Biomedical subjects

J M Gancedo

Publications and source records attributed to J M Gancedo.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2001

Elements from the cAMP signaling pathway are involved in the control of expression of the yeast gluconeogenic gene FBP1.

cAMP represses the transcription of some Saccharomyces cerevisiae genes sensitive to catabolite repression. The effect of cAMP on the expression of FBP1, encoding fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase (FbPase), has been further investigated. In yeast cells shifted to a derepressing medium, synthesis of FbPase was delayed if the strong decrease in intracellular cAMP, which occurs during the shift, was prevented. A similar delay occurred in a RAS2val19 strain, while in a tpk1w strain, with weak protein kinase A activity, induction of FbPase occurred earlier than in a TPK1 strain. In the tpk1w strain, proteins which bind the UAS1 element of FBP1 were present during growth on glucose but they were only weakly operative. Expression of CAT8 and SIP4, encoding proteins which bind the UAS2 element, was blocked by a high concentration of cAMP, but catabolite repression of these genes was not much relieved in a tpk1w strain. We conclude that in S. cerevisiae, as reported for Schizosaccharomyces pombe, control of FBP1 requires both cAMP-dependent and independent pathways; however, the mechanisms operating in the two yeasts are different.

Cyclic AMP↗

PubMed2001

Regulatory elements in the FBP1 promoter respond differently to glucose-dependent signals in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

In Saccharomyces cerevisiae expression of the fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase-encoding gene, FBP1, is controlled by glucose through the upstream activating sequences UAS1 and UAS2 and the upstream repressing sequence URS1 in its promoter. We have studied the regulation of the proteins that could bind to these elements. We have investigated the role of the putative transcription factors Cat8 and Sip4 in the formation of specific DNA-protein complexes with UAS1 and UAS2, and in the expression of UAS1-lacZ and UAS2-lacZ. The expression of CAT8-lacZ and SIP4-lacZ has been also measured in mig1, tup1 or hxk2 mutants, partially refractory to catabolite repression. We conclude that there is no strict correlation between Cat8 and Sip4 expression or in vitro formation of DNA-protein complexes and expression of UAS1-lacZ and UAS2-lacZ. The URS1 element binds the regulatory protein Mig1, which blocks transcription by recruiting the proteins Cyc8 and Tup1. The pattern of complexes of URS1 with nuclear extracts was dependent on the carbon source and on Cyc8, but not on Tup1; it was also affected by the protein kinase Snf1 and by the exportin Msn5. The repression caused by URS1 in a fusion gene was dependent on Mig1, Cyc8 and Tup1, and on the carbon source in the medium; in a snf1 strain the repression observed was independent of the carbon source. Expression of Mig1 could occur in the absence of Snf1 and was moderately sensitive to glucose. We present data showing that different elements of the regulatory system controlling FBP1 responded differently to the concentration of glucose in the medium.

Basic-Leucine Zipper Transcription Factors↗

PubMed2001

Control of pseudohyphae formation in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Pseudohyphal growth in both haploid and diploid strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae reflects concerted changes in different cellular processes: budding pattern, cell elongation and cell adhesion. These changes are triggered by environmental signals and are controlled by several pathways which act in parallel. Nitrogen deprivation, and possibly other stresses, activate a MAP kinase cascade which has the transcription factor Ste12 as its final target. A cAMP-dependent pathway, in which the protein kinase Tpk2 plays a specific role, is also required for the morphogenetic switch. Both pathways contribute to modulate the expression of the MUC1/FLO11 gene which encodes a cell-surface flocculin required for pseudohyphal and invasive growth. The MAP kinase cascade could also control the activity of the cyclin/Cdc28 complexes which affect both the budding pattern of yeast and cell elongation. A further protein which stimulates filamentous growth in S. cerevisiae is Phd1; although its mode of action is unknown, it may be regulated by a cAMP-dependent protein kinase, as occurs with the homologous protein Efg1 from Candida albicans, which is required for the formation of true hyphae. Morphogenesis in different yeast genera share common elements, but there are also important differences. Although a complete picture cannot yet be drawn, partial models may be proposed for the interaction of the regulatory pathways, both in the case of S. cerevisiae and in that of C. albicans.

