Mitochondrial respiratory mutants in yeast inhibit glycogen accumulation by blocking activation of glycogen synthase.

Control of glycogen synthase activity by protein phosphorylation is important for regulating the synthesis of glycogen. In this report, we describe a regulatory linkage between the ability of yeast cells to respire and activation of glycogen synthase. Strains containing respiration-deficient mutations in genes such as COQ3, required for the synthesis of coenzyme Q, were reduced in their ability to accumulate glycogen in response to limiting glucose. This lowered glycogen accumulation results from inactivation of the rate-determining enzyme, glycogen synthase (Gsy2p). Reduced glycogen synthase activity is coincident with lowered glucose 6-phosphate and ATP levels in the respiration-deficient cells deprived of glucose. Alanine substitutions of three previously characterized phosphorylation sites in Gsy2p, Ser-650, Ser-654, or Thr-667, each suppressed the glycogen defect in cells unable to respire, suggesting that inactivation of this enzyme is mediated by phosphorylation of these residues. Inactivation of glycogen synthase requires the RAS signaling pathway that controls cAMP-dependent protein kinase and is independent of Pho85p previously identified as a Gsy2p kinase. These results suggest that yeast cells unable to shift from a fermentative to a respiratory metabolic regimen block accumulation of glycogen by inactivating Gsy2p through protein phosphorylation.

Mutational analysis of Cak1p, an essential protein kinase that regulates cell cycle progression.

In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, entry into S phase requires the activation of the protein kinase Cdc28p through binding with cyclin Clb5p or Clb6p, as well as the destruction of the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor Sic1p. Mutants that are defective in this activation event arrest after START, with unreplicated DNA and multiple, elongated buds. These mutants include cells defective in CDC4, CDC34 or CDC53, as well as cells that have lost all CLB function. Here we describe mutations in another gene, CAK1, that lead to a similar arrest. Cells that are defective in CAK1 are inviable and arrest with a single nucleus and multiple, elongated buds. CAK1 encodes a protein kinase most closely related to the Cdc2p family of protein kinases. Mutations that lead to the production of an inactive kinase that can neither autophosphorylate, nor phosphorylate Cdc28p in vitro are also incapable of rescuing a cell with a deletion of CAK1. These results underscore the importance of the Cak1p protein kinase activity in cell cycle progression.

Rapid amplification of uncharacterized transposon-tagged DNA sequences from genomic DNA.

Although the entire DNA sequence of the yeast genome has been determined, the functions of nearly a third of the identified genes are unknown. Recently, we described a collection of mutants, each with a transposon-tagged disruption in an essential gene in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Identification of these essential genes and characterization of their mutant phenotypes should help assign functions to these thousands of novel genes, and since each mutation in our collection is physically marked by the uniform, unique DNA sequence of the transposable element, it should be possible to use the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to amplify the DNA adjacent to the transposon. However, existing PCR methods include steps that make their use on a large scale cumbersome. In this report, we describe a semi-random, two-step PCR protocol, ST-PCR. This method is simpler and more specific than current methods, requiring only genomic DNA and two pairs of PCR primers, and involving two successive PCR reactions. Using this method, we have rapidly and easily identified the essential genes identified by several of our mutants.

Genetic interactions between REG1/HEX2 and GLC7, the gene encoding the protein phosphatase type 1 catalytic subunit in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Mutations in GLC7, the gene encoding the type 1 protein phosphatase catalytic subunit, cause a variety of abberrant phenotypes in yeast, such as impaired glycogen synthesis and relief of glucose repression of the expression of some genes. Loss of function of the REG1/HEX2 gene, necessary for glucose repression of several genes, was found to suppress the glycogen-deficient phenotype of the glc7-1 allele. Deletion of REG1 in a wild-type background led to overaccumulation of glycogen as well as slow growth and an enlarged cell size. However, loss of REG1 did not suppress other phenotypes associated with GLC7 mutations, such as inability to sporulate or, in cells bearing the glc7Y-170 allele, lack of growth at 14 degrees. The effect of REG1 deletion on glycogen accumulation is not simply due to derepression of glucose-repressed genes, although it does require the presence of SNF1, which encodes a protein kinase essential for expression of glucose-repressed genes and for glycogen accumulation. We propose that REG1 has a role in controlling glycogen accumulation.

