A cytoplasmic coiled-coil domain is required for histidine kinase activity of the yeast osmosensor, SLN1

The yeast histidine kinase, Sln1p, is a plasma membrane-associated osmosensor that regulates the activity of the osmotic stress MAP kinase pathway. Changes in the osmotic environment of the cell influence the autokinase activity of the cytoplasmic kinase domain of Sln1p. Neither the nature of the stimulus, the mechanism by which the osmotic signal is transduced nor the manner in which the kinase is regulated is currently clear. We have identified several mutations located in the linker region of the Sln1 kinase (just upstream of the kinase domain) that cause hyperactivity of the Sln1 kinase. This region of histidine kinases is largely uncharacterized, but its location between the transmembrane domains and the cytoplasmic kinase domain suggests that it may have a potential role in signal transduction. In this study, we have investigated the Sln1 linker region in order to understand its function in signal transduction and regulation of Sln1 kinase activity. Our results indicate that the linker region forms a coiled-coil structure and suggest a mechanism by which alterations induced by osmotic stress influence kinase activity by altering the alignment of the phospho-accepting histidine with respect to the catalytic domain of the kinase.