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The Yeast Prion [SWI(+)] Abolishes Multicellular Growth by Triggering Conformational Changes of Multiple Regulators

Zhiqiang Du1, Ying Zhang2, Liming Li1

  • 1Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, 320 E. Superior Street, Searle 7-650, Chicago, IL 60611, USA.

Cell Reports
|December 30, 2015
PubMed

Insights

The yeast prion [SWI(+)] inactivates multiple proteins, halting flocculin gene expression and multicellularity. This reveals a novel prion-mediated pathway affecting distinct traits through multi-level regulation.

Area of Science:

  • Molecular Biology
  • Yeast Genetics
  • Prion Biology

Background:

  • Transcription factors are common in yeast prion proteins, but their role in prion-mediated transcriptional regulation is unclear.
  • Yeast prions are self-propagating protein conformers influencing cellular phenotypes.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the role of the yeast prion [SWI(+)] in transcriptional regulation.
  • To elucidate the mechanism by which [SWI(+)] affects gene expression and cellular traits.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of flocculin (FLO) gene expression in [SWI(+)] yeast.
  • Investigation of protein conformational changes and aggregation of Swi1, Mss11, Sap30, and Msn1.
  • Characterization of Mss11 prion-like aggregates (SDS resistance, heritability, curability).

Main Results:

  • The [SWI(+)] prion abolishes FLO gene expression, leading to complete loss of multicellularity.
  • Key FLO expression regulators (Swi1, Mss11, Sap30, Msn1) are inactivated via conformational changes in [SWI(+)] cells.
  • Mss11 forms prion-like, SDS-resistant aggregates in [SWI(+)] cells, impacting its function.

Conclusions:

  • A prion-mediated mechanism inactivates multiple regulators within a biological pathway.
  • [SWI(+)] influences distinct traits (multicellularity, sugar utilization) differently through multi-level regulation.
  • This study provides insights into the diverse biological roles of prions in yeast.
Keywords:
SWI/SNFSaccharomyces cerevisiaeSwi1amyloidsfilamentous growthflocculinmulticellularityprionprotein conformation changeprotein-aggregationyeast

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