title: Schizosaccharomyces pombe Vps34p, a phosphatidylinositol-specific PI 3-kinase essential for normal cell growth and vacuole morphology.
abstract: We have cloned the gene, vps34+, from the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe which encodes an 801 amino acid protein with phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase activity. The S. pombe Vps34 protein shares 43% amino acid sequence identity with the Saccharomyces cerevisiae Vps34 protein and 28% identity with the p110 catalytic subunit of the mammalian phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase. When the vps34+ gene is disrupted, S.pombe strains are temperature-sensitive for growth and the mutant cells contain enlarged vacuoles. Furthermore, while wild-type strains exhibit substantial levels of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase activity, this activity is not detected in the vps34 delta strain. S.pombe Vps34p-specific antiserum detects a single protein in cells of -90 kDa that fractionates almost exclusively with the crude membrane fraction. Phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase activity also is localized mainly in the membrane fraction of wild-type cells. Immunoisolated Vps34p specifically phosphorylates phosphatidylinositol on the D-3 position of the inositol ring to yield phosphatidylinositol(3)phosphate. but does not utilize phosphatidylinositol(4)phosphate or phosphatidylinositol(4,5)bisphosphate as substrates. In addition, when compared to the mammalian p110 phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase, S. pombe Vps34p is relatively insensitive to the inhibitors wortmannin and LY294002. Together, these results indicate that S. pombe Vps34 is more similar to the phosphatidylinositol-specific 3-kinase, Vps34p from S. cerevisiae, and is distinct from the p110/p85 and G protein-coupled phosphatidylinositol 3-kinases from mammalian cells. These data are discussed in relation to the possible role of Vps34p in vesicle-mediated protein sorting to the S. pombe vacuole.
authors.affiliation: Division of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, University of California, San Diego, School of Medicine, La Jolla, CA 92093-0668, USA.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Takegawa
authors.forename: D B
authors.initials: DB
authors.lastname: DeWald
authors.forename: S D
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Emr
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001483:Base Sequence; D002455:Cell Division / Q000502:physiology; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D005800:Genes, Fungal; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D019869:Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases; D010716:Phosphatidylinositols / Q000378:metabolism*; D017853:Phosphotransferases (Alcohol Group Acceptor) / Q000378:metabolism*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012016:Reference Values; D012441:Saccharomyces cerevisiae / Q000235:genetics; D012568:Schizosaccharomyces / Q000201:enzymology*; D013045:Species Specificity; D013379:Substrate Specificity; D014617:Vacuoles / Q000648:ultrastructure*
chemical_list: D019869:Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases; D010716:Phosphatidylinositols; D017853:Phosphotransferases (Alcohol Group Acceptor)