title: Highly divergent amino termini of the homologous human ALR and yeast scERV1 gene products define species specific differences in cellular localization.
abstract: The yeast scERV1 gene product is involved in the biogenesis of mitochondria and is indispensable for viability and regulation of the cell cycle. Recently the general importance of this gene for the eukaryotic cell was shown by the identification of a structural and functional human homologue. The homologous mammalian ALR (Augmenter of Liver Regeneration) genes from man, mouse and rat are involved in the phenomenon of liver regeneration. A low expression rate of the genes is found in all investigated cells and mammalian tissues but it is specifically induced after damage of liver organs and is especially high during spermatogenesis. The alignment of the different proteins identifies a highly conserved carboxy terminus with more than 40% identical amino acids between yeast and mammals. The conserved carboxy terminus is functionally interchangeable between distantly related species like yeast and man. In contrast, the amino terminal parts of the proteins display a high degree of variability and significant differences even among closely related species. This finding leads to the problem whether the amino termini have comparable or divergent functions in different species. In this study we demonstrate by heterologous complementation experiments in yeast that the complete human ALR protein with its own amino terminus is not able to substitute for the yeast scERV1 protein. Fusion proteins of Alrp and scErv1p with the green fluorescence protein were created to investigate the respective subcellular localizations of these homologous proteins in yeast and human cells. In yeast cells human Alrp accumulates in the cytoplasm in contrast to yeast scErv1p that is preferentially associated with yeast mitochondria. Comparable studies with human cells clearly show that the homologous human Alrp is located in the cytosol of these cells. Fractionation experiments and antibody tests with yeast and human mitochondria and cellular extracts verify these findings.
authors.affiliation: Institut für Biochemie und Biologisch-Medizinisches Forschungszentrum, Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf, Germany.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Hofhaus
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Stein
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Polimeno
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Francavilla
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Lisowsky
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D005656:Fungal Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D015870:Gene Expression; D005816:Genetic Complementation Test; D005818:Genetic Engineering; D005822:Genetic Vectors; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins; D006133:Growth Substances / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D008164:Luminescent Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D008928:Mitochondria; D024101:Mitochondrial Proteins; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D050862:Oxidoreductases Acting on Sulfur Group Donors; D011506:Proteins; D051381:Rats; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D012441:Saccharomyces cerevisiae; D029701:Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D013045:Species Specificity; D014162:Transfection
chemical_list: D005656:Fungal Proteins; D006133:Growth Substances; D008164:Luminescent Proteins; D024101:Mitochondrial Proteins; D011506:Proteins; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins; D029701:Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins; C088825:GFER protein, rat; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins; D050862:Oxidoreductases Acting on Sulfur Group Donors; C073790:ERV1 protein, S cerevisiae