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J. Biol. Chem., Vol. 279, Issue 15, 14752-14762, April 9, 2004
TOR Complex 1 Includes a Novel Component, Tco89p (YPL180w), and Cooperates with Ssd1p to Maintain Cellular Integrity in Saccharomyces cerevisiae*![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ||
From the
Received for publication, December 1, 2003 , and in revised form, January 5, 2004.
The Tor1p and Tor2p kinases, targets of the therapeutically important antibiotic rapamycin, function as components of two distinct protein complexes in yeast, termed TOR complex 1 (TORC1) and TORC2. TORC1 is responsible for a wide range of rapamycin-sensitive cellular activities and contains, in addition to Tor1p or Tor2p, two highly conserved proteins, Lst8p and Kog1p. By identifying proteins that co-purify with Tor1p, Tor2p, Lst8p, and Kog1p, we have characterized a comprehensive set of protein-protein interactions that define further the composition of TORC1 as well as TORC2. In particular, we have identified Tco89p (YPL180w) and Bit61p (YJL058c) as novel components of TORC1 and TORC2, respectively. Deletion of TOR1 or TCO89 results in two specific and distinct phenotypes, (i) rapamycin-hypersensitivity and (ii) decreased cellular integrity, both of which correlate with the presence of SSD1-d, an allele of SSD1 previously associated with defects in cellular integrity. Furthermore, we link Ssd1p to Tap42p, a component of the TOR pathway that is believed to act uniquely downstream of TORC1. Together, these results define a novel connection between TORC1 and Ssd1p-mediated maintenance of cellular integrity.
Rapamycin is an antifungal antibiotic that inhibits the action of the Tor (target of rapamycin) kinase, a phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase-related kinase present in all eukaryotes examined to date, from yeast to humans (15). Two highly homologous Tor proteins exist in yeast, Tor1p and Tor2p, and both are inhibited by rapamycin (5). Treating yeast cells with rapamycin elicits a number of responses that mimic nutrient starvation, including cessation of protein synthesis and ribosome biogenesis, induction of autophagy, cell cycle arrest at the G1/S boundary, and entry into G0 (4, 5). Rapamycin also affects many nutrient-responsive cellular pathways and impinges upon gene expression at several levels, including transcription, translation, and protein trafficking and stability (4, 5). Together, these observations suggest that the Tor proteins act within an intracellular signaling network that controls cell growth according to nutrient availability. Downstream of Tor1p and Tor2p, many rapamycin-sensitive events are mediated by the type 2A phosphatases Pph21p and Pph22, the type 2A-related phosphatase Sit4p, and two regulatory proteins, Tap42p and Tip41p (69). In particular, these proteins have been shown to regulate the phosphorylation state and activity of distinct transcriptional regulators whose target genes are controlled by Tor (10, 11). The precise mechanism by which these phosphatases and their regulators respond to Tor remains poorly understood, however, and is likely to be quite complex (9). In addition to its rapamycin-sensitive function, Tor2p also regulates actin cytoskeletal dynamics during polarized cell growth in yeast (2, 5, 1214). This Tor2p-unique function is not inhibited by rapamycin and involves signaling to components required for proper remodeling of actin at the site of bud emergence, including the Rho1p GTPase and its regulatory partners Rom2p and Sac7p (5, 13, 15). This Rho1p GTPase switch functions in part by signaling to Pkc1p, the yeast homologue of mammalian protein kinase C, an upstream regulator of a mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK)1 cascade that includes Mpk1, one of five MAPKs in yeast (16). Interestingly, there is an emerging connection between this Tor2p-unique function involving Pkc1p and what has been termed the "cell integrity pathway," whereby cell envelope and/or cell wall stability is monitored in response to osmotic and/or thermal stress (1618). One explanation for this convergence is that the Pkc1p/MAPK cascade is important not only for actin remodeling but also for regulated synthesis of cell wall structural components, activities essential for both cell cycle-dependent polarized cell growth as well as for maintenance of cellular integrity (1517). Intriguingly, Tor1p and components downstream of rapamycin-sensitive Tor signaling, including Sit4p, have also been implicated recently in Pkc1p/MAPK-mediated maintenance of cell integrity (19, 20). Together, these findings raise the important question concerning the extent of potential overlap and/or cross-talk between Tor1p/Tor2p shared and Tor2p-unique activities.
