Dosage suppressors of pds1 implicate ubiquitin-associated domains in checkpoint control.

In budding yeast, anaphase initiation is controlled by ubiquitin-dependent degradation of Pds1p. Analysis of pds1 mutants implicated Pds1p in the DNA damage, spindle assembly, and S-phase checkpoints. Though some components of these pathways are known, others remain to be identified. Moreover, the essential function of Pds1p, independent of its role in checkpoint control, has not been elucidated. To identify loci that genetically interact with PDS1, we screened for dosage suppressors of a temperature-sensitive pds1 allele, pds1-128, defective for checkpoint control at the permissive temperature and essential for viability at 37 degrees C. Genetic and functional interactions of two suppressors are described. RAD23 and DDI1 suppress the temperature and hydroxyurea, but not radiation or nocodazole, sensitivity of pds1-128. rad23 and ddi1 mutants are partially defective in S-phase checkpoint control but are proficient in DNA damage and spindle assembly checkpoints. Therefore, Rad23p and Ddi1p participate in a subset of Pds1p-dependent cell cycle controls. Both Rad23p and Ddi1p contain ubiquitin-associated (UBA) domains which are required for dosage suppression of pds1-128. UBA domains are found in several proteins involved in ubiquitin-dependent proteolysis, though no function has been assigned to them. Deletion of the UBA domains of Rad23p and Ddi1p renders cells defective in S-phase checkpoint control, implicating UBA domains in checkpoint signaling. Since Pds1p destruction, and thus checkpoint regulation of mitosis, depends on ubiquitin-dependent proteolysis, we propose that the UBA domains functionally interact with the ubiquitin system to control Pds1p degradation in response to checkpoint activation.

The Pds1 anaphase inhibitor and Mec1 kinase define distinct checkpoints coupling S phase with mitosis in budding yeast.

In most eukaryotic cells, DNA replication is confined to S phase of the cell cycle [1]. During this interval, S-phase checkpoint controls restrain mitosis until replication is complete [2]. In budding yeast, the anaphase inhibitor Pds1p has been associated with the checkpoint arrest of mitosis when DNA is damaged or when mitotic spindles have formed aberrantly [3] [4], but not when DNA replication is blocked with hydroxyurea (HU). Previous studies have implicated the protein kinase Mec1p in S-phase checkpoint control [5]. Unlike mec1 mutants, pds1 mutants efficiently inhibit anaphase when replication is blocked. This does not, however, exclude an essential S-phase checkpoint function of Pds1 beyond the early S-phase arrest point of a HU block. Here, we show that Pds1p is an essential component of a previously unsuspected checkpoint control system that couples the completion of S phase with mitosis. Further, the S-phase checkpoint comprises at least two distinct pathways. A Mec1p-dependent pathway operates early in S phase, but a Pds1p-dependent pathway becomes essential part way through S phase.

MCD4 encodes a conserved endoplasmic reticulum membrane protein essential for glycosylphosphatidylinositol anchor synthesis in yeast.

Glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI)-anchored proteins are cell surface-localized proteins that serve many important cellular functions. The pathway mediating synthesis and attachment of the GPI anchor to these proteins in eukaryotic cells is complex, highly conserved, and plays a critical role in the proper targeting, transport, and function of all GPI-anchored protein family members. In this article, we demonstrate that MCD4, an essential gene that was initially identified in a genetic screen to isolate Saccharomyces cerevisiae mutants defective for bud emergence, encodes a previously unidentified component of the GPI anchor synthesis pathway. Mcd4p is a multimembrane-spanning protein that localizes to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and contains a large NH2-terminal ER lumenal domain. We have also cloned the human MCD4 gene and found that Mcd4p is both highly conserved throughout eukaryotes and has two yeast homologues. Mcd4p's lumenal domain contains three conserved motifs found in mammalian phosphodiesterases and nucleotide pyrophosphases; notably, the temperature-conditional MCD4 allele used for our studies (mcd4-174) harbors a single amino acid change in motif 2. The mcd4-174 mutant (1) is defective in ER-to-Golgi transport of GPI-anchored proteins (i.e., Gas1p) while other proteins (i.e., CPY) are unaffected; (2) secretes and releases (potentially up-regulated cell wall) proteins into the medium, suggesting a defect in cell wall integrity; and (3) exhibits marked morphological defects, most notably the accumulation of distorted, ER- and vesicle-like membranes. mcd4-174 cells synthesize all classes of inositolphosphoceramides, indicating that the GPI protein transport block is not due to deficient ceramide synthesis. However, mcd4-174 cells have a severe defect in incorporation of [3H]inositol into proteins and accumulate several previously uncharacterized [3H]inositol-labeled lipids whose properties are consistent with their being GPI precursors. Together, these studies demonstrate that MCD4 encodes a new, conserved component of the GPI anchor synthesis pathway and highlight the intimate connections between GPI anchoring, bud emergence, cell wall function, and feedback mechanisms likely to be involved in regulating each of these essential processes. A putative role for Mcd4p as participating in the modification of GPI anchors with side chain phosphoethanolamine is also discussed.

Identification of genes controlling growth polarity in the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae: a possible role of N-glycosylation and involvement of the exocyst complex.

