Project description:During cytokinesis in the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, contraction of the cytokinetic ring and primary septum synthesis by chitin synthase II (Chs2p) are coupled processes. Myosin II (Myo1p), is involved in the actomyosin ring formation, required for proper cytokinesis, while Chs2p is responsible for the chitin primary septum formation which is necessary to stabilize the cytokinetic ring during its contraction. Morphological phenotypes of myo1∆ and chs2∆ mutants are therefore similar particularly in that both are unable to complete normal cytokinesis. A comparison between the global mRNA transcription profiles of myo1∆ and chs2∆ strains was conducted using oligonucleotide microarrays to establish if these cytokinesis mutants exhibited similar mRNA expression patterns and signature profiles were later generated from gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA). Genetic experiments were conducted to further test predictions based on the GSEA results. As reported previously in myo1∆ strains, a significant number of protein biosynthesis and RNA processing genes that may be attributed to regulation by cell integrity pathway(s) were also down-regulated in the chs2∆ strain. Genes coding for proteins involved in autophagy were coordinately upregulated only in the chs2∆ strain yet an ATG9 genetic knockout that completely blocks autophagy was viable in chs2∆ and myo1∆ genetic backgrounds.. However, the chs2∆ strain was significantly more susceptible to lysis by B-1,3-glucanase than myo1∆ and fks1 control strains. We interpret this result to indicate that these two cytokinesis mutant strains possess different cell wall properties. This interpretation was further supported by the observation that Slt2p hyperphosphorylation was detected in the chs2∆ strain yet expression of SLT2 was not required for cell viability. We conclude that in contrast to myo1∆ strains, chs2∆ strains do not activate the cell integrity pathway.
Project description:Short-read RNA-seq was performed on rRNA-depleted RNA isolated from spores of the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae that were sorted by mating type.
Project description:The budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae is a popular host to be used to produce recombinant proteins. Here we studied three yeast strains with different productivity using the RNA-seq data to elucidate the mechanisms for improving protein production.
Project description:RNAi, a gene-silencing pathway triggered by double-stranded RNA, is conserved in diverse eukaryotic species but has been lost in the model budding yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae. We report that RNAi is present in other budding-yeast species, including Saccharomyces castellii and Candida albicans. These species use noncanonical Dicer proteins to generate siRNAs, which mostly correspond to transposable elements and Y´ subtelomeric repeats. In S. castellii, RNAi mutants are viable but have excess Y´ mRNA levels. In S. cerevisiae, introducing Dicer and Argonaute of S. castellii restores RNAi, and the reconstituted pathway silences endogenous retrotransposons. These results identify a novel class of Dicer proteins, bring the tool of RNAi to the study of budding yeasts, and bring the tools of budding yeast to the study of RNAi.
Project description:To characterize cellular response to the anti-cancer ruthinium complex KP1019, budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae transcripitonal response to KP1019 was measured using microarray analysis. Although KP1019 molecular mechanism of action remains a matter of debate, the drug has been shown to bind DNA in biophysical assays and to damage DNA of colorectal and ovarian cancer cells in vitro. KP1019 has also been shown to induce mutations and induce cell cycle arrest in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, suggesting that budding yeast can serve as an appropriate model for characterizing the cellular response to the drug. Here we use a transcriptomic approach to characterize KP1019 induced transcriptional changes.
Project description:To characterize cellular response to the anti-cancer ruthinium complex KP1019, budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae transcripitonal response to KP1019 was measured using microarray analysis. Although KP1019 molecular mechanism of action remains a matter of debate, the drug has been shown to bind DNA in biophysical assays and to damage DNA of colorectal and ovarian cancer cells in vitro. KP1019 has also been shown to induce mutations and induce cell cycle arrest in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, suggesting that budding yeast can serve as an appropriate model for characterizing the cellular response to the drug. Here we use a transcriptomic approach to characterize KP1019 induced transcriptional changes. Two concentrations of KP1019 (40 micrograms/mL and 80 micrograms/ml were assayed by microarray analysis to obtain comparative expression data for treated and untreated cells of the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae (strain BY4741). Two biological replicates of each concentration were done. Each biological replicate was done in duplicate to allow for dye reversal controls.
Project description:RNAi, a gene-silencing pathway triggered by double-stranded RNA, is conserved in diverse eukaryotic species but has been lost in the model budding yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae. We report that RNAi is present in other budding-yeast species, including Saccharomyces castellii and Candida albicans. These species use noncanonical Dicer proteins to generate siRNAs, which mostly correspond to transposable elements and YM-BM-4 subtelomeric repeats. In S. castellii, RNAi mutants are viable but have excess YM-BM-4 mRNA levels. In S. cerevisiae, introducing Dicer and Argonaute of S. castellii restores RNAi, and the reconstituted pathway silences endogenous retrotransposons. These results identify a novel class of Dicer proteins, bring the tool of RNAi to the study of budding yeasts, and bring the tools of budding yeast to the study of RNAi. Examine mRNA abundance in two biological replicates of wild-type (DPB005) and RNAi deletion strains (DPB007, DPB009) of S. castellii.