In addition to Pkc1p, a number of other components have been shown to influence cell integrity. In particular, results from a study by Kaeberlein and Guarente (21) suggest that there are at least two independent pathways that operate in parallel with Pkc1p to maintain cell viability in response to challenges to cellular integrity. One pathway is defined by Mpt5p, a protein implicated previously in a variety of cellular activities, including mating pheromone responsiveness, life span extension, and resistance to environmental stress (21). The second pathway is defined by Ssd1p, which has also been implicated in several distinct processes, including intracellular signaling, membrane trafficking, Ca2+ homeostasis, and cell growth and morphogenesis (21). How these three different pathways function to maintain cellular integrity is presently unknown, although it has been suggested that they may collaborate to control the transcription of genes required for proper plasma membrane and/or cell wall biosynthesis, potentially by converging on the MAPK cascade, in particular Mpk1p (21). An important unanswered question raised by this study is whether Tor signaling is involved in these distinct Pkc1p-independent branches of cell integrity maintenance. In addition to downstream components involved in Tor signaling, results of recent studies demonstrate that Tor1p and Tor2p act in collaboration with a number of specific interacting proteins. In particular, Hall and co-workers (22) have described two distinct Tor complexes, termed TORC1 and TORC2, that are responsible for carrying out the rapamycin-sensitive Tor1p/Tor2p shared or the rapamycin-insensitive Tor2p-unique activities, respectively. TORC1 contains, in addition to either Tor1p or Tor2p, two highly conserved proteins, Kog1p and Lst8p, where mammalian homologues of these proteins have been shown to interact with and regulate the activity of mammalian Tor (2325). TORC2 contains Tor2p, Lst8p, and three additional proteins, Avo1pAvo3p (22). Independently, we have identified Tor2p-interacting proteins and characterized what most likely corresponds to TORC2 (26). We also demonstrated that Lst8p is an interacting partner of Tor1p and, moreover, that all three proteins localize to an internal, membranous compartment that is distinct from both the plasma membrane and the vacuole (26). Kaiser and co-workers (27) have also independently demonstrated that the Tor proteins interact physically with Lst8p. Intriguingly, these authors made the additional observation that several mutations in LST8 confer defects in cellular integrity, as defined by temperature-sensitive growth that is rescued by inclusion of the osmotic stabilizer sorbitol in the growth medium (27). Whether these lst8 alleles perturb a Tor1p/Tor2p-shared and/or a Tor2p-unique activity, however, was not addressed in this study. Here we report a number of results that bear on the relationship between Tor signaling and maintenance of cellular integrity. By extending our previous biochemical approach of identifying proteins that associate with the Tor kinases, we have characterized two novel proteins, Tco89p and Bit61p, that represent new components of TORC1 and TORC2, respectively. We find that deletion of either TOR1 or TCO89 results in rapamycin hypersensitivity as well as in defects in cellular integrity, including temperature-sensitive growth that is rescued by sorbitol as well as increased sensitivity to calcifluor white (CFW). We find that both of these phenotypes correlate with the presence of the ssd1-d allele in our parental strain background, providing a novel connection between TORC1 and the SSD1 branch of the cell integrity pathway. Consistent with this conclusion, we demonstrate that Tap42p is also functionally linked to Ssd1p. Finally, we provide evidence that Tco89p may have an additional cellular role apart from TORC1, raising the possibility that the Tor kinases associate with partners that have distinct cellular functions.
Strains, Media, and General MethodsStrains and plasmids used in this study are listed in Tables I and II, respectively. Genetic crosses of haploid strains, sporulation of diploid strains, and tetrad analysis were carried out as described (28). Cells were cultured in YPD (2% yeast extract, 1% peptone, and 2% dextrose) or synthetic complete dextrose (SCD) medium (0.8% yeast nitrogen base without amino acids, pH 5.5, 2% dextrose) supplemented with amino acids as described (29). CFW was provided either as Fluostain I (Sigma) and used in SCD agar plates at 15 µg/ml (final concentration) or, alternatively, as fluorescent brightener 28 (Sigma) and used in YPD agar plates at 5 µg/ml (final concentration). Rapamycin (Sigma) was dissolved in Me2SO and added to SCD and YPD agar plates at the final concentrations indicated. Sorbitol (Sigma) was added to media at a final concentration of 1.0 M. Yeast transformations were performed using a lithium acetate procedure (30).
