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Temperature-sensitive yeast mutants defective in mitochondrial inheritance.

The distribution of mitochondria to daughter cells is an essential feature of mitotic cell growth, yet the molecular mechanisms facilitating this mitochondrial inheritance are unknown. We have isolated mutants of Saccharomyces cerevisiae that are temperature-sensitive for the transfer of mitochondria into a growing bud. Two of these mutants contain single, recessive, nuclear mutations, mdm1 and mdm2, that cause temperature-sensitive growth and aberrant mitochondrial distribution at the nonpermissive temperature. The absence of mitochondria from the buds of mutant cells was confirmed by indirect immunofluorescence microscopy and by transmission electron microscopy. The mdm1 lesion also retards nuclear division and prevents the transfer of nuclei into the buds. Cells containing the mdm2 mutation grown at the nonpermissive temperature sequentially form multiple buds, each receiving a nucleus but no mitochondria. Neither mdm1 or mdm2 affects the transfer of vacuolar material into the buds or causes apparent changes in the tubulin- or actin-based cytoskeletons. The mdm1 and mdm2 mutations are cell-cycle specific, displaying an execution point in late G1 or early S phase.

Actins↗

Replicated anterior zeugopod (raz): a polydactylous mouse mutant with lowered Shh signaling in the limb bud.

A unique limb phenotype is described in a radiation-induced mutant mouse resulting from an inversion of a proximal segment of chromosome 5. The limb phenotype in the homozygous mutant presents with two anterior skeletal elements in the zeugopod but no posterior bone, hence the name replicated anterior zeugopod, raz. The zeugopod phenotype is accompanied by symmetrical central polydactyly of hand and foot. The chromosomal inversion includes the Shh gene and the regulatory locus, located approximately 1 Mb away, within the Lmbr1 gene. In homozygous mutants, the expression of Shh mRNA and Shh protein is severely downregulated to about 20% of wild-type limb buds, but Shh expression appears normal throughout the remainder of the embryo. Correspondingly, Gli3 expression is upregulated and posteriorly expanded in the raz/raz limb bud. We propose that the double anterior zeugopod and symmetrical central polydactyly are due to an increased and uniform concentration of the Gli3 repressor form because of lowered Shh signaling.

Animals↗

A distinct cyclin-dependent kinase-activating kinase of Arabidopsis thaliana.

The activation of cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs) requires phosphorylation of a threonine residue within the T-loop catalyzed by CDK-activating kinases (CAKs). Thus far no functional CAK homologue has been reported in plants. We screened an Arabidopsis cDNA expression library for complementation of a budding yeast CAK mutant. A cDNA, cak1At, was isolated that suppressed the CAK mutation in budding yeast, and it also complemented a fission yeast CAK mutant. cak1At encodes a protein related to animal CAKs. The CAK similarity was restricted to the conserved kinase domains, leading to classification of Cak1At as a distinct CDK in the phylogenetic tree. Immunoprecipitates with the anti-Cak1At antibody phosphorylated human CDK2 at the threonine residue (T160) within the T-loop and activated its activity to phosphorylate histone H1. Whereas CAKs in animals and fission yeast are involved in regulation of the cell cycle and basal transcription by phosphorylating the carboxyl-terminal domain (CTD) of the largest subunit of RNA polymerase II, Cak1At did not phosphorylate the CTD. An Arabidopsis CTD-kinase isolated separately from Cak1At was shown to interact with the yeast protein p13(suc1), but it had no CDK2-kinase activity. Therefore, the CTD of RNA polymerase II is probably phosphorylated by a Cdc2-related kinase distinct from Cak1At. cak1At is a single-copy gene in Arabidopsis and is highly expressed in proliferating cells of suspension cultures.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Yeast myosin heavy chain mutant: maintenance of the cell type specific budding pattern and the normal deposition of chitin and cell wall components requires an intact myosin heavy chain gene.

