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Pseudohyphal differentiation defect due to mutations in GPCR and ammonium signaling is suppressed by low glucose concentration: a possible integrated role for carbon and nitrogen limitation

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Abstract

In response to carbon and/or nitrogen limitation, diploid cells of Saccharomyces cerevisiae either sporulate or develop pseudohyphae. Although the signal transduction pathways leading to these developmental changes have been extensively studied, how nutritional signals are integrated is not clearly understood. Results of this study indicate that reducing glucose concentration from 2% (SLAD) to 0.05% (SLALD) causes an increase in the magnitude of filamentation as well as a discernible reduction in the time required for pseudohyphal development. Further, the pseudohyphal defect of gpa2, gpr1and gpa2gpr1 but not the mep2 mutant strain is overcome on SLALD. Low glucose also induced pseudohyphae in mep2gpr1 but not mep2gpa2 strain suggesting that GPR1 inhibits pseudohyphae by inhibiting GPA2 function. Accordingly, deleting GPA2 in mep2gpr1 mutant abrogated pseudohyphae formation in SLALD. Further, replenishment of glucose suppressed pseudohyphal differentiation in wild-type cells grown in SLAD medium. However, in SLALD, glucose replenishment suppressed the filamentation response of gpa2 mutants but not that of strains carrying the wild-type GPA2. Increased trehalose levels correlated with decreased pseudohyphae formation. Results of this study demonstrate that filamentation in response to nitrogen limitation occurs as glucose becomes limiting.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by financial assistance provided by Department of Science and Technology (India) under the WOS-‘A’ scheme awarded to Dr. Revathi Iyer. We thank Prof. J. Heitman for graciously providing the strains. We thank the Sophisticated Analytical Instruments Facility (SAIF), IIT Bombay, for providing the imaging facility.

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Author notes

  1. Maitreyi Das

    Present address: Department of Molecular and Cellular Pharmacology, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, P.O. Box 016189 (R-189), Miami, FL, 33101, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Molecular Genetics, School of Biosciences and Bioengineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Mumbai, 400 076, India

    Revathi S. Iyer & Paike Jayadeva Bhat

Authors
  1. Revathi S. Iyer
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  2. Maitreyi Das
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Correspondence to Paike Jayadeva Bhat.

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Communicated by G. Braus.

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Iyer, R.S., Das, M. & Bhat, P.J. Pseudohyphal differentiation defect due to mutations in GPCR and ammonium signaling is suppressed by low glucose concentration: a possible integrated role for carbon and nitrogen limitation. Curr Genet 54, 71–81 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00294-008-0202-1

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