Fungal Proteins↗

PubMed2000

Pseudohyphal growth is induced in Saccharomyces cerevisiae by a combination of stress and cAMP signalling.

In Saccharomyces cerevisiae pseudohyphae formation may be triggered by nitrogen deprivation and is stimulated by cAMP. It was observed that even in a medium with an adequate nitrogen supply, cAMP can induce pseudohyphal growth when S. cerevisiae uses ethanol as carbon source. This led us to investigate the effects of the carbon source and of a variety of stresses on yeast morphology. Pseudohyphae formation and invasive growth were observed in a rich medium (YP) with poor carbon sources such as lactate or ethanol. External cAMP was required for the morphogenetic transition in one genetic background, but was dispensable in strain sigma 1278b which has been shown to have an overactive Ras2/cAMP pathway. Pseudohyphal growth and invasiveness also took place in YPD plates when the yeast was subjected to different stresses: a mild heat-stress (37 degrees C), an osmotic stress (1 m NACl), or addition of compounds which affect the lipid bilayer organization of the cell membrane (aliphatic alcohols at 2%) or alter the glucan structure of the cell wall (Congo red). We conclude that pseudohyphal growth is a physiological response not only to starvation but also to a stressful environment; it appears to require the coordinate action of a MAP kinase cascade and a cAMP-dependent pathway.

Adaptation, Physiological↗

PubMed2000

Mth1 receives the signal given by the glucose sensors Snf3 and Rgt2 in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

We have determined that the mutant genes DGT1-1 and BPC1-1, which impair glucose transport and catabolite repression in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, are allelic forms of MTH1. Deletion of MTH1 had only slight effects on the expression of HXT1 or SNF3, but increased expression of HXT2 in the absence of glucose. A two-hybrid screen revealed that the Mth1 protein interacts with the cytoplasmic tails of the glucose sensors Snf3 and Rgt2. This interaction was affected by mutations in Mth1 and by the concentration of glucose in the medium. A double mutant, snf3 rgt2, recovered sensitivity to glucose when MTH1 was deleted, thus showing that glucose signalling may occur independently of Snf3 and Rgt2. A model for the possible mode of action of Snf3 and Rgt2 is presented.

Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing↗

PubMed1999

Glucose signaling in yeast is partially mimicked by galactose and does not require the Tps1 protein.

Glucose produces multiple effects in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, as it controls the expression of many genes and the activity of various enzymes. However, the elements involved in glucose signaling are not well characterized. In this work the capacity of galactose to bring about the same effects than glucose has been assessed. Galactose mimics glucose only partially; it is suggested that it does not interact with a "sensor" in the plasma membrane and that it produces a weaker intracellular signal than glucose. To examine whether trehalose-6P synthase (Tps1) is required to transduce the glucose signal, we have constructed a tps1 hxk2/tps1 HXK2 strain which, at difference of a tps1 strain, grows on glucose, and, at difference of a tps1 hxk2 strain, still possess the Hxk2 protein, possibly involved in glucose repression. From the response of this strain to glucose, we conclude that Tps1 does not play a prominent role in glucose signaling.

Cyclic AMP↗

PubMed1999

Cyclic AMP can decrease expression of genes subject to catabolite repression in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

External cyclic AMP (cAMP) hindered the derepression of gluconeogenic enzymes in a pde2 mutant of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, but it did not prevent invertase derepression. cAMP reduced nearly 20-fold the transcription driven by upstream activation sequence (UAS1FBP1) from FBP1, encoding fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase; it decreased 2-fold the activation of transcription by UAS2FBP1. Nuclear extracts from cells derepressed in the presence of cAMP were impaired in the formation of specific UASFBP1-protein complexes in band shift experiments. cAMP does not appear to act through the repressing protein Mig1. Control of FBP1 transcription through cAMP is redundant with other regulatory mechanisms.