Construction of Yeast StrainsAll deletion strains were constructed by replacing an entire open reading frame (ORF) with a selectable marker following transformation of a linear fragment of DNA constructed by PCR. Deletion strains using TRP1 or His3MX6 as selectable markers were constructed using forward and reverse primers that contained 50 base pairs (bp) corresponding to the 5'- or 3'-ends of the target ORF, followed by 20 bp corresponding to the 5'- or 3'-ends of the marker gene. TRP1 and His3MX6 were amplified from plasmids pFA6a-TRP1 and pFA6a-His3MX6, respectively (31, 32). Deletion strains using KanMX6 as a selectable marker were constructed using genomic DNA that was obtained from an appropriate deletion strain from Research Genetics (Invitrogen). Here PCR primers contained 200 bp of sequence corresponding to the 5'- or 3'-ends of the target ORF. All disruptions were verified by PCR. Tco89p and Bit61p were tagged at their carboxyl termini with multiple copies of the Myc epitope and Kog1p and Lst8p were tagged at their carboxyl termini with three copies of the HA epitope using a PCR-based gene tagging method, as described previously (26). Plasmid ConstructionPlasmids containing SSD1 were constructed using PCR to amplify the gene using W303a or JK9-3da genomic DNA as a template. Primers were designed such the entire ORF as well as 400 bp upstream and downstream were amplified. The forward primer also contained a SacII site and the reverse primer contained an XmaI site to facilitate introduction of the PCR product into plasmids pRS315, pRS316, or pRS416 (33), as described in Table II, using standard recombinant DNA techniques. Plasmids expressing MPK1 were constructed in a similar manner except that primers were designed such that the entire ORF plus 600 bp upstream and downstream were amplified. In addition, the forward primer contained a BamHI site, and the reverse primer contained a ClaI site to facilitate the introduction of PCR fragments into different plasmids as described in Table II.
Antibody ProductionAffinity-purified polyclonal anti-HA antibodies were produced by Washington Biotechnology, Inc. (Baltimore, MD). For this, the following dipeptide HA sequence was synthesized: CYPYDVPDYAGYPYDVPYAG. This dipeptide sequence consists of 10 amino acids of HA represented twice and contains an N-terminal cysteine for peptide conjugation. The synthesized peptide was conjugated to the carrier protein KLH, after which immunization of two New Zealand white rabbits was performed. Boosts and bleeds were carried out on one of the two rabbits, and then 60 ml of serum was affinity-purified against the dipeptide to yield
Immunoffinity Purification of HA3-tagged ProteinsThe following procedure is an adaptation of the purification strategy described previously for HA3-Tor2p (26). The most significant modification is that use of new affinity purified polyclonal anti-HA antibody resulted in significant binding of HA-tagged proteins from whole cell extracts. Thus, in this study, we purified target proteins from these cell extracts directly, in contrast to our previous study, where we first employed cell fractionation and ammonium sulfate precipitation steps (26). Accordingly, 4 liters of cells from strains expressing HA3-tagged versions of Tor1p, Tor2p, Lst8p, or Kog1p were grown in YPD to 0.5 A600/ml at 30 °C. Cells were pelleted, washed with sterile H2O, pelleted again, and resuspended in yeast extract buffer (50 mM HEPES-KOH, pH 7.1, 100 mM B-glycerol phosphate, 50 mM NaF, 5 mM EGTA, 5 mM EDTA, 10% glycerol, 0.25% Tween 20, and 150 mM KCl). Cells were again pelleted, resuspended 1:1 (w/v) in yeast extract buffer containing protease inhibitors (mixture tablet; Roche Applied Science), 2 mM dithiothreitol, and 2 mM phenylmethylsufonyl fluoride and frozen dropwise by transfer pipette into liquid nitrogen. The cell pellet was then transferred to a prechilled mortar and pestle containing liquid nitrogen and ground into a fine powder (
Co-immunoprecipitation Experiments200 µl of whole cell extracts were prepared from appropriate strains expressing HA- and/or Myc-tagged proteins and combined with 3 µl of monoclonal anti-Myc antibody (9E10) (Covance; Berkeley, CA), followed by overnight incubation (
Synthetic Lethal Interactions between tor1 and tco89 Deletions Strain PLY332 was transformed with pRS316, pNB100, or pPL092, and the resulting transformants were crossed with PLY330. The resulting diploid strains were then sporulated, and the resulting tetrads were analyzed. The presence of the His+ marker was used to infer the tco89 Immunogold Electron Microscopy (IEM)IEM was performed on ultrathin cryosections as described previously (34).
