Inhibition of the Ca(2+)-ATPase Pmc1p by the v-SNARE protein Nyv1p

Pmc1p, the Ca(2+)-ATPase of budding yeast related to plasma membrane Ca(2+)-ATPases of animals, is transcriptionally up-regulated in response to signaling by the calmodulin-calcineurin-Tcn1p/Crz1p signaling pathway. Little is known about post-translational regulation of Pmc1p. In a genetic screen for potential negative regulators of Pmc1p, a vacuolar v-SNARE protein, Nyv1p, was recovered. Cells overproducing Nyv1p show decreased Ca(2+) tolerance and decreased accumulation of Ca(2+) in the vacuole, similar to pmc1 null mutants. Overexpression of Nyv1p had no such effects on pmc1 mutants, suggesting that Nyv1p may inhibit Pmc1p function. Overexpression of Nyv1p did not decrease Pmc1p levels but decreased the specific ATP-dependent Ca(2+) transport activity of Pmc1p in purified vacuoles by at least 2-fold. The effect of Nyv1p on Pmc1p function is likely to be direct because native immunoprecipitation experiments showed that Pmc1p coprecipitated with Nyv1p. Complexes between Nyv1p and its t-SNARE partner Vam3p were also isolated, but these complexes lacked Pmc1p. We conclude that Nyv1p can interact physically with Pmc1p and inhibit its Ca(2+) transport activity in the vacuole membrane. This is the first example of a Ca(2+)-ATPase regulation by a v-SNARE protein involved in membrane fusion reactions.