Carboxy-Lyases↗

PubMed1998

A 27 kDa protein binds to a positive and a negative regulatory sequence in the promoter of the ICL1 gene from Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

IsocitrateICL1, is one of the key enzymes of the glyoxylate pathway, which operates as an anaplerotic route for replenishing the tricarboxylic acid cycle; it is required for growth of Saccharomyces cerevisiae on carbon sources such as ethanol, but is dispensable when fermentable carbon sources are available. The positive regulation of the ICL1 gene by an upstream activating sequence (UAS) element located between -397 and -388 has been previously reported. In this paper we show that the ICL1 promoter sequence 5'-AGTCCGGACTAGCATCCCAG-3' located between -261 and -242 contains an upstream repressing sequence (URS) element. We have identified and partially purified a 27 kDa protein that binds specifically to both the UAS and URS sequences of the ICL1 promoter. For both UAS and URS, binding requires the protein Snf1 (Cat1), a protein kinase essential for the derepression of genes repressed by glucose. Binding does not take place with extracts from glucose-grown strains, unless they lack Mig1, a negative regulatory protein involved in glucose repression.

Chromatography, Affinity↗

PubMed1998

Functional analysis of upstream activating elements in the promoter of the FBP1 gene from Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

We have investigated the effect of different carbon sources and of different mutations on the capacity of two elements, UAS1 and UAS2, from the promoter of the FBP1 gene to form specific DNA-protein complexes and to activate expression of a reporter gene. The complexes are observed with nuclear extracts from yeast derepressed on glycerol or ethanol. When hxk2 mutants are grown on glucose the nuclear extracts are able to complex UAS1 but not UAS2, while for wild-type cells grown on galactose only the complex with UAS2 is formed. In contrast, in vivo the operation of both UASs is high in ethanol, moderate to low in glycerol, and negligible in galactose; no expression is observed in glucose even in a hxk2 background. There is no effect of a MIG1 deletion, either in the formation of DNA-protein complexes or on the expression of reporter genes.

Base Sequence↗

PubMed1998

Yeast carbon catabolite repression.

Glucose and related sugars repress the transcription of genes encoding enzymes required for the utilization of alternative carbon sources; some of these genes are also repressed by other sugars such as galactose, and the process is known as catabolite repression. The different sugars produce signals which modify the conformation of certain proteins that, in turn, directly or through a regulatory cascade affect the expression of the genes subject to catabolite repression. These genes are not all controlled by a single set of regulatory proteins, but there are different circuits of repression for different groups of genes. However, the protein kinase Snf1/Cat1 is shared by the various circuits and is therefore a central element in the regulatory process. Snf1 is not operative in the presence of glucose, and preliminary evidence suggests that Snf1 is in a dephosphorylated state under these conditions. However, the enzymes that phosphorylate and dephosphorylate Snf1 have not been identified, and it is not known how the presence of glucose may affect their activity. What has been established is that Snf1 remains active in mutants lacking either the proteins Grr1/Cat80 or Hxk2 or the Glc7 complex, which functions as a protein phosphatase. One of the main roles of Snf1 is to relieve repression by the Mig1 complex, but it is also required for the operation of transcription factors such as Adr1 and possibly other factors that are still unidentified. Although our knowledge of catabolite repression is still very incomplete, it is possible in certain cases to propose a partial model of the way in which the different elements involved in catabolite repression may be integrated.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed1996

The regulatory characteristics of yeast fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase confer only a small selective advantage.

The question of how the loss of regulatory mechanisms for a metabolic enzyme would affect the fitness of the corresponding organism has been addressed. For this, the fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase (FbPase) from Saccharomyces cerevisiae has been taken as a model. Yeast strains in which different controls on FbPase (catabolite repression and inactivation; inhibition by fructose-2,6-bisphosphate and AMP) have been removed have been constructed. These strains express during growth on glucose either the native yeast FbPase, the Escherichia coli FbPase which is insensitive to inhibition by fructose-2,6-bisphosphate, or a mutated E. coli FbPase with low sensitivity to AMP. Expression of the heterologous FbPases increases the fermentation rate of the yeast and its generation time, while it decreases its growth yield. In the strain containing high levels of an unregulated bacterial FbPase, cycling between fructose-6-phosphate and fructose-1,6-bisphosphate reaches 14%. It is shown that the regulatory mechanisms of FbPase provide a slight but definite competitive advantage during growth in mixed cultures.