Identification of Novel Tor1p- and Tor2p-interacting ProteinsTo investigate further the composition of Tor1p- and Tor2p-containing protein complexes and to identify new potential interacting partners, we extended our previously successful approach of using three copies of the HA epitope (HA3) as an immunopurification tool to characterize these complexes (26). Accordingly, we constructed yeast strains that expressed C-terminally tagged versions of Lst8p (LST8-HA3) or Kog1p (KOG1-HA3). Both strains grew as well as the untagged parental control strain in rich media (YPD), indicating that the HA3 epitope did not interfere with the function of either protein (data not shown). In addition, Western blot analysis of cell extracts demonstrated that a single protein of the expected molecular weight was recognized by anti-HA antibody in each strain (data not shown). Whole cell extracts were prepared from these strains as well as from previously described strains that expressed N-terminally tagged versions of Tor1p (HA3-TOR1) or Tor2p (HA3-TOR2) (26). As a control, an extract was also prepared from an untagged parental strain. These extracts were incubated with immobilized affinity-purified polyclonal anti-HA antibody and washed, and epitope-tagged proteins were eluted by the addition of competing HA dipeptide, as described under "Materials and Methods." When analyzed by SDS-PAGE, specific co-eluting proteins could be detected (Fig. 1A and data not shown). The identities of co-eluting proteins were determined by trypsin digestion followed by tandem mass spectrometric analysis (35, 36). In addition to the tagged protein present in each sample, a predominant number of peptides corresponding to a characteristic set of proteins were identified, of which none were present in samples prepared from the untagged control strain (Table III). These co-purifying proteins included those identified in recent biochemical studies as specific interacting partners of Tor1p and/or Tor2p (22, 26). Two additional proteins were identified, encoded by ORFs YPL180W and YJL058C, which, for reasons explained below, we have termed Tco89p (for 89-kDa subunit of Tor complex one) and Bit61p (for 61-kDa binding partner of Tor2p), respectively.
We tested association of Tor1p and Tor2p with Tco89p and Bit61p by co-immunoprecipitation experiments. For this, we constructed strains that expressed both HA3-Tor2p and versions of Tco89p or Bit61p that carried at their C termini multiple copies of the Myc epitope. Extracts were prepared from these strains as well as from a control strain that expressed HA3-Tor2p alone. Immunoprecipitations were performed using anti-Myc antibody followed by Western blotting using a monoclonal anti-HA antibody to detect HA3-Tor2p and a commercially available polyclonal antibody to detect Tor1p. The results showed that HA3-Tor2p but not Tor1p co-precipitated with Bit61p-Myc (Fig. 1C). By contrast, Tor1p but not HA3-Tor2p co-precipitated with Tco89-Myc (Fig. 1D). These results agree with our mass spectrometry analysis and demonstrate that Bit61p interacts specifically with Tor2p, whereas Tco89p interacts specifically with Tor1p. Inspection of Table III reveals remarkable self-consistency in terms of observed protein-protein interactions from immunopurified, HA3-tagged versions of Tor1p, Tor2p, Kog1p, and Lst8p. To a first approximation, these results agree well with the model proposed by Hall and co-workers wherein Tor1p, Lst8p, and Kog1p associate to form TORC1, and Tor2p, Lst8p, and Avo1p-Avo3p associate to form TORC2 (22) (Fig. 1B). In addition, we conclude that Tco89p and Bit61p represent novel components of TORC1 and TORC2, respectively (Fig. 1B). The observation that Bit61p is a component of TORC2 is also consistent with the fact that this protein was identified in a genome-wide two-hybrid analysis as an interacting partner of Avo3p, another TORC2 component (37). Where our findings continue to differ with Loewith et al. (22) is our inability to detect Tor2p as a significant and stable component of TORC1 in wild type cells; thus, we do not observe significant association of Tor2p with either Kog1p or Tco89p (Table III) (26). Nevertheless, we present genetic evidence below that is consistent with Tor2p being able to substitute for Tor1p in TORC1.
