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Mutations in cyr1 and pat1 reveal pheromone-induced G1 arrest in the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe

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Abstract

Investigations into sexual differentiation and pheromone response in the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe are complicated by the need to first starve the cells of nitrogen. Most mating-related experiments are therefore performed on non-dividing cells. Here we overcome this problem by using two mutants that bypass the nutritional requirements and respond to the M-factor mating pheromone in rich medium. The first mutant lacks the cyr1 gene which encodes adenylate cyclase and these cells contain no measurable amounts of cAMP. When M-factor is added to a growing h + cyr1− strain it causes a transient G1 arrest of cell division, transcription of mat1-Pm, and elongation of the cells to form shmoos. The second mutant contains the temperature-sensitive pat1-114 allele. At 30°C this mutant was previously shown not only to bypass the nutritional signal but also to stop growing in a state derepressed for pheromone-controlled functions. We now report that an h + pat1-114 strain growing mitotically at 23°C responds to M-factor. This shows that the pat1 protein kinase can be tuned to derepress nutritional signalling while repressing the other stages in the differentiation process.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Biochemistry, University of Birmingham, B15 2TT, Birmingham, UK

    John Davey

  2. Department of Genetics, Institute of Molecular Biology, University of Copenhagen, Øster Farimagsgade 2A, DK-1353, Copenhagen K, Denmark

    Olaf Nielsen

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  1. John Davey
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  2. Olaf Nielsen
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Davey, J., Nielsen, O. Mutations in cyr1 and pat1 reveal pheromone-induced G1 arrest in the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe . Curr Genet 26, 105–112 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00313796

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00313796

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