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Changes in cell morphology are coordinated with cell growth through the TORC1 pathway

Alexi I Goranov1, Amneet Gulati, Noah Dephoure

  • 1David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.

Current Biology : CB
|July 2, 2013
PubMed
Abstract

Insights

Budding yeast cell growth is slowed by actin cytoskeleton polarization, which inhibits the Target of Rapamycin Complex 1 (TORC1) pathway. This mechanism helps cells recover after prolonged polarized growth.

Area of Science:

  • Cell Biology
  • Molecular Biology
  • Biochemistry

Background:

  • Cell growth is influenced by both external factors like nutrients and internal cellular processes.
  • Altered cell morphology, specifically in budding yeast due to actin cytoskeleton polarization, has been linked to reduced growth rates.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the molecular mechanisms by which actin cytoskeleton polarization affects cell growth in budding yeast.
  • To determine the role of the Target of Rapamycin Complex 1 (TORC1) pathway in this process.

Main Methods:

  • Investigated the interaction between actin cytoskeleton polarization and the TORC1 pathway in budding yeast.
  • Utilized genetic manipulation of the Iml1 complex to assess its role in TORC1 regulation.
  • Assessed cell growth, protein synthesis, and mass accumulation under conditions of polarized growth.

Main Results:

  • Actin cytoskeleton polarization was shown to inhibit the highly conserved TORC1 pathway.
  • Inactivation of the Iml1 complex, a TORC1 regulator, suppressed this TORC1 downregulation.
  • Growth attenuation was found to be crucial for cell recovery following extended periods of polarized growth.

Conclusions:

  • Prolonged polarized growth inhibits protein synthesis, mass accumulation, and cell size increase, partly via TORC1 pathway inhibition.
  • This regulatory mechanism may coordinate cell size increase with biosynthetic capacity in budding yeast.

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