Yeast translational response to high salinity: global analysis reveals regulation at multiple levels

Genome-wide studies of steady-state mRNA levels revealed common principles underlying transcriptional changes in response to external stimuli. To uncover principles that govern other stages of the gene-expression response, we analyzed the translational response and its coordination with transcriptome changes following exposure to severe stress. Yeast cells were grown for 1 h in medium containing 1 M NaCl, which elicits a maximal but transient translation inhibition, and nonpolysomal or polysomal mRNA pools were subjected to DNA-microarray analyses. We observed a strong repression in polysomal association for most mRNAs, with no simple correlation with the changes in transcript levels. This led to an apparent accumulation of many mRNAs as a nontranslating pool, presumably waiting for recovery from the stress. However, some mRNAs demonstrated a correlated change in their polysomal association and their transcript levels (i.e., potentiation). This group was enriched with targets of the transcription factors Msn2/Msn4, and the translational induction of several tested mRNAs was diminished in an Msn2/Msn4 deletion strain. Genome-wide analysis of a strain lacking the high salinity response kinase Hog1p revealed that the group of translationally affected genes is significantly enriched with motifs that were shown to be associated with the ARE-binding protein Pub1. Since a relatively small number of genes was affected by Hog1p deletion, additional signaling pathways are likely to be involved in coordinating the translational response to severe salinity stress.