title: Characterization of Pak2p, a pleckstrin homology domain-containing, p21-activated protein kinase from fission yeast.
abstract: p21-activated kinases (PAKs) bind to and are activated by Rho family GTPases such as Cdc42 and Rac. Since these GTPases play key roles in regulating cell polarity, stress responses, and cell cycle progression, the ability of PAK to affect these processes has been examined. We previously showed that fission yeast pak1+ encodes an essential protein that affects mating and cell polarity. Here, we characterize a second pak gene (pak2+) from Schizosaccharomyces pombe. Like the Saccharomyces cerevisiae proteins Cla4p and Skm1p, fission yeast Pak2p contains an N-terminal pleckstrin homology domain in addition to a p21-binding domain and a protein kinase domain that are common to other members of the PAK family. Unlike pak1+, pak2(+) is not essential for vegetative growth or for mating in S. pombe. Overexpression of the wild-type pak2+ allele suppresses the lethal growth defect associated with deletion of pak1+, and this suppression requires both the pleckstrin homology- and the p21-binding domains of Pak2p, as well as kinase activity. A substantial fraction of Pak2p is associated with membranous components, an association mediated both by the pleckstrin homology- and by the p21-binding domains. These results show that S. pombe encodes at least two pak genes with distinct functions and suggest that the membrane localization of Pak2p, directed by its interactions with membrane lipids and Cdc42p, is critical to its biological activity.
authors.affiliation: Fox Chase Cancer Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19111, USA.
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Sells
authors.forename: J T
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Barratt
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Caviston
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ottilie
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Leberer
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chernoff
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001665:Binding Sites; D018797:Cell Cycle Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D004789:Enzyme Activation; D019204:GTP-Binding Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010641:Phenotype; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D029701:Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins; D012568:Schizosaccharomyces / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000235:genetics; D029702:Schizosaccharomyces pombe Proteins; D020846:cdc42 GTP-Binding Protein, Saccharomyces cerevisiae; D054462:p21-Activated Kinases
chemical_list: D018797:Cell Cycle Proteins; D029701:Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins; D029702:Schizosaccharomyces pombe Proteins; C105722:SKM1 protein, S cerevisiae; C095212:CLA4 protein, S cerevisiae; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases; D054462:p21-Activated Kinases; C094341:shk1 protein, S pombe; D019204:GTP-Binding Proteins; D020846:cdc42 GTP-Binding Protein, Saccharomyces cerevisiae