Carbon source dependent dynamics of the Ccr4-Not complex in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

We have investigated the composition of the conserved Ccr4-Not complex during different physiological states of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Major changes were found, most notably in the expression of the central scaffold protein Not1p, which was strongly reduced in the absence of glucose. The low expression of Not1p was also evident from the inability of Pop2p to co-purify Not1p in cells from cultures lacking glucose. However, Not1p was still essential under conditions of low expression. The downregulation of Not1p indicates that many of the Ccr4-Not complex components are likely to have roles outside of the complex. We suggest that the use of different carbon sources will be a good starting point to unravel these functions.