tor1
A second significant phenotype we found associated with both tor1 and tco89 cells was temperature-sensitive (ts) growth at 37 °C that could be rescued by inclusion of the osmotic stabilizer sorbitol in the growth medium (Fig. 2B). This phenotype is a hallmark of a defect in cellular integrity involving stress at the plasma membrane and/or cell wall (41, 42). Moreover, we determined that prolonged growth at the nonpermissive temperature correlated with decreased cell viability of tor1 cells, suggesting that cell lysis had occurred, a characteristic of cell integrity defects (21) (Fig. 2C). No significant reduction in viability of tco89 cells was detected, however, which correlated with the less severe ts phenotype for this strain (Fig. 2B and data not shown). Finally, we observed that CFW, an independent agent that induces cell integrity defects (43), severely reduced the growth of both tor1 and tco89 cells (Fig. 2B). Together, these data demonstrate that loss of either Tor1p or its interacting partner Tco89p results in cells becoming susceptible to challenges to cellular integrity.
tor1
Sporulation of the resulting diploid followed by tetrad dissection resulted in a complex growth pattern of spore clones at 37 °C, with many tetrads giving rise to two or three viable spores of different relative sizes (Fig. 3C). Of 138 tetrads examined, a total of 67 (48%) produced three viable spores (data not shown). We concluded that this complexity was directly related to the cell integrity defects described above as inclusion of sorbitol in the growth medium resulted in all cases in production of four viable spore clones (Fig. 3C). Whereas a number of possible models could explain these results, one potential explanation is that there are at least two unlinked recessive genetic factors in the W303a background that must combine with each other as well as with the tor1 deletion in order to produce a ts phenotype. A similar genetic analysis of tco89 mutants derived from the two strain backgrounds gave similar results, suggesting that both TOR1 and TCO89 interact with the same genetic factor(s) required for temperature-resistant growth (data not shown).
SSD1 Rescues tor1
We found a single gene, SSD1, that when expressed at low copy restored both temperature-resistant growth and CFW resistance to tor1
We also observed that expression of TOR2 on a low copy plasmid specifically rescued the tor1 mutant phenotypes (Fig. 4A and Table IV). TOR2 did not rescue the tco89 mutant phenotypes, however, suggesting that the additional Tor2p provided by this plasmid suppressed tor1 mutant phenotypes by substituting directly for the absence of Tor1p function, rather than representing an allelic difference between W303a and JK9-3da. We also found that overexpression of MPK1, encoding the MAPK associated with maintenance of cellular integrity (16), provided weak rescue of the ts phenotype of tor1 cells (Fig. 4A and Table IV). Overexpression of MPK1 did not rescue the CFW sensitivity of tor1 cells, however, nor did it rescue any of the tco89 mutant phenotypes (Fig. 4A and Table IV). Thus, whereas these results support the recently reported link between Tor1p and Mpk1p (20), we conclude that MPK1 is also unlikely to represent an allelic difference between W303a and JK9-3da, at least in terms of the phenotypes reported here.
