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Matthias Peter

Publications and source records attributed to Matthias Peter.

10 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2003

The BTB protein MEL-26 is a substrate-specific adaptor of the CUL-3 ubiquitin-ligase.

Many biological processes, such as development and cell cycle progression are tightly controlled by selective ubiquitin-dependent degradation of key substrates. In this pathway, the E3-ligase recognizes the substrate and targets it for degradation by the 26S proteasome. The SCF (Skp1-Cul1-F-box) and ECS (Elongin C-Cul2-SOCS box) complexes are two well-defined cullin-based E3-ligases. The cullin subunits serve a scaffolding function and interact through their C terminus with the RING-finger-containing protein Hrt1/Roc1/Rbx1, and through their N terminus with Skp1 or Elongin C, respectively. In Caenorhabditis elegans, the ubiquitin-ligase activity of the CUL-3 complex is required for degradation of the microtubule-severing protein MEI-1/katanin at the meiosis-to-mitosis transition. However, the molecular composition of this cullin-based E3-ligase is not known. Here we identified the BTB-containing protein MEL-26 as a component required for degradation of MEI-1 in vivo. Importantly, MEL-26 specifically interacts with CUL-3 and MEI-1 in vivo and in vitro, and displays properties of a substrate-specific adaptor. Our results suggest that BTB-containing proteins may generally function as substrate-specific adaptors in Cul3-based E3-ubiquitin ligases.

Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing↗
PubMed2003

Neddylation and deneddylation of CUL-3 is required to target MEI-1/Katanin for degradation at the meiosis-to-mitosis transition in C. elegans.

BACKGROUND: SCF (Skp1-Cullin-F-box) complexes are a major class of E3 ligases that are required to selectively target substrates for ubiquitin-dependent degradation by the 26S proteasome. Conjugation of the ubiquitin-like protein Nedd8 to the cullin subunit (neddylation) positively regulates activity of SCF complexes, most likely by increasing their affinity for the E2 conjugated to ubiquitin. The Nedd8 conjugation pathway is required in C. elegans embryos for the ubiquitin-mediated degradation of the microtubule-severing protein MEI-1/Katanin at the meiosis-to-mitosis transition. Genetic experiments suggest that this pathway controls the activity of a CUL-3-based E3 ligase. Counteracting the Nedd8 pathway, the COP9/signalosome has been shown to promote deneddylation of the cullin subunit. However, little is known about the role of neddylation and deneddylation for E3 ligase activity in vivo. RESULTS: Here, we identified and characterized the COP9/signalosome in C. elegans and showed that it promotes deneddylation of CUL-3, a critical target of the Nedd8 conjugation pathway. As in other species, the C. elegans signalosome is a macromolecular complex containing at least six subunits that localizes in the nucleus and the cytoplasm. Reducing COP9/signalosome function by RNAi results in a failure to degrade MEI-1, leading to severe defects in microtubule-dependent processes during the first mitotic division. Intriguingly, reducing COP9/signalosome function suppresses a partial defect in the neddylation pathway; this suppression suggests that deneddylation and neddylation antagonize each other. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that both neddylation and deneddylation of CUL-3 is required for MEI-1 degradation and propose that cycles of CUL-3 neddylation and deneddylation are necessary for its ligase activity in vivo.

Adenosine Triphosphatases↗
PubMed2003

Yeasts make their mark.

Budding and fission yeast serve as genetic model organisms for the study of the molecular mechanisms of cell polarity in single cells. Similar to other polarized eukaryotic cells, yeast cells have polarity programmes that regulate where they grow and divide. Here, we describe recent advances in defining the proteins that establish cell polarity and the numerous molecular interactions that may link these factors to the actin cytoskeleton. As many of these components are identified, a comprehensive understanding of complex pathways is beginning to emerge.

Animals↗
PubMed2003

Opposite roles of the F-box protein Rcy1p and the GTPase-activating protein Gyp2p during recycling of internalized proteins in yeast.

The F-box protein Rcy1p is part of a non-SCF (Skp1p-cullin-F-box protein) complex involved in recycling of internalized material. Like rcy1Delta, cells lacking the Rab-GTPase Ypt6p or its heterodimeric GEFs Rgp1p and Ric1p are unable to recycle the v-SNARE Snc1p. Here we provide genetic evidence suggesting that Rcy1p is a positive regulator of Ypt6p. Deletion of the GAP Gyp2p restores recycling in rcy1Delta, while overexpression of an active form of Ypt6p partially suppresses the recycling defect of rcy1Delta cells. Conversely, overexpression of Gyp2p in wild-type cells interferes with recycling of GFP-Snc1p, and the cells accumulate membrane structures as evidenced by electron microscopy. Gyp2p-GFP is distributed throughout the cytoplasm and accumulates in punctate structures, which concentrate in an actin-dependent manner at sites of polarized growth. Taken together, our results suggest that the F-box protein Rcy1p may activate the Ypt6p GTPase module during recycling.

Actins↗
PubMed2002

Cell cycle-dependent nuclear export of Cdh1p may contribute to the inactivation of APC/C(Cdh1).