Recent studies with myosin heavy chain mutants in the slime mold Dictyostelium discoideum and the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae indicate that the myosin heavy chain gene is not essential for cell survival under laboratory growth conditions. However, cells lacking a normal myosin heavy chain gene demonstrate substantial alterations in growth and cell division. In this study, we report that a disruption mutant in the rod portion of the yeast myosin heavy chain gene, MYO1, produces abnormal chitin distribution and cell wall organization at the mother-bud neck in a high proportion of dividing cells. It is suggested that this phenotype is the cause of the cell division defect and the osmotic sensitivity of yeast MYO1 mutants. In the absence of a normal MYO1 polypeptide, yeast cells alter their cell type specific budding pattern. It is concluded that an intact myosin heavy chain gene is required to maintain the cell type specific budding pattern and the correct localization and deposition of chitin and cell wall components during cell growth and division.

Cell Division↗

An intragenic tandem duplication in a transcriptional regulatory gene for anthocyanin biosynthesis confers pale-colored flowers and seeds with fine spots in Ipomoea tricolor.

While the wild-type morning glory (Ipomoea tricolor) displays bright-blue flowers and dark-brown seeds, its spontaneous mutant, Blue Star, carrying the mutable ivory seed-variegated (ivs-v) allele, exhibits pale-blue flowers with a few fine blue spots and ivory seeds with tiny dark-brown spots. The mutable allele is caused by an intragenic tandem duplication of 3.3 kbp within a gene for transcriptional activator containing a basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) DNA-binding motif. Each of the tandem repeats is flanked by a 3-bp sequence AAT, indicating that the 3-bp microhomology is used to generate the tandem duplication. The transcripts in the pale-blue flower buds of the mutant contain an internal 583-bp tandem duplication that results in the production of a truncated polypeptide lacking the bHLH domain. The mRNA accumulation of most of the structural genes encoding enzymes for anthocyanin biosynthesis in the flower buds of the mutant was significantly reduced. The transcripts identical to the wild-type mRNAs for the transcriptional activator were present abundantly in blue spots of the variegated flowers, whereas the transcripts containing the 583-bp tandem duplication were predominant in the pale-blue background of the same flowers. The flower and seed variegations studied here are likely to be caused by somatic homologous recombination between an intragenic tandem duplication in the gene encoding a bHLH transcriptional activator for anthocyanin biosynthesis, whereas various flower variegations are reported to be caused by excision of DNA transposons inserted into pigmentation genes.

Anthocyanins↗

The overexpression of a Saccharomyces cerevisiae centromeric histone H3 variant mutant protein leads to a defect in kinetochore biorientation.

Chromosomes segregate using their kinetochores, the specialized protein structures that are assembled on centromeric DNA and mediate attachment to the mitotic spindle. Because centromeric sequences are not conserved, centromere identity is propagated by an epigenetic mechanism. All eukaryotes contain an essential histone H3 variant (CenH3) that localizes exclusively to centromeres. Because CenH3 is required for kinetochore assembly and is likely to be the epigenetic mark that specifies centromere identity, it is critical to elucidate the mechanisms that assemble and maintain CenH3 exclusively at centromeres. To learn more about the functions and regulation of CenH3, we isolated mutants in the budding yeast CenH3 that are lethal when overexpressed. These CenH3 mutants fall into three unique classes: (I) those that localize to euchromatin but do not alter kinetochore function, (II) those that localize to the centromere and disrupt kinetochore function, and (III) those that no longer target to the centromere but still disrupt chromosome segregation. We found that a class III mutant is specifically defective in the ability of sister kinetochores to biorient and attach to microtubules from opposite spindle poles, indicating that CenH3 mutants defective in kinetochore biorientation can be obtained.

