title: Cordycepin in Schizosaccharomyces pombe: effects on the wild type and phenotypes of mutants resistant to the drug.
abstract: The adenosine analogue cordycepin (3'-deoxyadenosine) inhibits growth and causes aberrant cell morphology in the fission yeast, Schizosaccharomyces pombe. Exogenously added thiamine, the pyrimidine moiety of the thiamine molecule, and adenine alleviate its growth-disturbing effect. At concentrations that do not inhibit growth, the drug reduces mating and sporulation and causes a decrease in the mRNA level of gene ste11 and the ste11-dependent gene, mei2. The mating- and sporulation-inhibiting effect of cordycepin is overcome by adenine. A mutant disrupted for the ado1 gene encoding adenosine kinase exhibits a cordycepin-resistant and methionine-sensitive phenotype, excretes adenosine into the medium and mates and sporulates poorly in the presence of adenine. A S. pombe mutant containing a frameshift mutation at the beginning of the carboxy-terminal half of gene ufd1 (the Saccharomyces cerevisiae UFD1 homologue) is cordycepin-resistant and sterile. Strains disrupted for the ufd1 gene only form microcolonies.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Cell Biology, University of Bern, Baltzerstrasse 4, 3012, Bern, Switzerland.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Naula
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Hilti
authors.forename: A M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Schweingruber
authors.forename: M E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Schweingruber
mesh_terms: D000248:Adenosine Kinase / Q000235:genetics; D000935:Antifungal Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D003839:Deoxyadenosines / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000502:physiology; D025141:Drug Resistance, Fungal / Q000235:genetics; D009154:Mutation; D010641:Phenotype; D029701:Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D012568:Schizosaccharomyces / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000201:enzymology / Q000235:genetics*; D017385:Sequence Homology; D013170:Spores / Q000187:drug effects; D033921:Vesicular Transport Proteins
chemical_list: D000935:Antifungal Agents; D003839:Deoxyadenosines; D029701:Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins; C444652:UFD1 protein, S cerevisiae; D033921:Vesicular Transport Proteins; D000248:Adenosine Kinase; C058120:cordycepin