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Biomedical subjects

J Davey

Publications and source records attributed to J Davey.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1997

The Schizosaccharomyces pombe mam1 gene encodes an ABC transporter mediating secretion of M-factor.

In the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe, cells of opposite mating type communicate via diffusible peptide pheromones prior to mating. We have cloned the S. pombe mam1 gene, which encodes a 1336-amino acid protein belonging to the ATP-binding cassette (ABC) superfamily. The mam1 gene is only expressed in M cells and the gene product is responsible for the secretion of the mating pheromone. M-factor, a nonapeptide that is S-farnesylated and carboxy-methylated on its C-terminal cysteine residue. The predicted Mam1 protein is highly homologous to mammalian multiple drug-resistance proteins and to the Saccharomyces cerevisiae STE6 gene product, which mediates export of a-factor mating pheromone. We show that STE6 can also mediate secretion of M-factor in S. pombe.

ATP Binding Cassette Transporter, Subfamily B, Mem↗
PubMed1997

Genes encoding farnesyl cysteine carboxyl methyltransferase in Schizosaccharomyces pombe and Xenopus laevis.

The mam4 mutation of Schizosaccharomyces pombe causes mating deficiency in h- cells but not in h+ cells. h- cells defective in mam4 do not secrete active mating pheromone M-factor. We cloned mam4 by complementation. The mam4 gene encodes a protein of 236 amino acids, with several potential membrane-spanning domains, which is 44% identical with farnesyl cysteine carboxyl methyltransferase encoded by STE14 and required for the modification of a-factor in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Analysis of membrane fractions revealed that mam4 is responsible for the methyltransferase activity in S. pombe. Cells defective in mam4 produced farnesylated but unmethylated cysteine and small peptides but no intact M-factor. These observations strongly suggest that the mam4 gene product is farnesyl cysteine carboxyl methyltransferase that modifies M-factor. Furthermore, transcomplementation of S. pombe mam4 allowed us to isolate an apparent homolog of mam4 from Xenopus laevis (Xmam4). In addition to its sequence similarity to S. pombe mam4, the product of Xmam4 was shown to have a farnesyl cysteine carboxyl methyltransferase activity in S. pombe cells. The isolation of a vertebrate gene encoding farnesyl cysteine carboxyl methyltransferase opens the way to in-depth studies of the role of methylation in a large body of proteins, including Ras superfamily proteins.

Amino Acid Sequence↗