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Assay for Adhesion and Agar Invasion in S. cerevisiae
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MADS box transcription factor Mbx2/Pvg4 regulates invasive growth and flocculation by inducing gsf2+ expression in

Tomohiko Matsuzawa1, Ken-ichi Yoritsune, Kaoru Takegawa

  • 1Department of Bioscience & Biotechnology, Faculty of Agriculture, Kyushu University, Hakozaki 6-10-1, Fukuoka, Japan.

Eukaryotic Cell
|December 20, 2011
PubMed

Insights

Mbx2 protein regulates invasive growth and flocculation in fission yeast by controlling gsf2(+) gene expression. This protein also induces nonsexual flocculation in budding yeast by activating FLO1.

Area of Science:

  • Microbiology
  • Molecular Biology
  • Cell Biology

Background:

  • Fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe displays invasive growth and nonsexual flocculation under nitrogen limitation.
  • Gsf2, a fission yeast flocculin, is crucial for both nonsexual flocculation and invasive growth, recognizing galactose residues on cell surface glycoconjugates.
  • Pyruvylation negatively impacts nonsexual flocculation by capping galactose residues on N-linked galactomannan.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the role of pyruvylation in regulating invasive growth in fission yeast.
  • To elucidate the function of the pvg4(+) gene and its relation to cell surface pyruvylation and invasive growth.
  • To determine the mechanism by which Mbx2 influences invasive growth and flocculation.

Main Methods:

  • Deletion mutant analysis of pvg4/mbx2.
  • Alcian blue staining and Q-Sepharose binding assays to assess cell surface pyruvylation.
  • Gene expression analysis of gsf2(+) and FLO1.
  • Overexpression studies of mbx2(+) in fission and budding yeast.

Main Results:

  • The pvg4/mbx2 deletion mutant showed no defect in cell surface pyruvylation but exhibited impaired invasive growth under specific conditions (low nitrogen, high glucose).
  • Deletion of pvg4/mbx2 reduced adhesion and flocculation in other mutants by decreasing gsf2(+) expression.
  • Overexpression of mbx2(+) induced nonsexual and calcium-dependent aggregation, inhibited by galactose, and mediated by gsf2(+) induction.
  • Fission yeast Mbx2 induced nonsexual flocculation in budding yeast via FLO1 activation.

Conclusions:

  • Mbx2 is identified as a key mediator of invasive growth and flocculation in fission yeast, acting through the transcriptional activation of gsf2(+).
  • Mbx2 also plays a role in interspecies yeast interactions, inducing flocculation in budding yeast.
  • These findings highlight Mbx2's regulatory role in yeast cell-cell interactions and invasive behaviors.

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