title: A super-assembly of Whi3 encodes memory of deceptive encounters by single cells during yeast courtship.
abstract: Cellular behavior is frequently influenced by the cell's history, indicating that single cells may memorize past events. We report that budding yeast permanently escape pheromone-induced cell-cycle arrest when experiencing a deceptive mating attempt, i.e., not reaching their putative partner within reasonable time. This acquired behavior depends on super-assembly and inactivation of the G1/S inhibitor Whi3, which liberates the G1 cyclin Cln3 from translational inhibition. Super-assembly of Whi3 is a slow response to pheromone, driven by polyQ and polyN domains, counteracted by Hsp70, and stable over generations. Unlike prion aggregates, Whi3 super-assemblies are not inherited mitotically but segregate to the mother cell. We propose that such polyQ- and polyN-based elements, termed here mnemons, act as cellular memory devices to encode previous environmental conditions.
authors: Institute of Biochemistry, Department of Biology, ETH Zurich, Schafmattstrasse 18, 8093 Zurich, Switzerland.
authors: Fabrice
authors: F
authors: Caudron
authors: Yves
authors: Y
authors: Barral
mesh_terms: D000220:Adaptation, Biological; D000251:Adenosine Triphosphatases / Q000378:metabolism; D002453:Cell Cycle; D016213:Cyclins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D018840:HSP70 Heat-Shock Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D010675:Pheromones / Q000378:metabolism*; D017434:Protein Structure, Tertiary; D016601:RNA-Binding Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D051964:Receptors, Mating Factor / Q000378:metabolism; D012441:Saccharomyces cerevisiae / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism*; D029701:Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: C079895:CLN3 protein, S cerevisiae; D016213:Cyclins; D018840:HSP70 Heat-Shock Proteins; D010675:Pheromones; D016601:RNA-Binding Proteins; D051964:Receptors, Mating Factor; C498031:STE2 protein, S cerevisiae; D029701:Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins; C440012:Whi3 protein, S cerevisiae; D000251:Adenosine Triphosphatases; C095973:SSA1 protein, S cerevisiae