To determine the scope of influence of SSD1 on the observed tor1
TAP42 Is Functionally Linked to SSD1 and to Cell Integrity MaintenanceThe above results are consistent with a model wherein defects in two components of TORC1, Tor1p and Tco89p, render cells defective in maintenance of cellular integrity in the presence of the W303a-derived SSD1 allele. A prediction of this model is that components downstream of TORC1 might also be influenced by the allelic nature of SSD1. In this regard, it is significant that SSD1 was originally identified as a gene required for viability when cells are compromised for Sit4p function (44). In addition, SSD1 function has also been linked to Pph21p and Pph22p (45). To date, however, a relationship has not been established between TAP42 and SSD1. Interestingly, Broach and co-workers (9) characterized recently a set of temperature-sensitive tap42 alleles in the W303a background, which prompted us to consider the relationship between the temperature sensitivity of these mutants and defects in cellular integrity and, more specifically, whether Ssd1p was involved. Toward this end, we first asked whether inclusion of sorbitol in the growth medium affected the ability of two of the reported tap42 mutants, tap42-106 and tap42-109, to grow at elevated temperatures. Indeed, we observed that sorbitol restored the ability of both mutants to grow at 33 °C (Fig. 6A). Similarly, expression of JK9-3da-derived SSD1 on a low copy plasmid specifically restored the ability of these mutants to grow at 33 °C (Fig. 6B). Together, these results affirm a functional connection between SSD1 and the TAP42 with respect to maintenance of cellular integrity. However, we found that neither sorbitol nor JK9-3da-derived SSD1 rescued the ts phenotypes of tap42-106 or tap42-109 strains at 37 °C, suggesting that these alleles remain defective in other Tor-dependent and/or Tor-independent functions at this temperature (Fig. 6, A and B).
tor1 and tco89 Deletions Are Synthetically Lethal in CombinationIn the course of our genetic analyses of tor1 and tco89 cells, we were unable to obtain a tor1 tco89 double mutant. For example, sporulation of a diploid that was heterozygous for tor1::TRP1 and tco89::HIS3MX6 never gave rise to Trp+ His+ haploid spore clones, even when sorbitol was included in the growth medium (data not shown). We were, however, able to obtain such a double mutant when the diploid was first transformed with a plasmid containing an additional copy of TOR2 prior to sporulation and tetrad dissection (data not shown). One likely interpretation of this result was that the additional Tor2p provided by the plasmid was sufficient to compensate for the loss of Tor1p, as described above for the tor1 single deletion. A corollary to this conclusion is that TOR2 and TCO89 interact functionally (e.g. by the ability of Tor2p to substitute for Tor1p within TORC1).
We confirmed the synthetic lethality of tor1 and tco89 mutations using the following approach. First, tor1
In Situ Localization of Tco89pTo gain further insight into the cellular function of Tco89p, we examined the intracellular localization of this protein. Here we used IEM to visualize Tco89p-Myc in ultrathin cryosections prepared from fixed cells, a technique we employed previously to detect both of the Tor proteins as well as Lst8p (26). Sections were incubated with anti-Myc antibody and by 5-nm gold-decorated secondary antibody, followed by visualization of gold particles by electron microscopy. Gold particles were found clustered in regions that were proximal to the plasma membrane as well as within the cell interior, often in juxtaposition to characteristic membranous tracks (Fig. 8, A and B, arrows). This pattern agreed very well with the localization patterns we observed previously for Tor1p, Tor2p, and Lst8p (26) and is consistent with our biochemical and proteomic studies demonstrating that these proteins interact physically (Fig. 1 and Table III). Strikingly, however, we also observed significant labeling of vacuolar structures, where gold particles were often clustered directly at membranes surrounding the vacuole (Fig. 8, A, C, and D, arrowheads). Importantly, such close juxtaposition of gold particles to the vacuole was not observed previously with Tor1p, Tor2p, or Lst8p (26). Together, these results demonstrate that Tco89p localizes to regions within the cell that are both overlapping and distinct from the Tor proteins as well as one of their interacting partners. These findings are consistent with our genetic observations suggesting that Tco89p may have an additional, TORC1-independent cellular role.
