobins and gamma chains, a procedure which specifically removes the two C-terminal residues of the beta or gamma chains, spectral differences between the liganded and unliganded spin-labeled derivatives still persisted. However, the magnitude of this difference was not only more reduced in the case of the hemoglobins than in that of the subunits but the spectra of both the oxy and deoxy derivatives of the hemoglobins were characteristic of the oxy derivative of a cooperative tetrameric hemoglobin. These findings support the premise that the COOH-terminal end of the beta or gamma chain contributes, although possibly to different extents, to the spectral differences exhibited by both the spin-labeled hemoglobins and chains.

Kinetic mechanism of the Cu(II) enzyme galactose oxidase.

The steady-state kinetics of four redox reactions catalyzed by galactose oxidase have been determined. The alcohol substrate used in each case was galactose; the four oxidant substrates used were O2, IrCl6(2)-, porphyrexide, and Fe(CN)6(3)-. With the exception of the last reagent, saturation behavior is exhibited by all substrates. Double reciprocal plots of rate data obtained varying one substrate at various concentrations of the other are intersecting for all parsi that exhibited saturation behavior. Thus, these reactions are kinetically sequential processes involving single central complexes. These complexes involve enzyme, galactose, and one molecule of oxidant, whether or not the oxidant is a one- or two-electron acceptor. This result indicates that for one-electron oxidants, an enzyme.alcohol-derived radical species may exist as a transient prior to the reaction of the second electron equivalent of oxidant. A similar substrate radical.O2- transient is postulated in the reaction involving O2. The inhibition by H2O2 has also been studied in detail. H2O2 apparently binds to the enzyme at two sites. The nature of alcohol and O2 binding to the enzyme Cu(II) is discussed in light of these kinetic results.

Intracellular Mn (II)-associated superoxide scavenging activity protects Cu,Zn superoxide dismutase-deficient Saccharomyces cerevisiae against dioxygen stress.

Three Cu,Zn superoxide dismutase (SOD-1)-deficient Saccharomyces cerevisiae mutants do not grow in 100% O2 in rich medium and require Met and Lys when grown in air (Bilinski, T., Krawiec, Z., Liczmanski, A., and Litwinska, J. (1985) Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 130, 533-539). We show herein that medium manganese (II) accumulated by the mutants rescues these O2-sensitive phenotypes; 2 mM medium Mn2+ represented the threshold required for cell growth. The accumulation of Mn2+ was not oxygen-inducible since mutants grown aerobically and anaerobically accumulated the same amount of Mn2+. Mn2+ accumulation is not unique to these mutants since wild type accumulated almost twice as much Mn2+ as did mutant. ESR spectra of the cell extracts and whole cells loaded with Mn2+ were typical of free Mn(II) ion. These spectra could not account quantitatively for the total cellular Mn2+, however. A screen for soluble antioxidant activities in the Mn2+-supplemented cells detected O2- (superoxide) scavenging activity, with no change in catalase or peroxidase activities. This O2- scavenging activity was CN- and heat-resistant. No achromatic bands were revealed in nondenaturing gels of Mn2+- containing cell extracts stained for O2- scavenging activity. The Mn2+-dependent O2- scavenging activity in the cell extracts was quenched by EDTA and dialyzable. More than 60% of both the intracellular Mn2+ and the O2- scavenging activity was removed by 2-h dialysis. Dialyzed cells were not viable in air unless resupplemented with either Met or Mn2+. Although Mn2+ supported the aerobic growth of these mutants, excess Mn2+, which correlated with an elevated O2- scavenging activity, was toxic to both mutant and wild type. The results indicate that free or loosely bound Mn2+ ion protects the mutants against oxygen stress by providing an intracellular, presumably cytosolic, O2- scavenging activity which replaces the absent SOD-1.