Cell Cycle Proteins↗

Formation of septum-like structures at locations remote from the budding sites in cytokinesis-defective mutants of Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Cell wall structures that partition membrane-bound portions of cytoplasm were formed at sites along the peripheral wall when a cytokinesis-defective cell division cycle mutant (cdc3) of Saccharomyces cerevisiae was grown at a restrictive temperature. The appearance of these structures, as observed in electron micrographs, was similar to that of normal septa. Aberrant septa were also detected in cytokinesis mutants harboring mutations cdc10, cdc11, and cdc12, after growth at 37 degrees C. Formation of the abnormal septa was abolished by the introduction, in a cdc3-containing strain, of additional cell cycle mutations that precluded events leading to cytokinesis and cell division. These results showed that septum formation can occur in the absence of cytokinesis. Formation of the abnormal structures was controlled by the same sequences of cell cycle events as formation of normal septa but was not subject to the spatial controls that ensure association of the septum with the budding site.

Cell Division↗

Genetic analysis of the bipolar pattern of bud site selection in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Previous analysis of the bipolar budding pattern of Saccharomyces cerevisiae has suggested that it depends on persistent positional signals that mark the region of the division site and the tip of the distal pole on a newborn daughter cell, as well as each previous division site on a mother cell. In an attempt to identify genes encoding components of these signals or proteins involved in positioning or responding to them, we identified 11 mutants with defects in bipolar but not in axial budding. Five mutants displaying a bipolar budding-specific randomization of budding pattern had mutations in four previously known genes (BUD2, BUD5, SPA2, and BNI1) and one novel gene (BUD6), respectively. As Bud2p and Bud5p are known to be required for both the axial and bipolar budding patterns, the alleles identified here probably encode proteins that have lost their ability to interact with the bipolar positional signals but have retained their ability to interact with the distinct positional signal used in axial budding. The function of Spa2p is not known, but previous work has shown that its intracellular localization is similar to that postulated for the bipolar positional signals. BNI1 was originally identified on the basis of genetic interaction with CDC12, which encodes one of the neck-filament-associated septin proteins, suggesting that these proteins may be involved in positioning the bipolar signals. One mutant with a heterogeneous budding pattern defines a second novel gene (BUD7). Two mutants budding almost exclusively from the proximal pole carry mutations in a fourth novel gene (BUD9). A bud8 bud9 double mutant also buds almost exclusively from the proximal pole, suggesting that Bud9p is involved in positioning the proximal pole signal rather than being itself a component of this signal.

Cell Polarity↗

Evidence for a branched pathway in the polarized cell division of Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Cells of Saccharomyces cerevisiae can choose a bud site in one of two different spatial patterns (axial or bipolar) determined by their mating type. Genes important for bud-site selection have been identified and a linear model describing the hierarchy of these genes was proposed. We have uncovered a new class of genes which is required only for the bipolar pattern. The phenotype of the corresponding mutants coupled with epistasis experiments with some budding mutants already described suggest the existence of specific genes for the bipolar pathway.

Cell Division↗

Dynamic localization of protein phosphatase type 1 in the mitotic cell cycle of Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Protein phosphatase type I (PP1), encoded by the single essential gene GLC7 in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, functions in diverse cellular processes. To identify in vivo subcellular location(s) where these processes take place, we used a functional green fluorescent protein (GFP)-Glc7p fusion protein. Time-lapse fluorescence microscopy revealed GFP-Glc7p localizes predominantly in the nucleus throughout the mitotic cell cycle, with the highest concentrations in the nucleolus. GFP-Glc7p was also observed in a ring at the bud neck, which was dependent upon functional septins. Supporting a role for Glc7p in bud site selection, a glc7-129 mutant displayed a random budding pattern. In alpha-factor treated cells, GFP-Glc7p was located at the base of mating projections, again in a septin-dependent manner. At the start of anaphase, GFP-Glc7p accumulated at the spindle pole bodies and remained there until cytokinesis. After anaphase, GFP-Glc7p became concentrated in a ring that colocalized with the actomyosin ring. A GFP-Glc7-129 fusion was defective in localizing to the bud neck and SPBs. Together, these results identify sites of Glc7p function and suggest Glc7p activity is regulated through dynamic changes in its location.