Our findings presented here extend previous conclusions that Tor1p and Tor2p associate with a distinct yet overlapping set of interacting partners (22, 26). In particular, we find that Tor1p co-purifies with Kog1p, Lst8p, and Tco89p, whereas Tor2p co-purifies with Avo1p-Avo3p, Lst8p, and Bit61p. In agreement with these results, we find that Kog1p co-purifies with Tor1p, Lst8p, and Tco89, suggesting that all four proteins exist within the same protein complex. By contrast, Lst8p co-purifies with Tor1p and Tor2p as well as each of their interacting partners, consistent with previous conclusions that Lst8p is a common component of distinct Tor1p- and Tor2p-containing protein complexes (22, 26, 27). A key advance presented here is the identification of co-purifying partners for four different proteins in parallel, leading to an internally consistent set of protein-protein interactions that define further the composition of Tor1p and Tor2p protein complexes.
In general, our results are in excellent agreement with the model proposed by Hall and co-workers wherein Tor1p, Lst8p, and Kog1p associate to form TORC1, and Tor2p, Lst8p, and Avo1p-Avo3p associate to form TORC2 (22). Based on this model, we conclude that Tco89p and Bit61p represent novel components of TORC1 and TORC2, respectively (Fig. 1B). By contrast, however, we remain unable to detect Tor2p as a significant and stable component of TORC1 in wild type cells. In this context, it is notable that only relatively weak co-immunoprecipitation between Tor2p and Kog1p was observed in the study by Loewith et al. (22) and, moreover, only in cells that lacked Tor1p (22). One possible explanation for these observations is that the majority of Tor2p is normally associated with Avo1p-Avo3p and Bit61p in the form of TORC2. A corollary to this conclusion is that substoichiometric association between Tor2p and its partners may be sufficient for Tor2p to carry out essential TORC1-dependent activities. An alternative explanation is that significant differences exist in the relative stability of interactions between Kog1p, Tco89p, and Tor1p versus Kog1p, Tco89p, and Tor2p that are detectable by these assays. This latter explanation may account for our inability to detect a significant interaction between Tor2p and Kog1p even in a tor1
A second important finding reported here is that TORC1 activity is required for normal maintenance of cellular integrity. Thus, tor1
Two additional observations support our conclusion that SSD1 influences TORC1-specifically. First, introduction of JK9-3da-derived SSD1 rescues the rapamycin hypersensitivity associated with both tor1 It is presently unknown how SSD1 may influence cellular integrity. As described in the Introduction, Ssd1p has been implicated in a variety of cellular functions where defects in any one may result in diminished cellular integrity (21). Ssd1p shows limited homology to 5'3' exoribonucleases and binds RNA in vitro (48), suggesting that this protein may be involved in post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression by directly interacting with mRNAs (48). Moreover, Ssd1p appears to act within one of at least three distinct pathways that regulate cell wall structure and cellular integrity (21). Thus, one possibility is that when this Ssd1p-specific pathway is impaired, as occurs in strains carrying the SSD1-d allele, cells become susceptible to diminished TORC1 activity. Whether TORC1 functions as part of this Ssd1p-specific pathway (e.g. by regulating Ssd1p activity directly) or acts independently to influence cellular integrity remains to be determined. Our findings are also in agreement with recent results by de la Torre-Ruiz and co-workers (20), who have reported a connection between rapamycin-sensitive Tor activity (e.g. TORC1) and maintenance of cellular integrity. Specifically, these investigators have linked Tor1p, as well as Tap42p and Sit4p, to a branch of the cell integrity pathway that involves Pkc1p and the MAPK cascade, in particular Mpk1p (19, 20). Independently, Krause and Gray (49) have also linked Tor to this MAPK cascade with respect to events related to cell integrity. Importantly, this MAPK cascade has also been linked to the TORC2-specific activity involving actin dynamics during polarized cell growth by regulating the Rho1p GTPase switch (1618). Together, these results raise the possibility that significant crosstalk exists between TORC1 and TORC2 with respect to events related to maintenance of cellular integrity. Consistent with this view, earlier genetic analyses of different tor2 alleles provided evidence for a closer than expected juxtaposition of Tor1p/Tor2p shared and Tor2p-unique functions (14). An important question to address in the future is whether there is also a functional relationship between SSD1 and TORC2.
