title: Regulation of calcineurin gene expression in Schizosaccharomyces pombe. Dependence on the ste11 transcription factor.
abstract: Calmodulin and its target enzymes are important regulators of numerous cellular processes, including reversible protein phosphorylation. The calmodulin-dependent protein phosphatase (calcineurin) has been suggested to play roles in activation of T cells and in the mating response of yeast. Recently, studies have shown it to be the target of immunosuppressant drugs such as cyclosporin and FK-506. In this study, we have cloned the gene for the catalytic subunit of calcineurin, CnA, from the yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe. The gene (named ppb1+) has been mapped to chromosome II by analysis of the hybridization of a genomic DNA probe to an ordered library. The gene produces a single mRNA species of 2.5 kilobases, which varies during the cell cycle in exponentially growing cells. In addition, expression of ppb1+ mRA is induced by nitrogen starvation, a condition that favors mating in S. pombe. The ppb1+ gene promoter contains a cis-acting element for the ste11 transcription factor, and we have shown that induction of the ppb1+ mRNA during nitrogen starvation is dependent on the ste11 gene product. Together with earlier studies showing that disruption of the ppb1+ gene in S. pombe results in sterility (Yoshida, T., Toda, T., and Yanagida, M. (1994) J. Cell Sci., 107, 1725-1735), our studies suggest that the ppb1+ gene plays a role in the gene expression cascade that is essential for mating and sporulation in S. pombe.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Plochocka-Zulinska
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Rasmussen
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Rasmussen
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001483:Base Sequence; D019703:Calcineurin; D002148:Calmodulin-Binding Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D005656:Fungal Proteins / Q000502:physiology*; D015966:Gene Expression Regulation, Fungal; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010749:Phosphoprotein Phosphatases / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000032:analysis; D012568:Schizosaccharomyces / Q000378:metabolism*; D029702:Schizosaccharomyces pombe Proteins; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D002148:Calmodulin-Binding Proteins; D005656:Fungal Proteins; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D029702:Schizosaccharomyces pombe Proteins; D014157:Transcription Factors; C071596:ste11 protein, S pombe; D019703:Calcineurin; D010749:Phosphoprotein Phosphatases