Adenosine Monophosphate↗

PubMed1995

Analysis of positive elements sensitive to glucose in the promoter of the FBP1 gene from yeast.

We have identified in the promoter of the FBP1 gene from Saccharomyces cerevisiae, which codes for fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase, two elements which can form specific DNA.protein complexes and which confer glucose-repressed expression to an heterologous reporter gene. Complex formation and activation of transcription by either element require a functional CAT1 gene and are not blocked by a hap2-1 mutation, although this mutation interferes with maximal expression of the FBP1 gene. A sequence from one of the elements acts as a weak upstream activating sequence, but its activity can be stimulated up to 10-fold by neighboring sequences. A further element of the promoter has been characterized, which forms a specific DNA.protein complex only when a nuclear extract from derepressed cells is used. This element does not activate transcription in a heterologous promoter. The DNA sequences of the three elements involved in protein binding, defined by DNase I footprinting, have no homology with consensus sequences for known activating factors.

Base Sequence↗

PubMed1995

Expression of a yeast gene can be blocked by insertion of short yeast DNA fragments between a UAS and the TATA box.

We have constructed a plasmid, pOV10, which facilitates the introduction of putative upstream activating sequences (UAS) or upstream repressing sequences (URS) from yeast genes into plasmids containing CYCl-lacZ fusions. We have observed that the insertion of yeast sequences from 155 to 195 bp between the UAS and the TATA box of a CYCl-lacZ fusion gene can block beta-galactosidase expression. It is suggested that this block is related to the formation of nucleosomes on the DNA.

Cloning, Molecular↗

PubMed1994

The levels of yeast gluconeogenic mRNAs respond to environmental factors.

The FBP1 and PCK1 genes encode the gluconeogenic enzymes fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase and phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase, respectively. In the yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the corresponding mRNAs are present at low levels during growth on glucose, but are present at elevated levels during growth on gluconeogenic carbon sources. We demonstrate that the levels of the FBP1 and PCK1 mRNAs are acutely sensitive to the addition of glucose to the medium and that the levels of these mRNAs decrease rapidly when glucose is added to the medium at a concentration of only 0.005%. At this concentration, glucose blocks FBP1 and PCK1 transcription, but has no effect on iso-1 cytochrome c (CYC1) mRNA levels. Glucose also increases the rate of degradation of the PCK1 mRNA approximately twofold, but only has a slight effect upon FBP1 mRNA turnover. We show that the levels of the FBP1 and PCK1 mRNAs are also sensitive to other environmental factors. The levels of these mRNAs decrease transiently in response to a decrease of the pH from pH 7.5 to pH 6.5 in the medium, or to a mild temperature shock (from 24 degrees C to 36 degrees C). The latter response appears to be mediated by accelerated mRNA decay.

Base Sequence↗

PubMed1994

Use of Yarrowia lipolytica hexokinase for the quantitative determination of trehalose 6-phosphate.

This paper describes a procedure for the quantitative determination of trehalose 6-phosphate (T6P) based on its ability to inhibit hexokinase from Yarrowia lipolytica. The assay is linear between 1 nmol and at least 8 nmol. The concentration of T6P in wild-type Saccharomyces cerevisiae (0.15 mM) and in ras2 mutants (0.25 mM) remained unchanged in the exponential or stationary phase of growth or after heat shock. A tps1 mutant affected in T6P synthase did not show detectable T6P. Heat shock increased the concentration of T6P in Schizosaccharomyces pombe from 0.43 to 0.75 mM.