Actomyosin↗

Chitin synthesis in a gas1 mutant of Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

The existence of a compensatory mechanism in response to cell wall damage has been proposed in yeast cells. The increase of chitin accumulation is part of this response. In order to study the mechanism of the stress-related chitin synthesis, we tested chitin synthase I (CSI), CSII, and CSIII in vitro activities in the cell-wall-defective mutant gas1 delta. CSI activity increased twofold with respect to the control, a finding in agreement with an increase in the expression of the CHS1 gene. However, deletion of the CHS1 gene did not affect the phenotype of the gas1 delta mutant and only slightly reduced the chitin content. Interestingly, in chs1 gas1 double mutants the lysed-bud phenotype, typical of chs1 null mutant, was suppressed, although in gas1 cells there was no reduction in chitinase activity. CHS3 expression was not affected in the gas1 mutant. Deletion of the CHS3 gene severely compromised the phenotype of gas1 cells, despite the fact that CSIII activity, assayed in membrane fractions, did not change. Furthermore, in chs3 gas1 cells the chitin level was about 10% that of gas1 cells. Thus, CSIII is the enzyme responsible for the hyperaccumulation of chitin in response to cell wall stress. However, the level of enzyme or the in vitro CSIII activity does not change. This result suggests that an interaction with a regulatory molecule or a posttranslational modification, which is not preserved during membrane fractionation, could be essential in vivo for the stress-induced synthesis of chitin.

Cell Membrane Permeability↗

Arabidopsis CAP regulates the actin cytoskeleton necessary for plant cell elongation and division.

An Arabidopsis cDNA (AtCAP1) that encodes a predicted protein of 476 amino acids highly homologous with the yeast cyclase-associated protein (CAP) was isolated. Expression of AtCAP1 in the budding yeast CAP mutant was able to rescue defects such as abnormal cell morphology and random budding pattern. The C-terminal domain, 158 amino acids of AtCAP1 possessing in vitro actin binding activity, was needed for the regulation of cytoskeleton-related defects of yeast. Transgenic plants overexpressing AtCAP1 under the regulation of a glucocorticoid-inducible promoter showed different levels of AtCAP1 accumulation related to the extent of growth abnormalities, in particular size reduction of leaves as well as petioles. Morphological alterations in leaves were attributable to decreased cell size and cell number in both epidermal and mesophyll cells. Tobacco suspension-cultured cells (Bright Yellow 2) overexpressing AtCAP1 exhibited defects in actin filaments and were unable to undergo mitosis. Furthermore, an immunoprecipitation experiment suggested that AtCAP1 interacted with actin in vivo. Therefore, AtCAP1 may play a functional role in actin cytoskeleton networking that is essential for proper cell elongation and division.

Actins↗

Infection of chick limb bud presumptive chondroblasts by a temperature-sensitive mutant of Rous sarcoma virus and the reversible inhibition of their terminal differentiation in culture.

Stage 21 to 22 chicken embryo limb bud cells were infected with a temperature-sensitive mutant of Rous sarcoma virus and were grown in culture. Although control, uninfected cells yielded definitive chondroblasts (by day 4) which initiated the synthesis of the cartilage-characteristic proteoglycan, the transformed cells grown at the permissive temperature failed to do so. These effects were fully reversible after a shift to the nonpermissive temperature. In addition, infected cells at the nonpermissive temperature expressed traits of terminal chondrogenic maturation 2 to 3 days earlier than parallel, uninfected cells. Thus, Rous sarcoma virus-induced transformation reversibly blocks terminal limb bud cell chondrogenesis in culture, at the nonpermissive temperature, viral infection may also induce intracellular or extracellular conditions which favor or accelerate the process of chondrogenic cell maturation.

Animals↗

ALK7, a receptor for nodal, is dispensable for embryogenesis and left-right patterning in the mouse.

