Shk1, a homolog of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae Ste20 and mammalian p65PAK protein kinases, is a component of a Ras/Cdc42 signaling module in the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe.
We describe a protein kinase, Shk1, from the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe, which is structurally related to the Saccharomyces cerevisiae Ste20 and mammalian p65PAK protein kinases. We provide genetic evidence for physical and functional interaction between Shk1 and the Cdc42 GTP-binding protein required for normal cell morphology and mating in S. pombe. We further show that expression of the STE20 gene complements the shk1 null mutation and that Shk1 is capable of signaling to the pheromone-responsive mitogen-activated protein kinase cascade in S. cerevisiae. Our results lead us to propose that signaling modules composed of small GTP-binding proteins and protein kinases related to Shk1, Ste20, and p65PAK, are highly conserved in evolution and participate in both cytoskeletal functions and mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling pathways.
Marcus
S
S
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, NY 11724, USA.
Polverino
A
A
Chang
E
E
Robbins
D
D
Cobb
M H
MH
Wigler
M H
MH
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D018797:Cell Cycle Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D003433:Crosses, Genetic; D017931:DNA Primers; D005656:Fungal Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D019204:GTP-Binding Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D017353:Gene Deletion; D005800:Genes, Fungal; D047908:Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins; D020930:MAP Kinase Kinase Kinases; D008322:Mammals; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D012045:Regulatory Sequences, Nucleic Acid; D012441:Saccharomyces cerevisiae / Q000201:enzymology*; D029701:Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins; D012568:Schizosaccharomyces / Q000201:enzymology / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D029702:Schizosaccharomyces pombe Proteins; D017384:Sequence Deletion; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D015398:Signal Transduction; D001616:beta-Galactosidase / Q000032:analysis / Q000096:biosynthesis; D020764:cdc42 GTP-Binding Protein; D054462:p21-Activated Kinases; D018631:ras Proteins
D018797:Cell Cycle Proteins; D017931:DNA Primers; D005656:Fungal Proteins; D047908:Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins; D029701:Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins; D029702:Schizosaccharomyces pombe Proteins; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases; D054462:p21-Activated Kinases; C094341:shk1 protein, S pombe; D020930:MAP Kinase Kinase Kinases; C078754:STE20 protein, S cerevisiae; D001616:beta-Galactosidase; D019204:GTP-Binding Proteins; D020764:cdc42 GTP-Binding Protein; D018631:ras Proteins