Cloning and characterization of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae C-22 sterol desaturase gene, encoding a second cytochrome P-450 involved in ergosterol biosynthesis.

The ERG5 gene from Saccharomyces cerevisiae was cloned by complementation of an erg5-1 mutation using a negative selection protocol involving screening for nystatin-sensitive transformants. ERG5 is the putative gene encoding the C-22 sterol desaturase required in ergosterol biosynthesis. The functional gene was localized to a 2.15-kb SacI-EcoRI DNA fragment containing an open reading frame of 538 amino acids (aa). ERG5 contains a 10-aa motif consistent with its role as a cytochrome P-450 (CyP450) enzyme and is similar to a number of mammalian CyP450 enzymes. Gene disruption demonstrates that ERG5 is not essential for cell viability.

The identification of transposon-tagged mutations in essential genes that affect cell morphology in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

The yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae reproduces by budding, and many genes are required for proper bud development. Mutations in some of these genes cause cells to die with an unusual terminal morphology-elongated or otherwise aberrantly shaped buds. To gain insight into bud development, we set out to identify novel genes that encode proteins required for proper bud morphogenesis. Previous studies screened collections of conditional mutations to identify genes required for essential functions, including bud formation. However, genes that are not susceptible to the generation of mutations that cause a conditional phenotype will not be identified in such screens. To identify a more comprehensive collection of mutants, we used transposon mutagenesis to generate a large collection of lethal disruption mutations. This collection was used to identify 209 mutants with disruptions that cause an aberrant terminal bud morphology. The disruption mutations in 33 of these mutants identify three previously uncharacterized genes as essential, and the mutant phenotypes suggest roles for their products in bud morphogenesis.

Ubiquitin-dependent proteolysis and cell cycle control in yeast.

Genetic and biochemical data indicate that ubiquitin-mediated proteolysis is involved in the regulated turnover of proteins required for controlling cell cycle progression. In general, mutations in some genes that encode proteins involved in the ubiquitin pathway cause cell cycle defects and affect the turnover of cell cycle regulatory proteins. Furthermore, some cell cycle regulatory proteins are short-lived, ubiquitinated, and degraded by the ubiquitin pathway. This review will examine how the ubiquitin pathway plays a role in regulating progression from the G1 to the S phase of the cell cycle, as well as the G2 to M phase transition.

Molecular dissection of the role of the membrane domain in the regulated degradation of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase.

We have previously shown that the membrane domain of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase from hamster contains all of the sequences required for both localization to the endoplasmic reticulum and regulated degradation of the enzyme. It has been reported that the enzymatic activity and mRNA levels of HMG-CoA reductase from sea urchin embryos cultured in the presence of regulators were unchanged compared to levels in control embryos (Woodward, H.D., Allen, M.C., and Lennarz, W.J. (1988) J. Biol. Chem. 263, 18411-18418). This observation led us to investigate the possibility that the sea urchin enzyme is not subject to regulated protein turnover. Interestingly, the sea urchin enzyme shares 62% amino acid sequence identity with the hamster enzyme in the membrane domain and shares similar predicted topological features. In the current studies we have compared the degradation phenotypes of the sea urchin HMG-CoA reductase and the hamster HMG-CoA reductase in Chinese hamster ovary cells to further elucidate the role of the membrane domain in enzyme degradation in response to physiological regulators. To accomplish this, we constructed sea urchin HMGal (uHMGal), the structural equivalent of hamster HMGal (httMGal), which has the sea urchin HMG-CoA reductase membrane domain fused to Escherichia coli beta-galactosidase. The uHMGal was stably expressed in CHO cells, and we found that the degradation of uHMGal is not accelerated by sterols, and even in the absence of sterols, it is less stable than hHMGal. We also constructed chimeric hamster/sea urchin HMGal molecules to investigate which amino acid sequences from the hamster enzyme are sufficient to confer sterol-regulated degradation upon the sea urchin enzyme. Our results identify the second membrane-spanning domain of hamster enzyme as important for the regulated degradation of HMG-CoA reductase.