O2-dependent methionine auxotrophy in Cu,Zn superoxide dismutase-deficient mutants of Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Mutant strains of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae which lack functional Cu,Zn superoxide dismutase (SOD-1) do not grow aerobically unless supplemented with methionine. The molecular basis of this O2-dependent auxotrophy in one of the mutants, Dscd1-1C, has been investigated. Sulfate supported anaerobic but not aerobic mutant growth. On the other hand, cysteine and homocysteine supported aerobic growth while serine, O-acetylserine, and homoserine did not, indicating that the interconversion of cysteine and methionine (and homocysteine) was not impaired. Thiosulfate (S2O3(2-] and sulfide (S2-) also supported aerobic growth; the activities of thiosulfate reductase and sulfhydrylase in the aerobic mutant strain were at wild-type levels. Although the levels of SO4(2-) and adenosine-5'-sulfate (the first intermediate in the SO4(2-) assimilation pathway) were elevated in the aerobically incubated mutant strain, this condition could be attributed to a decrease in protein synthesis caused by the de facto sulfur starvation and not to a block in the pathway. Therefore, the activation of SO4(2-) (to form 3'-phosphoadenosine-5'-phosphosulfate) appeared to be O2 tolerant. Sulfite reductase activity and substrate concentrations [( NADPH] and [SO3(2-)]) were not significantly different in aerobically grown mutant cultures and anaerobic cultures, indicating that SOD-1- mutant strains could reductively assimilate sulfur oxides. However, the mutant strain exhibited an O2-dependent sensitivity to SO3(2-) concentrations of less than 50 microM not exhibited by any SOD-1+ strain or by SOD-1- strains supplemented with a cytosolic O2(-)-scavenging activity. This result suggests that the aerobic reductive assimilation of SO4(2-) at the level of SO3(2-) may generate a cytotoxic compound(s) which persists in SOD-(1-) yeast strains.

Copper uptake in wild type and copper metallothionein-deficient Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Kinetics and mechanism.

The mechanism of copper uptake in Saccharomyces cerevisiae has been investigated using a combination of 64Cu2+ and atomic absorption spectrophotometry. A wild type copper-resistant CUP 1R-containing strain and a strain carrying a deletion of the CUP1 locus (yeast copper metallothionein) exhibited quantitatively similar saturable energy-dependent 64Cu2+ uptake when cultures were pregrown in copper-free media (medium [Cu] approximately 15 nM). The kinetic constants for uptake by the wild type strain were Vmax = 0.21 nmol of copper/min/mg of protein and Km = 4.4 microM. This accumulation of 64Cu2+ represented net uptake as confirmed by atomic absorption spectrophotometry. This uptake was not seen in glucose-starved cells, but was supported in glycerol- and ethanol-grown ones. Uptake was inhibited by both N3- and dinitrophenol and was barely detectable in cultures at 4 degrees C. When present at 50 microM, Zn2+ and Ni2+ inhibited by 50% indicating that this uptake process was relatively selective for Cu2+. 64Cu2+ accumulation was qualitatively and quantitatively different in cultures either grown in or preincubated with cold Cu2+. Either treatment resulted in the appearance of a fast phase (t 1/2 approximately 1 min) of 64Cu2+ accumulation which represented isotopic exchange since it did not lead to an increase in the mass of cell-associated copper; also, it was not energy-dependent. Exchange of 64Cu2+ into this pool was not inhibited by Zn2+. Pretreatment with Cu2+ caused a change in the rate of net accumulation as well; a 3-h incubation of cells in 5 microM medium Cu2+ caused a 1.6-fold increase in the velocity of energy-dependent uptake. Prior addition of cycloheximide abolished this Cu2(+)-dependent increase and, in fact, inhibited the 64Cu2+ uptake velocity by greater than 85%. The exchangeable pool was also absent in cycloheximide, Cu2(+)-treated cells suggesting that exchangeable Cu2+ derived from the copper taken up initially by the energy-dependent process. The thionein deletion mutant was similar to wild type in response to medium Cu2+ and cycloheximide indicating that copper metallothionein is not directly involved in Cu2+ uptake (as distinct from retention) in yeast.

Purification, properties, kinetics, and mechanism of beta-N-acetylglucosamidase from Aspergillus niger.

