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J. Biol. Chem., Vol. 281, Issue 9, 5677-5685, March 3, 2006
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From the Department of Biological Sciences, St. John's University, Queens, New York 11439
Received for publication, June 21, 2005 , and in revised form, December 1, 2005.
| ABSTRACT |
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) does not suppress benomyl sensitivity of plc1
cells by improving the function of kinetochores. Instead, benomyl sensitivity of plc1
cells is caused by a defect in expression of FLR1, and the suppression of benomyl sensitivity in plc1
sin4
cells occurs by derepression of FLR1 transcription. FLR1 encodes a plasma membrane transporter that mediates resistance to benomyl. Several other mutations in the Mediator complex also result in significant derepression of FLR1 and greatly increased resistance to benomyl. Thus, benomyl sensitivity is not a phenotype exclusively associated with mitotic spindle defect. These results demonstrate that in addition to promoter-specific transcription factors that are components of the pleiotropic drug resistance network, expression of the membrane transporters can be regulated by Plc1p, a component of a signal transduction pathway, and by Mediator, a general transcription factor. The results thus suggest another layer of complexity in regulation of pleiotropic drug resistance. | INTRODUCTION |
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In yeast cells, PLC (Plc1p encoded by PLC1) and three inositol polyphosphate (InsPs) kinases (Ipk2p/Arg82p, Ipk1p, and Kcs1p) constitute a nuclear signaling pathway that affects transcriptional control (4) and export of mRNA from the nucleus (5). Recently, InsPs produced by a Plc1p-dependent pathway have been shown to regulate the activity of chromatin remodeling complexes in vivo and in vitro (6, 7). The induction of the phosphate-responsive PHO5 gene, chromatin remodeling of its promoter, and recruitment of Swi/Snf and Ino80 chromatin remodeling complexes are impaired in the ipk2/arg82 mutant strain (7). In vitro, nucleosome mobilization by the yeast Swi/Snf complex is stimulated by IP4 and IP5, whereas IP6 inhibits nucleosome mobilization by yeast Isw2 and Ino80 complexes and Drosophila NURF complex (6). A possible mechanism by which InsPs affect chromatin remodeling may involve effects on protein conformation of the chromatin remodeling complexes (7). Alternatively, IP4 or IP5 might affect the interaction between chromatin remodeling complexes and chromatin, as has been shown for phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate and the Swi/Snf complex (8).
In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the gene coding for phosphatidylinositol-specific PLC (PLC1) is not essential; however, its deletion results in a number of phenotypes (9). We found that Plc1p associates with kinetochores and appears to regulate binding of microtubules to kinetochores (10, 11). Kinetochores are specialized protein complexes that assemble at centromeric DNA and bind to spindle microtubules. This attachment is essential for proper chromosome segregation and cell cycle progression. We have found that cells with deletion of the PLC1 gene (plc1
) display a higher frequency of chromosome loss, nocodazole sensitivity, and mitotic delay. In addition, chromatin extracts from plc1
cells exhibit reduced microtubule binding to minichromosomes. PLC1 displays strong genetic interactions with components of the inner kinetochore, and plc1
cells display alterations in core centromeric chromatin structure. Chromatin immunoprecipitation experiments indicate that Plc1p localizes to the centromeric loci independently of microtubules (11). These results are consistent with the view that Plc1p affects kinetochore function, possibly by modulating centromeric chromatin structure.
In this study, we planned to utilize benomyl sensitivity of plc1
cells as a phenotype that would allow us to identify genes that function downstream of PLC1 in a pathway important for kinetochore activity, spindle function, and chromosome transmission. However, we found that mutations in the Mediator complex suppress benomyl sensitivity of plc1
cells by a mechanism that is independent of the kinetochore and spindle. Benomyl sensitivity of plc1
cells is caused by a defect in FLR1 expression. FLR1 encodes a multidrug membrane transporter that belongs to a major facilitator superfamily (12-14). FLR1 overexpression confers resistance to benomyl and several other drugs (15-17). Mutations in the Mediator complex result in derepression of FLR1 expression and increased resistance to benomyl. The results thus demonstrate that mutations that affect transcriptional regulation may result in an altered expression pattern of multidrug permeases and dramatic changes in cellular drug resistance.
| EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURES |
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CellsTo isolate pbr mutants (plc1
benomyl-resistant), we spread plc1
cells onto YPD plates, and we replica-plated
50,000 resulting colonies onto YPD plates containing 10 µg/ml benomyl. After retesting on the same plates, we isolated 13 plc1
strains with second site spontaneous mutations that suppress benomyl sensitivity (plc1
BenR). Because plc1
/plc1
homozygous diploids do not sporulate, we backcrossed the mutants three times to the wild-type strain W303-1a to purify the genetic background and to eliminate mutants in which the benomyl resistance is caused by mutations in multiple genes. To assess the dominance/recessivity, the resulting 10 mutants were mated with the parental plc1
strain. Only three of the resulting diploids displayed benomyl resistance; therefore, the corresponding mutations were considered dominant. However, seven diploids were benomyl-sensitive, and thus the mutations were considered recessive. The complementation grouping was accomplished by crossing the individual mutants and determining whether the resulting plc1
/plc1
diploids were sensitive or resistant to benomyl. When the diploid strain behaved like the original haploid strains (BenR), then the mutation was concluded to be in the same gene, and the original haploid strains belonged to the same complementation group. When the diploid strain, unlike the original haploid strains, was sensitive to benomyl, then the mutation was concluded to be in two different genes, and the corresponding haploids belonged to different complementation groups. The seven plc1
BenR mutants belong to three complementation groups, designated pbr1 (four mutants), pbr2 (two mutants), and pbr3 (one mutant). Because some tub2 alleles (TUB2 encodes
-tubulin) result in recessive benomyl resistance, it was possible that one of the complementation groups represents mutations in the TUB2 gene. To test this possibility, we performed linkage analysis. Representatives from the three complementation groups were mated with a strain with a marked TUB2 gene (haploid segregant of strain CUY409; Ref. 19). In this strain, the HIS3 marker was inserted just downstream of the TUB2 gene. When the resulting diploids were sporulated and dissected, the resistance to benomyl segregated randomly with respect to TUB2-HIS3, demonstrating that none of the complementation groups represented mutations in the TUB2 gene. Cloning of the wild-type gene responsible for benomyl resistance of the plc1
mutant was accomplished by screening one representative from the pbr1 complementation group (pbr1-1) with a yeast genomic library on a plasmid carrying CEN and LEU2 (American Type Culture Collection, Manassas, VA). About 5,000 transformants were allowed to grow on SC-Leu and were subsequently replica-plated onto SC-Leu containing 10 µg/ml benomyl. Plasmids were recovered from the transformants that grew well on SC-Leu but failed to grow on SC-Leu containing 10 µg/ml benomyl and were reintroduced back into the pbr1-1 mutant to confirm the phenotype. The inserts in six plasmids isolated in this way were identified by sequencing. The only gene that was not truncated and was present on all six inserts was SIN4. To determine whether SIN4 is allelic to the pbr1-1 mutation, the pbr1-1 mutant was crossed with strain DY1702 (sin4::TRP1; Ref. 20). The resulting diploid was benomyl-resistant, and upon transformation with the SIN4 plasmid (sin4 homozygous diploid does not sporulate), sporulation, and dissection, all plc1
haploids cured of the SIN4 plasmid were also benomyl-resistant. Thus, no recombination between the pbr1-1 locus and sin4::TRP1 was detected, and we conclude that pbr1-1 is allelic to SIN4. S1 Nuclease AnalysisOligonucleotides complementary to the genes assayed by S1 nuclease analysis are as follows: FLR1, 5'-CGGTAGAGGATTCAGAGCACGATCTATTAGGACCGCATTCTATATCATAGTCGGGAAATGT-3'; YOR1, 5'-GGTTTGGGGCTTATTTCTGTCCACAATATATTCACCTGTAGGCAGCAAAGATTTGTCTAGGGT-3'; YCF1, 5'-CGCTATCTCCAACAGAACTAGTGCCATCCTAGAGACAATAATCCAATTCCGCCTATATTTGATGCCTCTCAC-3'; PDR5, 5'-GGAGTTTTGCATACTCTGTGCGGTCAGAGTCCTTGCCAGTTTTTGGATTCGAGCTTCACATAC-3'; SNQ2, 5'-CGACATCTGGCGCCATTTCAGCACAGTGGCACTAATCTGGCTCGCAGTGTCTCTTGCTCCAGG-3'; ACT1, 5'-GCTTCAGTCAAAAGAACAGGGTGTTCTTCTGGGGCACTCTCAATTCGTTGTAGAAGGATACTA-3'.