The role of the membrane domain in the regulated degradation of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase.

We have constructed a series of mutations in the membrane and linker domains of Syrian hamster 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-(HMG) CoA reductase in order to determine the regions critical for the regulated degradation of the enzyme. In transfected Chinese hamster ovary cells, we have expressed a fusion protein, HMGal, which consists of the membrane and linker domains of the Syrian hamster HMG-CoA reductase fused to beta-galactosidase. Using this fusion protein, we have determined that a deletion of 64 amino acids from the central region of the membrane domain causes the protein to be degraded extremely rapidly. In addition, deletion of PEST sequences has little effect on degradation, but deletion of the linker domain makes the protein's degradation insensitive to sterols and mevalonate. In addition to deletion mutations, we have systematically replaced each hydrophobic, putative membrane spanning region of the membrane domain with the first transmembrane sequence from bacteriorhodopsin. Replacement of span 4 has no effect on degradation. Replacements of spans 5 or 6 result in a protein which has a normal basal rate of degradation, but this rate of degradation is not accelerated by mevalonate, low density lipoprotein, or 25-hydroxycholesterol. Replacement of span 3 results in a protein whose degradation is similarly not accelerated by sterols or mevalonate, but since this protein might be mislocalized, these results are inconclusive. Replacement of span 7 yields a short-lived protein which is degraded more rapidly in response to mevalonate but not in response to exogenous sterols. Replacement of span 8 extends both the basal and mevalonate-accelerated half-life about 5-fold. This work begins to define the critical regions for regulated degradation within the membrane domain of HMG-CoA reductase.

The regulated degradation of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA reductase requires a short-lived protein and occurs in the endoplasmic reticulum.

A chimeric gene consisting of the coding sequence for the membrane domain of the endoplasmic reticulum protein, 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase, fused to the coding sequence for the soluble enzyme, beta-galactosidase of Escherichia coli, has been previously constructed. This fusion protein, HMGal, has been localized to the membrane of the endoplasmic reticulum of Chinese hamster ovary cells transfected with this chimeric gene, and its beta-galactosidase activity has declined in the presence of low density lipoprotein (Skalnik, D. G., Narita, H., Kent, C., and Simoni, R. D. (1988) J. Biol. Chem. 263, 6836-6841). In this report, we demonstrate that the loss of beta-galactosidase activity results from the accelerated degradation of the HMGal protein. Taking advantage of a fluorescence-activated cell sorter technique, we have selected transfected cells which express sufficient levels of HMGal to improve its immunodetection. Based on pulse-chase experiments, the half-life of HMGal is 6.0 h, and, in the presence of 20 mM mevalonate, the half-life declines 1.7-fold. Under these conditions, mevalonate accelerates the degradation of HMG-CoA reductase in these cells 1.6-fold, from 8.4 h to 5.3 h, most probably by the same mechanism. This mevalonate-regulated degradation of HMGal is not due to a heteromeric association of HMGal with reductase, since the same effect has been observed in cells lacking the reductase protein. In addition, we demonstrate that inhibition of protein synthesis with cycloheximide abolishes the mevalonate-dependent accelerated degradation of HMGal, in agreement with previous studies which have presented indirect evidence that a short-lived protein is essential for mediating the loss of HMG-CoA reductase activity. Finally, using brefeldin A, we show that the mevalonate-dependent accelerated degradation of HMGal may occur in the endoplasmic reticulum.

Triiodothyronine alters the cornification of cultured human keratinocytes.