Mesendoderm formation and left-right patterning during vertebrate development depend upon selected members of the transforming growth factor beta superfamily, particularly Nodal and Nodal-related ligands. Two type I serine/threonine kinase receptors have been identified for Nodal, ALK4 and ALK7. Mouse embryos lacking ALK4 fail to produce mesendoderm and die shortly after gastrulation, resembling the phenotype of Nodal knockout mice. Whether ALK4 contributes to left-right patterning is still unknown. Here we report the generation and initial characterization of mice lacking ALK7. Homozygous mutant mice were born at the expected frequency and remained viable and fertile. Viability at weaning was not different from that of the wild type in ALK7(-/-); Nodal(+/-) and ALK7(-/-); ALK4(+/-) compound mutants. ALK7 and ALK4 were highly expressed in interdigital regions of the developing limb bud. However, ALK7 mutant mice displayed no skeletal abnormalities or limb malformations. None of the left-right patterning abnormalities and organogenesis defects identified in mice carrying mutations in Nodal or in genes encoding ActRIIA and ActRIIB coreceptors, including heart malformations, pulmonary isomerism, right-sided gut, and spleen hypoplasia, were observed in mice lacking ALK7. Finally, the histological organization of the cerebellum, cortex, and hippocampus, all sites of significant ALK7 expression in the rodent brain, appeared normal in ALK7 mutant mice. We conclude that ALK7 is not an essential mediator of Nodal signaling during mesendoderm formation and left-right patterning in the mouse but may instead mediate other activities of Nodal and related ligands in the development or function of particular tissues and organs.

Activin Receptors, Type I↗

The EH-domain-containing protein Pan1 is required for normal organization of the actin cytoskeleton in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Normal cell growth and division in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae involve dramatic and frequent changes in the organization of the actin cytoskeleton. Previous studies have suggested that the reorganization of the actin cytoskeleton in accordance with cell cycle progression is controlled, directly or indirectly, by the cyclin-dependent kinase Cdc28. Here we report that by isolating rapid-death mutants in the background of the Start-deficient cdc28-4 mutation, the essential yeast gene PAN1, previously thought to encode the yeast poly(A) nuclease, is identified as a new factor required for normal organization of the actin cytoskeleton. We show that at restrictive temperature, the pan1 mutant exhibited abnormal bud growth, failed to maintain a proper distribution of the actin cytoskeleton, was unable to reorganize actin the cytoskeleton during cell cycle, and was defective in cytokinesis. The mutant also displayed a random pattern of budding even at permissive temperature. Ectopic expression of PAN1 by the GAL promoter caused abnormal distribution of the actin cytoskeleton when a single-copy vector was used. Immunofluorescence staining revealed that the Pan1 protein colocalized with the cortical actin patches, suggesting that it may be a filamentous actin-binding protein. The Pan1 protein contains an EF-hand calcium-binding domain, a putative Src homology 3 (SH3)-binding domain, a region similar to the actin cytoskeleton assembly control protein Sla1, and two repeats of a newly identified protein motif known as the EH domain. These findings suggest that Pan1, recently recognized as not responsible for the poly(A) nuclease activity (A. B. Sachs and J. A. Deardorff, erratum, Cell 83:1059, 1995; R. Boeck, S. Tarun, Jr., M. Rieger, J. A. Deardorff, S. Muller-Auer, and A. B. Sachs, J. Biol. Chem. 271:432-438, 1996), plays an important role in the organization of the actin cytoskeleton in S. cerevisiae.

Actins↗

The ukb1 gene encodes a putative protein kinase required for bud site selection and pathogenicity in Ustilago maydis.

Morphogenesis and pathogenesis are closely associated aspects of the life cycle of the fungal pathogen Ustilago maydis. In this fungus, the dimorphic switch from budding to filamentous growth coincides with the transition from non-pathogenic to pathogenic growth on maize. We have cloned and characterized the ukb1 gene that encodes a putative serine/threonine protein kinase with a role in budding and filamentous growth. Mutants defective in ukb1 were altered in bud site selection and produced lateral buds at a greater frequency than wild-type cells. Dikaryotic cells defective in ukb1 were capable of colonizing host tissue and growing with a filamentous morphology in planta. However, the mutants were incapable of inducing tumor formation and they failed to complete sexual development. In addition, the ukb1 gene influenced the ability of colonies to form aerial mycelia in response to environmental stimuli. Overall, the discovery of ukb1 reinforces the connection between morphogenesis and pathogenesis in U. maydis.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Initiation of eukaryotic DNA replication: regulation and mechanisms.

