The growth and signalling defects of the ggs1 (fdp1/byp1) deletion mutant on glucose are suppressed by a deletion of the gene encoding hexokinase PII

Abstract

Yeast cells defective in the GGS1 (FDP1/BYP1) gene are unable to adapt to fermentative metabolism. When glucose is added to derepressed ggs1 cells, growth is arrested due to an overloading of glycolysis with sugar phosphates which eventually leads to a depletion of phosphate in the cytosol. Ggs1 mutants lack all glucose-induced regulatory effects investigated so far. We reduced hexokinase activity in ggs1 strains by deleting the gene HXK2 encoding hexokinase PII. The double mutant ggs1Δ, hxk2Δ grew on glucose. This is in agreement with the idea that an inability of the ggs1 mutants to regulate the initiation of glycolysis causes the growth deficiency. However, the ggs1Δ, hxk2Δ double mutant still displayed a high level of glucose-6-phosphate as well as the rapid appearance of free intracellular glucose. This is consistent with our previous model suggesting an involvement of GGS1 in transport-associated sugar phosphorylation. Glucose induction of pyruvate decarboxylase, glucoseinduced cAMP-signalling, glucose-induced inactivation of fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase, and glucose-induced activation of the potassium transport system, all deficient in ggs1 mutants, were restored by the delection of HXK2. However, both the ggs1Δ and the ggs1Δ, hk2Δ mutant lack detectable trehalose and trehalose-6-phosphate synthase activity. Trehalose is undetectable even in ggs1Δ strains with strongly reduced activity of protein kinase A which normally causes a very high trehalose content. These data fit with the recent cloning of GGS1 as a subunit of the trehalose-6-phosphate synthase/phosphatase complex. We discuss a possible requirement of trehalose synthesis for a metabolic balance of sugar phosphates and free inorganic phosphate during the transition from derepressed to fermentative metabolism.