Scaly skin occurs in 80-90% of patients who are hypothyroid, the pathogenesis of which is unknown. Since thyroid hormone (T3) affects growth and differentiation in other organs, we examined the effects of its absence on keratinocytes in vitro. Human neonatal foreskin keratinocytes were cultivated and second passage cells were switched to T3-depleted (-T3) medium at 50% confluence. Cells maintained in the -T3 medium demonstrated increased (1.5 fold) levels of the cross-linking enzyme transglutaminase and increased (1.5 fold) formation of cornified envelopes, when compared to keratinocytes maintained in medium containing physiologic levels (2 X 10(-9)M) of T3. Additionally, in the -T3 cultures, the level of the protease plasminogen activator (PA), an enzyme implicated in the process of shedding of cornified cells, was decreased 70-80% of that measured in +T3 media. Absence of T3 from keratinocyte culture-medium increased both the level of the enzyme responsible for cross-linking cornified envelope precursors and the rate of envelope formation in cultured cells. The decreased levels of PA observed in the -T3 cultures could result in decreased shedding of cornified cells. These alterations in the process of keratinocyte differentiation may explain the clinically observed scaliness associated with hypothyroidism in humans. The molecular mechanism by which T3 alters keratinocyte cornification is not yet known.

Mutagenesis of the alpha subunit of the F1Fo-ATPase from Escherichia coli. Mutations at Glu-196, Pro-190, and Ser-199.

In an attempt to identify amino acid residues involved in proton translocation by the Fo sector of the Escherichia coli F1Fo-ATPase, 16 mutations at the carboxyl-terminal third of the a subunit have been isolated, and their phenotypes have been partially characterized. Thirteen mutations were constructed by "cassette" mutagenesis at two highly conserved residues, aglu196 and apro190. Two mutations were products of oligonucleotide-directed mutagenesis of a portion of of oligonucleotide-directed mutagenesis of a portion of the uncB gene cloned into an M13 vector. One mutation was isolated after in vitro mutagenesis of the entire uncB gene in a plasmid vector with hydroxylamine. Amino acid substitutions for aglu196 (Asp, Gln, His, Asn, Lys, Ala, Ser, Pro) affect ATP-driven proton translocation and passive proton permeability by Fo to varying extents, but do not prevent growth on minimal succinate media. Amino acid substitutions of glutamine or arginine for apro190 affect F1Fo-ATPase assembly and eliminate ATP-driven proton translocation, while the substitution of asparagine at this position does not significantly affect either assembly or proton translocation. The substitution of amino acids threonine or alanine for aser199 causes no detectable phenotypic change from wild type. These and other mutations are discussed in terms of the assembly, structure, and function of the a subunit. It is concluded that aglu196 and apro190 are not obligate components of the proton channel, but that they affect proton translocation indirectly.

Early-blocked sporulation mutations alter expression of enzymes under carbon control in Bacillus subtilis.

The physiological roles of the gene subset defined by early-blocked sporulation mutations (spo0) and their second-site suppressor alleles (rvtA11 and crsA47) remain cryptic for both vegetative and sporulating Bacillus subtilis cells. To test the hypothesis that spo0 gene products affect global regulation, we assayed the levels of carbon- and nitrogen-sensitive enzymes in wild-type and spo0 strains grown in a defined minimal medium containing various carbon and nitrogen sources. All the spo0 mutations (except spo0J) affected both histidase and arabinose isomerase levels in an unexpected way: levels of both carbon-sensitive enzymes were two- to six-fold higher in spo0 strains compared to wild type, when cells were grown on the derepressing carbon sources arabinose or maltose. There was no difference in enzyme levels with glucose-grown cells, nor was there a significant difference in levels of the carbon-independent enzymes glutamine synthetase and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase. This effect was not due to a slower growth rate for the spo0 mutants on the poor carbon and nitrogen sources used. The levels of carbon-sensitive enzymes were not simply correlated with sporulation ability in genetically suppressed spo0 mutants, but the rvtA and crsA suppressors each had such marked effects on wild-type growth and enzyme levels that these results were difficult to interpret. We conclude that directly or indirectly the spo0 mutations, although blocking the sporulation process, increase levels of carbon-sensitive enzymes, possibly at the level of gene expression.