The accurate and timely duplication of the genome is a major task for eukaryotic cells. This process requires the cooperation of multiple factors to ensure the stability of the genetic information of each cell. Mutations, rearrangements, or loss of chromosomes can be detrimental to a single cell as well as to the whole organism, causing failures, disease, or death. Because of the size of eukaryotic genomes, chromosomal duplication is accomplished in a multiparallel process. In human somatic cells between 10,000 and 100,000 parallel synthesis sites are present. This raises fundamental problems for eukaryotic cells to coordinate the start of DNA replication at each origin and to prevent replication of already duplicated DNA regions. Since these general phenomena were recognized in the middle of the 20th century the regulation and mechanisms of the initiation of eukaryotic DNA replication have been intensively investigated. These studies were carried out to find the essential factors involved in the process and to determine their functions during DNA replication. These studies gave rise to a model of the organization and the coordination of DNA replication within the eukaryotic cell. The elegant experiments carried out by Rao and Johnson (1970) (1), who fused cells in different phases of the cell cycle, showed that G1 cells are competent for replication of their chromosomes, but lack a specific diffusible factor required to activate their replicaton machinery and showed that G2 cells are incompetent for DNA replication. These findings suggested that eukaryotic cells exist in two states. In G1 phase, cells are competent to initiate DNA replication, which is subsequently triggered in S phase. After completion of S phase, cells in G2 are no longer able to initiate DNA replication and they require a transition through mitosis to reenable initiation of DNA replication to take place in the next S phase. The Xenopus cell-free replication system has proved a good model system in which to study DNA replication in vitro as well as the mechanism preventing rereplication within a single cell cycle (2). Studies using this system resulted in the development of a model postulating the existence of a replication licensing factor, which binds to chromatin before the G1-S transition and which is displaced during replication (2, 3). These results were supported by genetic and biochemical experiments in Saccharomyces cerevisiae (budding yeast) and Schizosaccharomyces pombe (fission yeast) (4, 5). The investigation of cell division cycle mutants and the budding yeast origin of replication resulted in the concept of a prereplicative and a postreplicative complex of initiation proteins (6-9). These three individual concepts have recently started to merge and it has become obvious that initiation in eukaryotes is generally governed by the same ubiquitous mechanisms.

Animals↗

Effect of time of harvest of budded virus on the selection of baculovirus FP mutants in cell culture.

Rapid formation and selection of FP (few polyhedra) mutants occurs during serial passaging of Helicoverpa armigera nucleopolyhedrovirus (HaSNPV) in insect cell culture. The production of HaSNPV for use as biopesticides requires the passaging of the virus over a number of passages to produce enough virus inoculum for large-scale fermentation. During serial passaging in cell culture, FP mutants were rapidly selected, resulting in declined productivity and reduced potency of virus. Budded virus (BV) is usually harvested between 72 and 96 h postinfection (hpi) in order to obtain a high titer virus stock. In this study, the effect of time of harvest (TOH) for BV on the selection rate of HaSNPV FP mutants during serial passaging was investigated. BV were harvested at different times postinfection, and each series was serially passaged for six passages. The productivity and percentage of FP mutants at each passage were determined. It was found that the selection of FP mutants can be reduced by employing an earlier TOH for BV. Serial passaging with BV harvested at 48 hpi showed a slower accumulation of FP mutants compared to that of BV harvested after 48 hpi. Higher cell specific yields were also maintained when BV were harvested at 48 hpi. When BV that were formed between 48 and 96 hpi were harvested and serially passaged, FP mutants quickly dominated the virus population. This suggests that the BV formed and released between 48 and 96 hpi are most likely from FP mutant infected cells.

Animals↗