In addition to SSD1, our genetic analysis of the W303a and JK9-3da strain backgrounds indicates that there is likely to be at least one additional, presently undetermined, gene that contributes to the cell integrity defects associated with tor1
An additional important finding reported here is that tor1 and tco89 deletions are synthetically lethal in combination in a manner that cannot be rescued by sorbitol or by JK9-3da-derived SSD1. Synthetic interactions between two mutants are often an indication that their gene products act in separate, parallel pathways to carry out an essential function, particularly when null mutations are examined, as is the case with gene deletions (50). We therefore conclude that it is likely that Tco89p has an additional cellular role that is independent of TORC1. An alternative view that we cannot presently exclude is that a functional redundancy exists between Tor1p and Tco89p with respect to a common TORC1 function and that therefore the synthetic lethality of the double mutant is the result of impairment of a common pathway and/or activity. Indeed, such a situation is expected primarily of proteins that interact physically (50), as we have shown for these proteins. However, we point out that this latter interpretation fails to account for our finding that expression of an additional copy of TOR2 rescues the lethality of the tor1 A final novel finding reported here is that Tco89p localizes in a pattern that is overlapping yet distinct from that of other TORC1 components we have examined by IEM, specifically Tor1p and Lst8p (26). Specifically, strong labeling of vacuolar structures is observed with Tco89p, which has not been observed with these other components. In agreement with our results, a very recent proteome-wide screening of green fluorescent protein-tagged proteins in yeast also reported a vacuolar location for Tco89p (51). Remarkably, in this same study, Kog1p was also reported to display a vacuolar localization (51). At present, the significance of this vacuolar localization of Tco89p is unclear, as is the nature of its possible TORC1-independent function. This protein was identified originally in a genetic screen for components involved in glycerol uptake under conditions of osmotic stress (52). Thus, Tco89p could potentially be involved in a pathway required for maintenance of cellular integrity that is distinct from TORC1/SSD1. Alternatively, Tco89p may have a cellular role apart from cell integrity maintenance but that nevertheless depends upon an adequate level of functional TORC1. The finding that Tco89p has a distinct cellular location pattern compared with Tor1p and Tor2p introduces the concept that the Tor proteins are unlikely to be involved in exclusive interactions with their identified partners. Such a view is consistent with results of a recent proteome-wide quantitation of protein levels in yeast, where there is up to an 8-fold difference in the relative abundance of identified components of TORC1 and TORC2 (53). These observations may account in part for the diversity of cellular events that are influenced by the Tor kinases. Thus, by associating with proteins that participate in distinct cellular functions, the Tor proteins would be well positioned to integrate and coordinate diverse sources of information related to the physiological state of the cell. The challenge now at hand is to assign specific functions to these interacting partners as well as distinguish between their possible Tor-dependent versus Tor-independent functions.
* This work was funded by a Basil O'Connor Starter Research Award from the March of Dimes, National Science Foundation Grants MCB-1031221 (to T. P.) and DBI-0099706 (to J. M. M.), and National Institutes of Health Grant RR-11823 (to J. Y.). The costs of publication of this article were defrayed in part by the payment of page charges. This article must therefore be hereby marked "advertisement" in accordance with 18 U.S.C. Section 1734 solely to indicate this fact. || To whom correspondence should be addressed: Section of Molecular and Cellular Biology and Center for Genetics and Development, Division of Biological Sciences, University of California, One Shield Ave., Davis, CA 95616. Tel.: 530-754-5052; Fax: 530-752-3085; E-mail: tpowers{at}ucdavis.edu.
1 The abbreviations used are: MAPK, mitogen-activated protein kinase; TORC, TOR complex; CFW, calcifluor white; ORF, open reading frame; ts, temperature-sensitive; IEM, immunogold electron microscopy; HA, hemagglutinin.
2 A. Reinke, S. Anderson, J. Michael McCaffery, J. Yates III, S. Aronova, S. Chu, S. Fairclough, C. Iverson, K. P. Wedaman, and T. Powers, unpublished results.
We thank J. Broach for the TAP42 strains, M. Hall for discussions regarding nomenclature of Tor-associated proteins, and the reviewers for helpful suggestions with the manuscript.
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