Hexokinase↗

PubMed1994

Catabolite inactivation of heterologous fructose-1,6-bisphosphatases and fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase-beta-galactosidase fusion proteins in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase (FruP2ase) from Saccharomyces cerevisiae is rapidly inactivated upon addition of glucose to a culture growing on non-sugar carbon sources. Under the same conditions the FruP2ases from Schizosaccharomyces pombe or Escherichia coli expressed in S. cerevisiae were not affected. A chimaeric protein containing the first 178 amino acids from the N-terminal half of S. cerevisiae FruP2ase fused to E. coli beta-galactosidase was susceptible to catabolite inactivation. Elimination of a putative destruction box, RAELVNLVG ... KK .... K., beginning at amino acid 60 did not prevent catabolite inactivation. Similarly a change of the vacuole-targeting sequence QKKLD, amino acids 80-84, to QKNSD did not affect significantly the course of inactivation of beta-galactosidase. A fusion protein carrying only the first 138 amino acids from FruP2ase was inactivated at a higher rate than the one carrying the first 178, suggesting the existence of a protective region between amino acids 138 and 178. A fusion protein carrying the first 81 amino acids from FruP2ase was inactivated by glucose at a similar rate to the one carrying the 178 amino acids, but one with only the first 18 amino acids was resistant to catabolite inactivation. Inactivation of FruP2ase in mutants ubr1 that lack a protein required for ubiquitin-dependent proteolysis, or pra1 that lack vacuolar protease A, proceeded as in a wild type. Our results suggest that at least two domains of FruP2ase may mark beta-galactosidase for catabolite inactivation and that FruP2ase can be inactivated by a mechanism independent of transfer to the vacuole.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed1993

Trehalose-6-phosphate, a new regulator of yeast glycolysis that inhibits hexokinases.

Trehalose-6-phosphate (P) competitively inhibited the hexokinases from Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The strongest inhibition was observed upon hexokinase II, with a Ki of 40 microM, while in the case of hexokinase I the Ki was 200 microM. Glucokinase was not inhibited by trehalose-6-P up to 5 mM. This inhibition appears to have physiological significance, since the intracellular levels of trehalose-6-P were about 0.2 mM. Hexokinases from other organisms were also inhibited, while glucokinases were unaffected. The hexokinase from the yeast, Yarrowia lipolytica, was particularly sensitive to the inhibition by trehalose-6-P: when assayed with 2 mM fructose an apparent Ki of 5 microM was calculated. Two S. cerevisiae mutants with abnormal levels of trehalose-6-P exhibited defects in glucose metabolism. It is concluded that trehalose-6-P plays an important role in the regulation of the first steps of yeast glycolysis, mainly through the inhibition of hexokinase II.

Binding, Competitive↗

PubMed1993

Futile cycles in Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains expressing the gluconeogenic enzymes during growth on glucose.

The systems which control the levels of the gluconeogenic enzymes in Saccharomyces cerevisiae have been bypassed to ascertain their physiological significance. The coding regions of the genes FBP1 and PCK1, which encode fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase and phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase, have been put under the control of the promoter of ADC1 (alcohol dehydrogenase I), a gene not repressed by glucose, and introduced into yeast in multicopy plasmids. The transformed yeast cells show high levels of the gluconeogenic enzymes during growth on glucose. Generation time and growth yield of yeast expressing either fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase or phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase are not significantly different from those of the wild-type strain. For a strain expressing both enzymes the increase in generation time is about 20% and the decrease in growth yield around 30%. The concentration of ATP is about 1.5 mM in the growing cells of the different strains. The extent of in vivo cycling was measured by 13C NMR in cell-free extracts from yeast growing on [6-13C]glucose. Cycling between fructose-6-phosphate and fructose-1,6-bisphosphate is < 2%, most likely due to the very strong inhibition of fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase by fructose 2,6-bisphosphate. Cycling between phosphoenolpyruvate and pyruvate is low, but a precise figure could not be obtained due to poor equilibration of label between carbons 2 and 3 of oxaloacetate.

Adenine Nucleotides↗