Beta-N-Acetylglucosaminidase has been purified from an acetone extract of Aspergillus niger. The protein has a Mr = 149,000. It contains neither Mn2+, Zn2+, nor cysteine and exhibits no cation requirement for activity. Isoelectric focusing separates two isozymes; the major isoenzyme has a pI = 4.4. Both isozymes exhibit beta-N-acetylgalactosaminidase and beta-glucosidase, as well as glucosaminidase activity. The mechanism of action of this enzyme has been studied in detail using a variety of substrate structure/activity and kinetic experiments. Rate data plotted versus pH depends on the following ionization constants, respectively: for pKm, 2.95; for log Kcat, 7.6; and for log kcat/Km, 2.95 and 8.25. The kcat value of H2O/D2O for p-nitrophenyl-beta-N-acetylglucosaminide hydrolysis is 1.27 at pH 4.6 and 1.00 at pH 7.0. The rho value for the hydrolysis of para-substituted phenylglucosaminides is +0.36; rho for the hydrolysis of fluoro-substituted N-acetyl derivatives is -1.41. Two sulfur-containing substrate analogues, the 1-thioglucosaminide, and the N-thioacetyl derivative, exhibit either no or little substrate activity. The hydrolysis of the 2,4-dinitrophenyl-glucosaminide is not biphasic as indicated by stopped flow kinetic studies. These several results are interpreted to show that: 1) enzymatic nucleophilic catalysis is not employed by beta-N-acetylglucosaminidase; 2) the glycosidic oxygen is protonated very early in the reaction, perhaps even in the Michaelis complex; 3) the acetamido oxygen provides anchimeric assistance to hydrolysis via charge stabilization of the oxocarbonium ion (or via oxazoline formation); 4) additional charge stabilization is provided by an enzymic anion, perhaps a side chain carboxylate group. The role of the acetamido group is discussed and comparisons are made between lysozyme, beta-galactosidase, and beta-N-acetylglucosaminidase.

Solvent exchangeable protons and the activation of molecular oxygen: the galactose oxidase reaction.

The reduction of O2 to H2O2 requires two protons as well as two electrons. Thus, activation of dioxygen reasonably may involve either general or specific acid catalysis. Consequently, the reduction of O2 to H2O2 could exhibit a kinetic solvent isotope effect (KSIE). The reaction catalyzed by the mononuclear Cu(II) enzyme, galactose oxidase does exhibit a KSIE (+1.55). The pL-rate profile exhibits an alkaline shift in D2O which can be attributed to the differential partitioning of H+ versus D+ between bulk water and a metal-bound H2O (delta pKa = +0.19). A variety of spectral evidence places an equatorial, Cu(II)-liganded water molecule at the active site of galactose oxidase. The analysis of the KSIE data is detailed and the potential generality of the function of such metal-bound H2O at other type 2 Cu(II) sites is discussed.

Solvent and solvent proton dependent steps in the galactose oxidase reaction.

Solvent and solvent proton dependent steps involved in the mechanism of the enzyme galactose oxidase have been examined. The deuterium kinetic solvent isotope effect (KSIE) on the velocity of the galactose oxidase catalyzed oxidation of methyl beta-galactopyranoside by O2 was measured. Examination of the thermodynamic activation parameters for the reaction indicated that the isotope effect was attributable to a slightly less favorable delta H value, consistent with a KSIE on proton transfer. A detailed kinetic analysis was performed, examining the effect of D2O on the rate of reaction over the pH range 4.8-8.0. Both pL-rate profiles exhibited bell-shaped curves. Substitution of D2O as solvent shifted the pKes values for the enzymic central complex: pKes1 from 6.30 to 6.80 and pKes2 from 7.16 to 7.35. Analysis of the observed shifts in dissociation constants was performed with regard to potential hydrogenic sites. pKes1 can be attributed to a histidine imidazole, while pKes2 is tentatively assigned to a Cu2+-bound water molecule. A proton inventory was performed (KSIE = +1.55); the plot of kcat vs. mole fraction D2O was linear, indicating the existence of a single solvent-derived proton involved in a galactose oxidase rate-determining step (or steps). The pH dependence of CN- inhibition was also examined. The Ki-pH profile indicated that a group ionization, with pKa = 7.17, modulated CN- inhibition; Ki was at a minimum when this group was in the protonated state. The inhibition profile followed the alkaline limit of the pH-rate profile for the enzymic reaction, suggesting that the group displaced by CN- was also deprotonating above pH 7.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Evidence for Cu(II) reduction as a component of copper uptake by Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

The yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae contains a plasma membrane reductase activity associated with the gene product of the FRE1 locus. This reductase is required for Fe(III) uptake by this yeast; transcription from FRE1 is repressed by iron (Dancis, A., Klausner, R. D., Hinnebusch, A. G., and Barriocanal, J. G. (1990) Mol. Cell. Biol. 10, 2294-2301). We show here that Cu(II) is equally efficient at repressing FRE1 transcription and is an excellent substrate for the Fre1p reductase. This reductase activity is required for 50-70% of the uptake of 64Cu by wild type cells. Under conditions of low Fre1-dependent activity, cells retain 30-70% of Cu(II) reductase activity but only 8-25% of Fe(III) reductase activity. While Fre1p-dependent activity is 100% inhibitable by Pt(II), this residual Cu(II) reduction is insensitive to this inhibitor. The data suggest the presence of a Fre1p-independent reductase activity in the yeast plasma membrane which is relatively specific for Cu(II) and which supports copper uptake in the absence of FRE1 expression. The gene product of MAC1, which is required for regulation of FRE1 transcription, is also required for expression of Cu(II) reduction activity. This is due in part to its role in the regulation of FRE1; however, it is required for expression of the putative Cu(II) reductase, as well. Similarly, a gain-of-function mutation, MAC1up1, which causes elevated and unregulated transcription from FRE1 and elevated Fe(III) reduction and 59Fe uptake exhibits a similar phenotype with respect to Cu(II) reduction and 64Cu uptake. Ascorbate, which reduces periplasmic Cu(II) to Cu(I), suppresses the dependence of 64Cu uptake on plasma membrane reductase activity as is the case for ascorbate-supported 59Fe uptake. The close parallels between Cu(II) and Fe(III) reduction, and 64Cu and 59Fe uptake, strongly suggest that Cu(II) uptake by yeast involves a Cu(I) intermediate. This results in the reductive mobilization of the copper from periplasmic chelating agents, making the free ion available for translocation across the plasma membrane.

Biosynthesis and cellular distribution of the two superoxide dismutases of Dactylium dendroides.

The synthesis and subcellular localization of the two superoxide dismutases of Dactylium dendroides were studied in relation to changes in copper and manganese availability. Cultures grew normally at all medium copper concentrations used (10 nM to 1 mM). In the presence of high (10 muM) copper, manganese was poorly absorbed in comparison to the other metals in the medium. However, cells grown at 10 nM copper exhibited a 3.5-fold increase in manganese content, while the concentration of the other metals remained constant. Cultures grown at 10 nM copper or more had 80% Cu/Zn enzyme and 20% mangani enzyme; the former was entirely in the cytosol, and the latter was mitochondrial. Removal of copper from the medium resulted in decreased Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase synthesis with a concomitant increase in the mangani enzyme such that total cellular superoxide dismutase activity remained constant. The mangani enzyme in excess of the 20% was present in the non-mitochondrial fraction. The mitochondria, therefore, show no variability with respect to superoxide dismutase content, whereas the soluble fraction varies from 100 to 13% Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase. Copper-starved cells that were synthesizing predominantly mangani superoxide dismutase could be switched over to mostly Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase synthesis by supplementing the medium with copper during growth. Immunoprecipitation experiments suggest that the decrease in Cu/Zn activity at low copper concentration is a result of decreased synthesis of that protein rather than the production of an inactive apoprotein.

Regulation of galactose oxidase synthesis and secretion in Dactylium dendroides: effects of pH and culture density.

The effects of pH and growth density on the amount of an extracellular enzyme, galactose oxidase, synthesized by the fungus Dactylium dendroides were studied. Growth at a pH below 6.7 caused a decrease in the ability of the organism to release galactose oxidase. The enzyme retained by these fungal cells was liberated whenever the pH was raised to 7.0. Cycloheximide addition failed to inhibit the appearance of this protein; [3H]leucine added prior to pH adjustment was not incorporated into the released protein, These observations indicate the released protein is not newly synthesized protein. The retained enzyme would be secreted slowly over a 2-day period if the pH was not increased. In addition to regulating protein retention, pH was also shown to be associated with vacuolization, cell volume, culture density, and inhibition of protein synthesis. Cultures maintained at low pH were characterized by a dense growth consisting of highly vacuolated, buoyant, fungal hyphae. Increasing the pH from 6 to 7 caused a decrease in vacuole size. Cells grown at neutral pH maintained a lower density of growth and, based on activity measurements, synthesized 33% more galactose oxidase. Furthermore, cultures grown at pH 6.0 and maintained at a lower cell density produced galactose oxidase at a level similar to that of cells grown at neutral pH. Thus, the elevated density of the cell culture was inhibitory to galactose oxidase synthesis. The observed effects on protein synthesis and release were rather specific for galactose oxidase, since other extracellular proteins appeared in the earliest stages of growth.

