Mcs4 mitotic catastrophe suppressor regulates the fission yeast cell cycle through the Wik1-Wis1-Spc1 kinase cascade.
Spc1 in Schizosaccharomyces pombe is a member of the stress-activated protein kinase family, an evolutionary conserved subfamily of mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs). Spc1 is activated by a MAPK kinase homologue, Wis1, and negatively regulated by Pyp1 and Pyp2 tyrosine phosphatases. Mutations in the spc1+ and wis1+ genes cause a G2 cell cycle delay that is exacerbated during stress. Herein, we describe two upstream regulators of the Wis1-Spc1 cascade. wik1+ (Wis1 kinase) was identified from its homology to budding yeast SSK2, which encodes a MAPKK kinase that regulates the HOG1 osmosensing pathway. Delta wik1 cells are impaired in stress-induced activation of Spc1 and show a G2 cell cycle delay and osmosensitive growth. Moreover, overproduction of a constitutively active form of Wik1 induces hyperactivation of Spc1 in wis1(+)-dependent manner, suggesting that Wik1 regulates Spc1 through activation of Wis1. A mutation of mcs4+ (mitotic catastrophe suppressor) was originally isolated as a suppressor of the mitotic catastrophe phenotype of a cdc2-3w wee1-50 double mutant. We have found that mcs4- cells are defective at activation of Spc1 in response to various forms of stress. Epistasis analysis has placed Mcs4-upstream of Wik1 in the Spc1 activation cascade. These results indicate that Mcs4 is part of a sensor system for multiple environmental signals that modulates the timing of entry into mitosis by regulating the Wik1-Wis1-Spc1 kinase cascade. Inactivation of the sensor system delays the onset of mitosis and rescues lethal premature mitosis in cdc2-3w wee1-50 cells.
Shiozaki
K
K
Department of Molecular Biology, Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, California 92037, USA.
Shiozaki
M
M
Russell
P
P
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D017871:Calcium-Calmodulin-Dependent Protein Kinases / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D002453:Cell Cycle; D018797:Cell Cycle Proteins; D005656:Fungal Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D016195:G2 Phase / Q000235:genetics; D017353:Gene Deletion; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D016153:Genes, Suppressor; D020929:Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase Kinases; D020928:Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009154:Mutation; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D012441:Saccharomyces cerevisiae / Q000201:enzymology; D012568:Schizosaccharomyces / Q000166:cytology* / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000235:genetics; D029702:Schizosaccharomyces pombe Proteins; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000235:genetics
D018797:Cell Cycle Proteins; D005656:Fungal Proteins; C105788:Mcs4 protein, S pombe; D029702:Schizosaccharomyces pombe Proteins; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases; D017871:Calcium-Calmodulin-Dependent Protein Kinases; D020928:Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases; C095409:sty1 protein, S pombe; D020929:Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase Kinases; C072068:wis1 protein, S pombe