Skip to main content
PMC home page
Molecular and Cellular Biology logoLink to Molecular and Cellular Biology
. 1990 Dec;10(12):6742–6754. doi: 10.1128/mcb.10.12.6742

Characterization of VPS34, a gene required for vacuolar protein sorting and vacuole segregation in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

P K Herman 1, S D Emr 1
PMCID: PMC362952  PMID: 2247081

Abstract

VPS34 gene function is required for the efficient localization of a variety of vacuolar proteins. We have cloned and sequenced the wild-type VPS34 gene in order to gain a better understanding of the role of its protein product in this intracellular sorting pathway. Interestingly, disruption of the VPS34 locus resulted in a temperature-sensitive growth defect, indicating that the VPS34 gene is essential for vegetative growth only at elevated growth temperatures. As with the original vps34 alleles, vps34 null mutants exhibited severe vacuolar protein sorting defects and possessed a morphologically normal vacuolar structure. The VPS34 gene DNA sequence identifies an open reading frame that could encode a hydrophilic protein of 875 amino acids. The predicted protein sequence lacks any apparent signal sequence or membrane-spanning domains, suggesting that Vps34p does not enter the secretory pathway. Results from immunoprecipitation experiments with antiserum prepared against a TrpE-Vps34 fusion protein were consistent with this prediction: a rare, unglycosylated protein of approximately 95,000 Da was detected in extracts of wild-type Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells. Cell fractionation studies indicated that a significant portion of the Vps34p is found associated with a particulate fraction of yeast cells. This particulate Vps34p was readily solubilized by treatment with 2 M urea but not with Triton X-100, suggesting that the presence of Vps34p in this pelletable structure is mediated by protein-protein interactions. vp34 mutant cells also exhibited a defect in the normal partitioning of the vacuolar compartment between mother and daughter cells during cell division. In more than 80% of the delta vps34 dividing cells examined, no vacuolar structures were observed in the newly emerging bud, whereas in wild-type dividing cells, more than 95% of the buds had a detectable vacuolar compartment. Our results suggest that the Vps34p may act as a component of a relatively large intracellular structure that functions to facilitate specific steps of the vacuolar protein delivery and inheritance pathways.

Full text

PDF
6742

Images in this article

6746Image
on p.6746
6746Image
on p.6746
6747Image
on p.6747
6749Image
on p.6749
6750Image
on p.6750
6750Image
on p.6750
6751Image
on p.6751