The regulation of secretion polarity and cell surface growth during the cell cycle is critical for proper morphogenesis and viability of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. A shift from isotropic cell surface growth to polarized growth is necessary for bud emergence and a repolarization of secretion to the bud neck is necessary for cell separation. Although alterations in the actin cytoskeleton have been implicated in these changes in secretion polarity, clearly other cellular systems involved in secretion are likely to be targets of cell cycle regulation. To investigate mechanisms coupling cell cycle progression to changes in secretion polarity in parallel with and downstream of regulation of actin polarization, we implemented a screen for mutants defective specifically in polarized growth but with normal actin cytoskeleton structure. These mutants fell into three classes: those partially defective in N-glycosylation, those linked to specific defects in the exocyst, and a third class neither defective in glycosylation nor linked to the exocyst. These results raise the possibility that changes in N-linked glycosylation may be involved in a signal linking cell cycle progression and secretion polarity and that the exocyst may have regulatory functions in coupling the secretory machinery to the polarized actin cytoskeleton.

BED1, a gene encoding a galactosyltransferase homologue, is required for polarized growth and efficient bud emergence in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

The ellipsoidal shape of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae is the result of successive isotropic/apical growth switches that are regulated in a cell cycle-dependent manner. It is thought that growth polarity is governed by the remodeling of the actin cytoskeleton that is itself under the control of the cell cycle machinery. The cell cycle and the morphogenesis cycle are tightly coupled and it has been recently suggested that a morphogenesis/polarity checkpoint control monitors bud emergence in order to maintain the coupling of these two events (Lew, D. J., and S. I. Reed. 1995. J. Cell Biol. 129:739-749). During a screen based on the inability of cells impaired in the budding process to survive when the morphogenesis checkpoint control is abolished, we identified and characterized BED1, a new gene that is required for efficient budding. Cells carrying a disrupted allele of BED1 no longer have the wild-type ellipsoidal shape characteristic of S. cerevisiae, are larger than wild-type cells, are deficient in bud emergence, and depend upon an intact morphogenesis checkpoint control to survive. These cells show defects in polarized growth despite the fact that the actin cytoskeleton appears normal. Our results suggest that Bed1 is a type II membrane protein localized in the endoplasmic reticulum. BED1 is significantly homologous to gma12+, a S. pombe gene coding for an alpha-1,2,-galactosyltransferase, suggesting that glycosylation of specific proteins or lipids could be important for signaling in the switch to polarized growth and in bud emergence.

Identification of a novel downstream binding protein implicated in late-phase-specific activation of the adenovirus major late promotor.

The adenovirus major late promotor (MLP) is induced to very high levels after the onset of the viral DNA replication. Previous studies have identified sequence elements located downstream of the MLP startsite (DE1, between +85 and +98; DE2, between +100 and +120) implicated, together with the upstream promoter element, in this late-phase-specific transcriptional activation. One protein (DEF, now renamed DEF-A), induced during the late phase of viral infection, has been identified and shown to bind to the DE1 element (Jansen-Durr et al., 1989, J. Virol. 63, 5124-5132). Here we report about a distinct late-phase-specific protein (DEF-B) and its interactions with DEF-A. DNA-binding studies reveal that DEF-B interacts with the 5' part of DE2 (DE2b), whereas DEF-A, besides its interaction with DE1, also binds to the 3' portion of DE2 (DE2a), but with a lower affinity than for DE1. Furthermore, when added together, DEF-A and DEF-B cooperatively assemble onto the DE2 element as a heteromeric complex which is substantially more stable than the complexes formed by each protein alone. Using an in vivo transcriptional assay of the MLP, we show that DEF-A and DEF-B both have intrinsic transactivating properties.

Cooperation between upstream and downstream elements of the adenovirus major late promoter for maximal late phase-specific transcription.

Transcription from the adenovirus major late promoter (MLP) is greatly stimulated during lytic infection, after replication of the viral DNA has started. This replication-dependent activation has previously been shown to be mediated by a positive regulatory cellular protein(s). Binding of this factor(s) to sequence elements (DE1 and DE2), located between positions +76 and +124, with respect to the MLP transcriptional startsite, is detected only after the onset of DNA replication. Using a cell-free transcription system which mimics the late phase induction of the MLP and DNA binding assays, we now present evidence showing that maximal stimulation also depends on the MLP upstream element (UE), without involving increased DNA binding activity of the corresponding factor (UEF) during the lytic cycle. Our results indicate that the upstream and downstream elements act cooperatively on transcription efficiency, although no direct interactions between the cognate factors could be demonstrated. These observations strongly suggest that the elevated rate of transcription originating at the MLP startsite, late in infection, results from the simultaneous action of factors bound at the upstream and downstream elements onto a common target within the basal transcription machinery.

Replication-dependent activation of the adenovirus major late promoter is mediated by the increased binding of a transcription factor to sequences in the first intron.

During lytic infection, the adenovirus major late promoter (MLP) is primarily activated after the onset of viral DNA replication. Using a combination of DNA binding and in vitro transcription assays, we delineated a discrete MLP element spanning positions +80 to +106 which is essential for the replication-dependent activation of this promoter. We also identified a 40-kilodalton protein (the downstream element factor [DEF]) which binds to the +86-TTGTCAGTTT-+95 motif within this element. Whereas the DEF-binding activity is barely detectable in uninfected cells, it is readily visualized in adenovirus-infected cells, but only after the onset of viral DNA replication. Preventing the interaction of DEF with the MLP template impairs the in vitro transcriptional stimulation. We conclude that this replication-dependent activation of the MLP is, at least in part, mediated by induction of the specific binding of DEF to the MLP downstream element.