Total RNA was isolated from cultures grown in YPD medium to A600 nm
1.0 by the hot phenol method as described previously (21). S1 probes were end-labeled in a 25-µl reaction mixture (5 pmol of oligonucleotide, 125 µCi of [
-32P]ATP, 6,000 Ci/mmol (PerkinElmer Life Sciences), 1 x T4 polynucleotide kinase buffer and 20 U T4 polynucleotide kinase (New England Biolabs)) at 37 °C for 1 h. The reaction mixture was diluted with 25 µl of water; T4 polynucleotide kinase was inactivated at 65 °C for 20 min, and the labeled oligonucleotides were purified using MicroSpin G-25 columns (Amersham Biosciences). The labeled oligonucleotides (0.5 pmol) were hybridized with 20-40 µg of total RNA in a 50-µl reaction mixture (0.3 M NaCl, 1 mM EDTA, 40 mM HEPES, pH 7.0, and 0.1% Triton X-100) for 12 h at 55 °C and treated with S1 nuclease (PerkinElmer Life Sciences) as described previously (21). The samples were analyzed on 20% denaturing polyacrylamide gels, and quantification was performed using a PhosphorImager (PerkinElmer Life Sciences).
Minichromosome Stability AssayMitotic minichromosome stability was measured as a fraction of cells that retained the plasmid after growth in nonselective medium (22, 23). Briefly, wild-type, plc1
, sin4
, and plc1
sin4
cells were transformed with pRS413 plasmid (CEN, HIS3). For each transformant, five single colonies were inoculated separately into medium nonselective for pRS413 plasmid (YPD medium or YPD medium containing benomyl at 2 µg/ml) and grown for about 24 h at 28 °C. At the end of the growth, the cultures were still in the exponential phase, as determined by counting the cells with a hemocytometer and by measuring A600 nm. For each culture, the frequency of His+ cells was determined at the time of inoculation (Fo) and at the end of nonselective growth (Fend) by plating appropriately diluted cultures on YPD plates and subsequent replica plating onto synthetic complete medium lacking histidine (SC-His). The rate of plasmid loss per generation was determined as described (22, 23), according to the following equation: Fend = Fo (FD)G, where FD is the fraction of cells in each generation that retain the minichromosome, and G is the number of generations. The fraction of cells that lose the minichromosome per generation is 1 - FD. The number of cell doublings was calculated by counting the total cell number at the beginning and at the end of nonselective growth.
Minichromosome-Microtubule Binding AssayPreparation of yeast lysates containing minichromosomes and the minichromosome-microtubule binding assay were done as described previously (24, 25). Briefly, yeast cultures were grown to an A600 nm of
0.6 after maintaining the cells in exponential growth for several generations. Nocodazole was added to the cultures to 15 µg/ml for 6 h, and nocodazole was also present during preparation of spheroplasts (24). Cells were sphero-plasted by glusulase and osmotically lysed in EBB buffer (10 mM Tris-Cl, pH 7.4, 10 mM MgCl2, 1 mM EDTA, 0.5 mM phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride, 0.1 mM dithiothreitol). Minichromosomes were eluted from nuclei by adding 0.3 M NaCl. After 5 min of incubation, the extracts were 3-fold diluted by adding EBB buffer and subjected to two subsequent centrifugations, each at 15,000 x g for 20 min. The clear supernatant was removed, supplemented with 10 µM Taxol, and used for the microtubule-binding assay. Purified tubulin was polymerized in vitro into microtubules (MTs) of an average length of 2 µm as directed by manufacturer (ICN Biochemicals, Inc), and stabilized by addition of the MTs stabilizing drug Taxol (10 µM final concentration). Different amounts of stabilized MTs were added to 500-µl aliquots of the cleared extracts to initiate the microtubule-binding assay. After 15 min of incubation at room temperature, the reaction mixtures were centrifuged at 15,000 x g for 8 min. The supernatant and pellet fractions were separated, and the amount of minichromosomes in each fraction was determined by Southern blot using an Ampr probe. The calibration of the band intensities was performed by loading different amounts of the Ampr DNA fragment on the gels, and the band intensities of the scanned images were quantified using UN-SCAN-IT software (Silk Scientific).
