Evidence for interaction of Schizophyllum commune Y mating-type proteins in vivo

The Aalpha mating-type locus of Schizophyllum commune regulates sexual development and contains the code for two proteins, Y and Z, which are thought to form a complex and function as a transcription factor. Import of these proteins into the nucleus may be an essential step in Aalpha-regulated sexual development. The Y proteins contain a bipartite basic sequence, which is an excellent candidate for a nuclear localization sequence (NLS), while Z proteins contain no such sequence. Here we describe experiments in which deletions were made in the putative NLS sequence of Y4. We show that this putative NLS is essential to the function of the Y protein and capable of mislocalizing green fluorescent protein (GFP) to the nucleus in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Further, we describe genetic experiments that demonstrate the first Y-Y protein interactions in vivo. These results are consistent with our previously postulated hypothesis that the Y-Z complex is likely to be of a higher order than dimer.