| Title: | Phosphorylated Gbeta is a directional cue during yeast gradient tracking |
| Author(s): | Abdul-Ganiyu R; Venegas LA; Wang X; Puerner C; Arkowitz RA; Kay BK; Stone DE; |
| Address: | "Department of Biological Sciences, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL 60607, USA. Universite Cote D'Azur, CNRS, INSERM, Institute of Biology Valrose (iBV), Parc Valrose, Nice, France. Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH 03755, USA. Department of Biological Sciences, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL 60607, USA. dstone@uic.edu" |
| DOI: | 10.1126/scisignal.abf4710 |
| ISSN/ISBN: | 1937-9145 (Electronic) 1945-0877 (Linking) |
| Abstract: | "Budding yeast cells interpret shallow pheromone gradients from cells of the opposite mating type, polarize their growth toward the pheromone source, and fuse at the chemotropic growth site. We previously proposed a deterministic, gradient-sensing model that explains how yeast cells switch from the intrinsically positioned default polarity site (DS) to the gradient-aligned chemotropic site (CS) at the plasma membrane. Because phosphorylation of the mating-specific Gbeta subunit is thought to be important for this process, we developed a biosensor that bound to phosphorylated but not unphosphorylated Gbeta and monitored its spatiotemporal dynamics to test key predictions of our gradient-sensing model. In mating cells, the biosensor colocalized with both Gbeta and receptor reporters at the DS and then tracked with them to the CS. The biosensor concentrated on the leading side of the tracking Gbeta and receptor peaks and was the first to arrive and stop tracking at the CS. Our data showed that the concentrated localization of phosphorylated Gbeta correlated with the tracking direction and final position of the G protein and receptor, consistent with the idea that gradient-regulated phosphorylation and dephosphorylation of Gbeta contributes to gradient sensing. Cells expressing a nonphosphorylatable mutant form of Gbeta exhibited defects in gradient tracking, orientation toward mating partners, and mating efficiency" |
| Keywords: | Cues GTP-Binding Proteins/metabolism Pheromones *Saccharomyces cerevisiae/genetics/metabolism *Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins/genetics/metabolism; |
| Notes: | "MedlineAbdul-Ganiyu, Rashida Venegas, Leon A Wang, Xin Puerner, Charles Arkowitz, Robert A Kay, Brian K Stone, David E eng U54 DK093444/DK/NIDDK NIH HHS/ Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S. 2021/05/13 Sci Signal. 2021 May 11; 14(682):eabf4710. doi: 10.1126/scisignal.abf4710" |