Fluorescence MicroscopyCells in 1 ml of media were fixed for 1 h by the addition of formaldehyde to 3.7% concentration. Cells were centrifuged, washed two times with phosphate-buffered saline, resuspended in 1 ml of 70% ethanol, and kept at 23 °C for 30 min. After centrifugation, washing, and sonication for 10 s, cells were stained with 0.5 µg/ml 4',6-diamidino-2-phenylindole and observed using Nikon Eclipse 800 microscope equipped with SPOT RT CCD camera, UV filter set, and x100/1.4 n.a. oil immersion objective.
| RESULTS |
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cells cannot grow in the presence of 5 µg/ml nocodazole or 10 µg/ml benomyl), we used this phenotype to identify genes functioning downstream of PLC1. We speculated that chromosomal suppressors of the benomyl sensitivity of the plc1
strain may arise because of the mutations in genes functioning in a pathway that either regulates or affects the function of the mitotic spindle. We isolated seven recessive mutations that include three complementation groups as follows: pbr1 (four mutants), pbr2 (two mutants), and pbr3 (one mutant). In this study, we described the identification of SIN4, a gene that corresponds to the pbr1 complementation group (see "Experimental Procedures"). Subsequent experiments demonstrated that pbr2 is allelic to MED2 (see "Results"; mutations in several components of the Mediator cause increased expression of FLR1 and resistance to benomyl). Because the plc1
pbr1-1 mutant was phenotypically identical to the plc1
sin4
strain, we used the latter strain in further experiments aimed at elucidating the mechanism of suppression. SIN4 encodes a component of the Mediator complex of RNA polymerase II. However, mutations in SIN4 exhibit pleiotropic phenotypes reminiscent of mutations of histones, suggesting a role for Sin4p in the regulation of chromatin structure (20, 31, 32).
Characterization of plc1
sin4
MutantDeletion of PLC1 results in alterations in the structure of centromeric chromatin (11), higher frequency of minichromosome loss, mitotic delay, and reduced binding of minichromosomes to microtubules (10). Because Sin4p was implicated in regulation of chromatin structure (20, 32), it was possible that suppression of benomyl sensitivity in plc1
cells by sin4
mutation (Fig. 1A) occurs at the level of chromatin structure and activity of the kinetochore. To test this possibility, we performed three assays aimed at assessing the function of the kinetochore in wild-type, plc1
, sin4
, and plc1
sin4
strains.
Because the mitotic stability of minichromosomes depends on the function of kinetochores, we determined the stability of the pRS413 minichromosome in wild-type, plc1
, sin4
, and plc1
sin4
strains in the absence of benomyl and in the presence of a low concentration of benomyl (Fig. 1B). The stability of the pRS413 minichromosome was measured as a fraction of cells that retained the minichromosome after growth in nonselective medium (22). As we reported previously, plc1
cells displayed about 5-fold higher minichromosome loss rate than wild-type cells (10). If sin4
suppresses benomyl sensitivity of plc1
cells by improving the function of the kinetochore, then we would expect that plc1
sin4
cells would have a lower rate of minichromosome loss than plc1
cells. However, sin4
mutation did not suppress the minichromosome loss rate in plc1
cells (Fig. 1B). Benomyl (2 µg/ml) increased the minichromosome loss rate less than 2-fold in the wild-type strain but almost 5-fold in plc1
cells. Most interestingly, the minichromosome loss rate was almost unaffected in plc1
sin4
cells by the presence of benomyl. This result suggests that sin4
mutation does not improve performance of kinetochores in plc1
cells in the absence of benomyl but, somehow, protects plc1
cells from the effects of benomyl.