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Bankaitis V. A., Johnson L. M., Emr S. D. Isolation of yeast mutants defective in protein targeting to the vacuole. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1986 Dec;83(23):9075–9079. doi: 10.1073/pnas.83.23.9075. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Banta L. M., Robinson J. S., Klionsky D. J., Emr S. D. Organelle assembly in yeast: characterization of yeast mutants defective in vacuolar biogenesis and protein sorting. J Cell Biol. 1988 Oct;107(4):1369–1383. doi: 10.1083/jcb.107.4.1369. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Banta L. M., Vida T. A., Herman P. K., Emr S. D. Characterization of yeast Vps33p, a protein required for vacuolar protein sorting and vacuole biogenesis. Mol Cell Biol. 1990 Sep;10(9):4638–4649. doi: 10.1128/mcb.10.9.4638. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Branton D., Cohen C. M., Tyler J. Interaction of cytoskeletal proteins on the human erythrocyte membrane. Cell. 1981 Apr;24(1):24–32. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(81)90497-9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Casadaban M. J., Cohen S. N. Analysis of gene control signals by DNA fusion and cloning in Escherichia coli. J Mol Biol. 1980 Apr;138(2):179–207. doi: 10.1016/0022-2836(80)90283-1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Devereux J., Haeberli P., Smithies O. A comprehensive set of sequence analysis programs for the VAX. Nucleic Acids Res. 1984 Jan 11;12(1 Pt 1):387–395. doi: 10.1093/nar/12.1part1.387. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Dice J. F. Molecular determinants of protein half-lives in eukaryotic cells. FASEB J. 1987 Nov;1(5):349–357. doi: 10.1096/fasebj.1.5.2824267. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Dieckmann C. L., Tzagoloff A. Assembly of the mitochondrial membrane system. CBP6, a yeast nuclear gene necessary for synthesis of cytochrome b. J Biol Chem. 1985 Feb 10;260(3):1513–1520. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Dulić V., Riezman H. Characterization of the END1 gene required for vacuole biogenesis and gluconeogenic growth of budding yeast. EMBO J. 1989 May;8(5):1349–1359. doi: 10.1002/j.1460-2075.1989.tb03515.x. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Eakle K. A., Bernstein M., Emr S. D. Characterization of a component of the yeast secretion machinery: identification of the SEC18 gene product. Mol Cell Biol. 1988 Oct;8(10):4098–4109. doi: 10.1128/mcb.8.10.4098. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Emr S. D., Vassarotti A., Garrett J., Geller B. L., Takeda M., Douglas M. G. The amino terminus of the yeast F1-ATPase beta-subunit precursor functions as a mitochondrial import signal. J Cell Biol. 1986 Feb;102(2):523–533. doi: 10.1083/jcb.102.2.523. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Franzusoff A., Schekman R. Functional compartments of the yeast Golgi apparatus are defined by the sec7 mutation. EMBO J. 1989 Sep;8(9):2695–2702. doi: 10.1002/j.1460-2075.1989.tb08410.x. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Haarer B. K., Lillie S. H., Adams A. E., Magdolen V., Bandlow W., Brown S. S. Purification of profilin from Saccharomyces cerevisiae and analysis of profilin-deficient cells. J Cell Biol. 1990 Jan;110(1):105–114. doi: 10.1083/jcb.110.1.105. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Ito H., Fukuda Y., Murata K., Kimura A. Transformation of intact yeast cells treated with alkali cations. J Bacteriol. 1983 Jan;153(1):163–168. doi: 10.1128/jb.153.1.163-168.1983. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Johnson L. M., Bankaitis V. A., Emr S. D. Distinct sequence determinants direct intracellular sorting and modification of a yeast vacuolar protease. Cell. 1987 Mar 13;48(5):875–885. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(87)90084-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Jones E. W. Proteinase mutants of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Genetics. 1977 Jan;85(1):23–33. doi: 10.1093/genetics/85.1.23. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Kleid D. G., Yansura D., Small B., Dowbenko D., Moore D. M., Grubman M. J., McKercher P. D., Morgan D. O., Robertson B. H., Bachrach H. L. Cloned viral protein vaccine for foot-and-mouth disease: responses in cattle and swine. Science. 1981 Dec 4;214(4525):1125–1129. doi: 10.1126/science.6272395. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Klionsky D. J., Banta L. M., Emr S. D. Intracellular sorting and processing of a yeast vacuolar hydrolase: proteinase A propeptide contains vacuolar targeting information. Mol Cell Biol. 1988 May;8(5):2105–2116. doi: 10.1128/mcb.8.5.2105. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Klionsky D. J., Emr S. D. Membrane protein sorting: biosynthesis, transport and processing of yeast vacuolar alkaline phosphatase. EMBO J. 1989 Aug;8(8):2241–2250. doi: 10.1002/j.1460-2075.1989.tb08348.x. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Klionsky D. J., Herman P. K., Emr S. D. The fungal vacuole: composition, function, and biogenesis. Microbiol Rev. 1990 Sep;54(3):266–292. doi: 10.1128/mr.54.3.266-292.1990. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Kornfeld S., Mellman I. The biogenesis of lysosomes. Annu Rev Cell Biol. 1989;5:483–525. doi: 10.1146/annurev.cb.05.110189.002411. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Kyte J., Doolittle R. F. A simple method for displaying the hydropathic character of a protein. J Mol Biol. 1982 May 5;157(1):105–132. doi: 10.1016/0022-2836(82)90515-0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. Lipman D. J., Pearson W. R. Rapid and sensitive protein similarity searches. Science. 1985 Mar 22;227(4693):1435–1441. doi: 10.1126/science.2983426. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  24. Mann C., Davis R. W. Structure and sequence of the centromeric DNA of chromosome 4 in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Mol Cell Biol. 1986 Jan;6(1):241–245. doi: 10.1128/mcb.6.1.241. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  25. Novick P., Ferro S., Schekman R. Order of events in the yeast secretory pathway. Cell. 1981 Aug;25(2):461–469. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(81)90064-7. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  26. Novick P., Field C., Schekman R. Identification of 23 complementation groups required for post-translational events in the yeast secretory pathway. Cell. 1980 Aug;21(1):205–215. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(80)90128-2. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  27. Novick P., Osmond B. C., Botstein D. Suppressors of yeast actin mutations. Genetics. 1989 Apr;121(4):659–674. doi: 10.1093/genetics/121.4.659. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  28. Pearson W. R., Lipman D. J. Improved tools for biological sequence comparison. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1988 Apr;85(8):2444–2448. doi: 10.1073/pnas.85.8.2444. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  29. Pfeffer S. R., Rothman J. E. Biosynthetic protein transport and sorting by the endoplasmic reticulum and Golgi. Annu Rev Biochem. 1987;56:829–852. doi: 10.1146/annurev.bi.56.070187.004145. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  30. Preston R. A., Murphy R. F., Jones E. W. Apparent endocytosis of fluorescein isothiocyanate-conjugated dextran by Saccharomyces cerevisiae reflects uptake of low molecular weight impurities, not dextran. J Cell Biol. 1987 Nov;105(5):1981–1987. doi: 10.1083/jcb.105.5.1981. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  31. Pringle J. R., Preston R. A., Adams A. E., Stearns T., Drubin D. G., Haarer B. K., Jones E. W. Fluorescence microscopy methods for yeast. Methods Cell Biol. 1989;31:357–435. doi: 10.1016/s0091-679x(08)61620-9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  32. Raymond C. K., O'Hara P. J., Eichinger G., Rothman J. H., Stevens T. H. Molecular analysis of the yeast VPS3 gene and the role of its product in vacuolar protein sorting and vacuolar segregation during the cell cycle. J Cell Biol. 1990 Sep;111(3):877–892. doi: 10.1083/jcb.111.3.877. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  33. Robinson J. S., Klionsky D. J., Banta L. M., Emr S. D. Protein sorting in Saccharomyces cerevisiae: isolation of mutants defective in the delivery and processing of multiple vacuolar hydrolases. Mol Cell Biol. 1988 Nov;8(11):4936–4948. doi: 10.1128/mcb.8.11.4936. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  34. Rose M. D., Novick P., Thomas J. H., Botstein D., Fink G. R. A Saccharomyces cerevisiae genomic plasmid bank based on a centromere-containing shuttle vector. Gene. 1987;60(2-3):237–243. doi: 10.1016/0378-1119(87)90232-0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  35. Rothman J. H., Howald I., Stevens T. H. Characterization of genes required for protein sorting and vacuolar function in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. EMBO J. 1989 Jul;8(7):2057–2065. doi: 10.1002/j.1460-2075.1989.tb03614.x. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  36. Rothman J. H., Raymond C. K., Gilbert T., O'Hara P. J., Stevens T. H. A putative GTP binding protein homologous to interferon-inducible Mx proteins performs an essential function in yeast protein sorting. Cell. 1990 Jun 15;61(6):1063–1074. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(90)90070-u. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  37. Rothman J. H., Stevens T. H. Protein sorting in yeast: mutants defective in vacuole biogenesis mislocalize vacuolar proteins into the late secretory pathway. Cell. 1986 Dec 26;47(6):1041–1051. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(86)90819-6. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  38. Rothstein R. J. One-step gene disruption in yeast. Methods Enzymol. 1983;101:202–211. doi: 10.1016/0076-6879(83)01015-0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  39. Saiki R. K., Gelfand D. H., Stoffel S., Scharf S. J., Higuchi R., Horn G. T., Mullis K. B., Erlich H. A. Primer-directed enzymatic amplification of DNA with a thermostable DNA polymerase. Science. 1988 Jan 29;239(4839):487–491. doi: 10.1126/science.2448875. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  40. Saiki R. K., Scharf S., Faloona F., Mullis K. B., Horn G. T., Erlich H. A., Arnheim N. Enzymatic amplification of beta-globin genomic sequences and restriction site analysis for diagnosis of sickle cell anemia. Science. 1985 Dec 20;230(4732):1350–1354. doi: 10.1126/science.2999980. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  41. Sanger F., Nicklen S., Coulson A. R. DNA sequencing with chain-terminating inhibitors. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1977 Dec;74(12):5463–5467. doi: 10.1073/pnas.74.12.5463. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  42. Severs N. J., Jordan E. G., Williamson D. H. Nuclear pore absence from areas of close association between nucleus and vacuole in synchronous yeast cultures. J Ultrastruct Res. 1976 Mar;54(3):374–387. doi: 10.1016/s0022-5320(76)80023-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  43. Smirnov M. N., Smirnov V. N., Budowsky E. I., Inge-Vechtomov S. G., Serebrjakov N. G. Red pigment of adenine-deficient yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 1967 May 5;27(3):299–304. doi: 10.1016/s0006-291x(67)80096-2. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  44. Stevens T., Esmon B., Schekman R. Early stages in the yeast secretory pathway are required for transport of carboxypeptidase Y to the vacuole. Cell. 1982 Sep;30(2):439–448. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(82)90241-0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  45. Struhl K. Promoters, activator proteins, and the mechanism of transcriptional initiation in yeast. Cell. 1987 May 8;49(3):295–297. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(87)90277-7. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  46. Teichert U., Mechler B., Müller H., Wolf D. H. Lysosomal (vacuolar) proteinases of yeast are essential catalysts for protein degradation, differentiation, and cell survival. J Biol Chem. 1989 Sep 25;264(27):16037–16045. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  47. Tschumper G., Carbon J. Sequence of a yeast DNA fragment containing a chromosomal replicator and the TRP1 gene. Gene. 1980 Jul;10(2):157–166. doi: 10.1016/0378-1119(80)90133-x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  48. Valls L. A., Hunter C. P., Rothman J. H., Stevens T. H. Protein sorting in yeast: the localization determinant of yeast vacuolar carboxypeptidase Y resides in the propeptide. Cell. 1987 Mar 13;48(5):887–897. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(87)90085-7. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  49. Weisman L. S., Bacallao R., Wickner W. Multiple methods of visualizing the yeast vacuole permit evaluation of its morphology and inheritance during the cell cycle. J Cell Biol. 1987 Oct;105(4):1539–1547. doi: 10.1083/jcb.105.4.1539. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  50. Weisman L. S., Emr S. D., Wickner W. T. Mutants of Saccharomyces cerevisiae that block intervacuole vesicular traffic and vacuole division and segregation. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1990 Feb;87(3):1076–1080. doi: 10.1073/pnas.87.3.1076. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  51. Wiemken A., Matile P., Moor H. Vacuolar dynamics in synchronously budding yeast. Arch Mikrobiol. 1970;70(2):89–103. doi: 10.1007/BF00412200. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  52. Zaret K. S., Sherman F. DNA sequence required for efficient transcription termination in yeast. Cell. 1982 Mar;28(3):563–573. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(82)90211-2. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  53. Zubenko G. S., Jones E. W. Protein degradation, meiosis and sporulation in proteinase-deficient mutants of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Genetics. 1981 Jan;97(1):45–64. doi: 10.1093/genetics/97.1.45. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  54. Zubenko G. S., Park F. J., Jones E. W. Genetic properties of mutations at the PEP4 locus in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Genetics. 1982 Dec;102(4):679–690. doi: 10.1093/genetics/102.4.679. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Molecular and Cellular Biology are provided here courtesy of Taylor & Francis

RESOURCES