Regulation of high affinity iron uptake in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Role of dioxygen and Fe.

High affinity iron uptake in Saccharomyces cerevisiae requires a metal reductase, a multicopper ferroxidase, and an iron permease. Fet3, the apparent ferroxidase, is proposed to facilitate iron uptake by catalyzing the oxidation of reductase-generated Fe(II) to Fe(III) by O2; in this model, Fe(III) is the substrate for the iron permease, encoded by FTR1 (Kaplan, J., and O'Halloran, T. V. (1996) Science 271, 1510-1512). We show here that dioxygen also plays an essential role in the expression of these iron uptake activities. Cells grown anaerobically exhibited no Fe(III) reductase or high affinity iron uptake activity, even if assayed for these activities under air. Northern blot analysis showed that the amount of those mRNAs encoding proteins associated with this uptake was repressed in anaerobic cultures but was rapidly induced by exposure of the culture to dioxygen. The anaerobic repression was reduced in cells expressing an iron-independent form of the trans-activator, Aft1, a protein that regulates the expression of these proteins. Thus, the effect of oxygenation on this expression appeared due at least in part to the state or distribution of iron in the cells. In support of this hypothesis, the membrane-permeant Fe(II) chelator, 2, 2'-bipyridyl, in contrast to the impermeant chelator bathophenanthroline disulfonate, caused a strong and rapid induction of these transcripts under anaerobic conditions. An increase in the steady-state levels of iron-regulated transcripts upon oxygenation or 2,2'-bipyridyl addition occurred within 5 min, indicating that a relatively small, labile intracellular pool of Fe(II) regulates the expression of these activities. The strength of the anaerobic repression was dependent on the low affinity, Fe(II)-specific iron transporter, encoded by FET4, suggesting that this Fe(II) pool was linked in part to iron brought into the cell via Fet4 protein. The data suggest a model in which dioxygen directly or indirectly modulates the Fe(III)/Fe(II) ratio in an iron pool linked to Aft1 protein while bipyridyl increases this ratio by chelating Fe(II). These results indicate that dioxygen both modulates the sensitivity to iron-dependent transcriptional regulation and acts as substrate for Fet3 in the ferroxidase reaction catalyzed by this ceruloplasmin homologue.

The yeast copper/zinc superoxide dismutase and the pentose phosphate pathway play overlapping roles in oxidative stress protection.

In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, loss of cytosolic superoxide dismutase (Sod1) results in several air-dependent mutant phenotypes, including methionine auxotrophy and oxygen sensitivity. Here we report that these two sod1Delta phenotypes were specifically suppressed by elevated expression of the TKL1 gene, encoding transketolase of the pentose phosphate pathway. The apparent connection between Sod1 and the pentose phosphate pathway prompted an investigation of mutants defective in glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (Zwf1), which catalyzes the rate-limiting NADPH-producing step of this pathway. We confirmed that zwf1Delta mutants are methionine auxotrophs and report that they also are oxygen-sensitive. We determined that a functional ZWF1 gene product was required for TKL1 to suppress sod1Delta, leading us to propose that increased flux through the oxidative reactions of the pentose phosphate pathway can rescue sod1 methionine auxotrophy. To better understand this methionine growth requirement, we examined the sulfur compound requirements of sod1Delta and zwf1Delta mutants, and noted that these mutants exhibit the same apparent defect in sulfur assimilation. Our studies suggest that this defect results from the impaired redox status of aerobically grown sod1 and zwf1 mutants, implicating Sod1 and the pentose phosphate pathway as being critical for maintenance of the cellular redox state.