Cdh1p is a substrate-specific subunit of the anaphase-promoting complex (APC/C), which functions as an E3 ubiquitin ligase to degrade the mitotic cyclin Clb2p and other substrates during the G(1) phase of the cell cycle. Cdh1p is phosphorylated and thereby inactivated at the G(1)/S transition predominantly by Cdc28p-Clb5p. Here we show that Cdh1p is nuclear during the G(1) phase of the cell cycle, but redistributes to the cytoplasm between S phase and the end of mitosis. Nuclear export of Cdh1p is regulated by phosphorylation and requires active Cdc28p kinase. Cdh1p binds to the importin Pse1p and the exportin Msn5p, which is necessary and sufficient to promote efficient export of Cdh1p in vivo. Although msn5delta cells are viable, they are sensitive to Cdh1p overexpression. Likewise, a mutant form of Cdh1p, which is constitutively nuclear, prevents accumulation of Clb2p and leads to cell cycle arrest when overexpressed in wild-type cells. Taken together, these results suggest that phosphorylation-dependent nuclear export of Cdh1p by Msn5p contributes to efficient inactivation of APC/C(Cdh1).

Active Transport, Cell Nucleus↗
PubMed2002

Spa2p functions as a scaffold-like protein to recruit the Mpk1p MAP kinase module to sites of polarized growth.

Scaffold proteins play a major role in regulating MAP kinase pathways. In yeast, the Mpk1p-MAP kinase pathway functions to maintain the integrity of the cytoskeleton and the cell wall. In this module, the MEKK Bck1p functions upstream of the MEKs Mkk1p and Mkk2p, which in turn activate the MAP kinase Mpk1p. Mpk1p regulates several nuclear targets, including the transcription factors Rlm1p and SBF, and the two HMG1-like proteins NHP6A and NHP6B. Here we show that Mpk1p constitutively shuttles between the nucleus and the cytoplasm, and both Mpk1p and Mkk1p localize to sites of polarized growth in a Spa2p-dependent manner. Spa2p belongs to a group of proteins that includes Bni1p, Bud6p, and Pea2p, which are involved in the dynamic organization of the actin cytoskeleton during polarized growth. FRAP analysis shows that Spa2p-GFP is stably anchored at bud tips, whereas Mpk1p binds transiently. Spa2p interacts with Mkk1p and Mpk1p, and membrane bound Spa2p is sufficient to recruit Mkk1p and Mpk1p but not other MAP kinases to the cell cortex. Taken together, these results suggest that Spa2p functions as a scaffold-like protein for the cell wall integrity pathway during polarized growth.

Active Transport, Cell Nucleus↗
PubMed2002

A positive feedback loop stabilizes the guanine-nucleotide exchange factor Cdc24 at sites of polarization.

In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, activation of Cdc42 by its guanine-nucleotide exchange factor Cdc24 triggers polarization of the actin cytoskeleton at bud emergence and in response to mating pheromones. The adaptor protein Bem1 localizes to sites of polarized growth where it interacts with Cdc42, Cdc24 and the PAK-like kinase Cla4. We have isolated Bem1 mutants (Bem1-m), which are specifically defective for binding to Cdc24. The mutations map within the conserved PB1 domain, which is necessary and sufficient to interact with the octicos peptide repeat (OPR) motif of Cdc24. Although Bem1-m mutant proteins localize normally, bem1-m cells are unable to maintain Cdc24 at sites of polarized growth. As a consequence, they are defective for apical bud growth and the formation of mating projections. Localization of Bem1 to the incipient bud site requires activated Cdc42, and conversely, expression of Cdc42-GTP is sufficient to accumulate Bem1 at the plasma membrane. Thus, our results suggest that Bem1 functions in a positive feedback loop: local activation of Cdc24 produces Cdc42-GTP, which recruits Bem1. In turn, Bem1 stabilizes Cdc24 at the site of polarization, leading to apical growth.

Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing↗
PubMed2002

Cytoskeletal regulation by the Nedd8 ubiquitin-like protein modification pathway.

The Nedd8 ubiquitin-like protein modification pathway regulates cell-cycle progression. Our analysis of Nedd8 requirements during Caenorhabditis elegans embryogenesis indicates that the cytoskeleton is another target. Nedd8 conjugation negatively regulated contractility of the microfilament-rich cell cortex during pronuclear migration and again during cytokinesis. The Nedd8 pathway also was required after meiosis to negatively regulate katanin, a microtubule-severing complex, permitting the assembly of a large mitotic spindle. We propose that Nedd8-modified cullin, as part of an E3 ubiquitin ligase complex, targets katanin for degradation during the transition from meiosis to mitosis.

Actin Cytoskeleton↗
PubMed2002

MAP kinase cascades: scaffolding signal specificity.

Scaffold proteins organize many MAP kinase pathways by interacting with several components of these cascades. Recent studies suggest that scaffold proteins provide local activation platforms that contribute to signal specificity by insulating different MAP kinase pathways.

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