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Updated: Jun 19, 2026
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High-throughput Screening for Protein-based Inheritance in S. cerevisiae
Published on: August 8, 2017
A heritable switch in carbon source utilization driven by an unusual yeast prion.
Jessica C S Brown1, Susan Lindquist
1Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research and Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, USA.
Genes & Development
|October 3, 2009
Summary
Researchers discovered a new yeast prion, [GAR(+)], which confers resistance to glucose-induced repression of alternative carbon sources. This protein-based inheritance mechanism involves the plasma membrane proton pump Pma1 and the glucose signaling protein Std1.
Area of Science:
- Molecular Biology
- Yeast Genetics
- Epigenetics
Background:
- Fungal proteins can act as prions, exhibiting self-propagating conformational changes that lead to heritable traits.
- Yeast prions serve as protein-based elements of phenotypic inheritance, influencing cellular functions.
- Glucose metabolism in yeast is tightly regulated, often involving repression of alternative pathways.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify and characterize a novel yeast prion involved in carbon source utilization.
- To elucidate the molecular mechanism underlying the [GAR(+)] prion.
- To investigate the role of specific proteins in prion formation and propagation.
Main Methods:
- Induction and propagation of the [GAR(+)] prion in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.
- Analysis of protein-protein interactions using co-immunoprecipitation.
- Investigating prion transmission barriers across Saccharomyces species.
Main Results:
- A novel prion, designated [GAR(+)], was identified, conferring resistance to glucose-associated repression of alternative carbon sources.
- [GAR(+)] exhibits spontaneous high-frequency appearance and non-Mendelian cytoplasmic inheritance.
- Evidence suggests the prion state involves a complex of Pma1 (plasma membrane proton pump) and Std1 (glucose signaling protein).
Conclusions:
- Yeast utilizes a prion-based mechanism for heritable switching of carbon source utilization strategies.
- The plasma membrane proton pump Pma1 is implicated in this prion-based inheritance.
- The findings expand the known biological roles of self-propagating protein-based elements of inheritance.
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