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, sin4
, and plc1
sin4
strains were transformed with centromeric plasmid (minichromosome) pRS414, which was then assayed in clarified extracts of these cultures for binding to Taxol-stabilized microtubules. To improve the sensitivity of the assay and to exclude the possibility that any difference in microtubule binding activity between the strains is merely the result of different cell cycle profiles, the assay was performed with lysates prepared from nocodazole-arrested cells (Fig. 1C). The G2/M transition is the phase when the kinetochore is required for progression of the cell cycle through mitosis. It is also when the kinetochore is in its most active state (24, 25). Kinetochores of cells arrested with nocodazole at the G2/M transition exhibit the highest microtubule binding activity (10). Our data for the wild-type strain correspond to these previous results. The saturating concentration of microtubules pelleted about 48 and 50% of the plasmid in the wild-type and sin4
strains, respectively, but only 27% in the plc1
strain. Again, sin4
mutation did not improve the activity of kinetochores in plc1
cells, and microtubules pelleted about 28% of minichromosomes from plc1
sin4
lysates (Fig. 1C).
We have shown previously that Plc1p is important for high fidelity chromosome segregation and activity of kinetochores. Consequently, plc1
cells experience delay at the G2/M stage of the cell cycle because the kinetochore-based mitotic checkpoint control system detects defects in kinetochore-microtubule interaction in plc1
cells and mediates G2/M delay. To assess whether this G2/M delay is eliminated in plc1
sin4
cells, we examined cell and nuclear morphology of wild-type and plc1
cells during exponential growth at 30 °C (Table 2). The frequency of large budded cells (diameter of the bud is at least 75% of the diameter of the mother cell) with a single nucleus within 50% of the mother cell proximal to the neck (33, 34) was 11 and 13% for the wild-type and sin4
strains, respectively. The frequency of large budded cells for plc1
strain was 30% and for plc1
sin4
strain was 29%.
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mutation does not suppress the mitotic phenotypes of plc1
cells by increasing the kinetochore activity or by improving some other aspect of spindle function. However, sin4
suppresses benomyl sensitivity of plc1
cells (Fig. 1A) and significantly enhances the stability of minichromosomes in plc1
cells in the presence of benomyl (Fig. 1B).
plc1
Cells Fail to Induce FLR1 ExpressionAnother possibility we considered that could explain sensitivity of plc1
cells to benomyl and its suppression by sin4
mutation is cellular resistance to benomyl mediated by Flr1p. Flr1p is a plasma membrane transporter (35) that belongs to the major facilitator superfamily (13, 14). Disruption of FLR1 gene results in benomyl sensitivity, and FLR1 overexpression results in increased resistance to benomyl (15). Expression of FLR1 is induced in the presence of benomyl and is mediated by at least three transcriptional regulators, Yap1p, Pdr3p, and Yrr1p (15, 16, 17, 35, 36, 37).
To test the possibility that sensitivity of plc1
cells and resistance of plc1
sin4
cells to benomyl are caused by altered regulation of FLR1 expression, wild-type, plc1
, sin4
, and plc1
sin4
cells were grown in YPD medium, and expression of FLR1 was induced by benomyl addition. Compared with wild-type cells, expression of FLR1 is dramatically reduced in plc1
cells, although sin4
and plc1
sin4
cells express significant amounts of FLR1 even without induction with benomyl, and expression of FLR1 in these two strains appears to be more persistent (Fig. 2). These results thus provide a mechanism for benomyl sensitivity of plc1
cells and its suppression by sin4
mutation.
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cells are completely devoid of all InsPs (4, 5), we wanted to identify the specific inositol polyphosphate that is required for expression of FLR1 and benomyl resistance. We compared the ability of wild-type, plc1
, ipk2
, ipk1
, and kcs1
strains to grow in the presence of benomyl (Fig. 3A). Although the ipk1
strain was almost as resistant to benomyl as the wild-type strain, the kcs1
strain was noticeably less resistant, and the ipk2
strain was as sensitive to benomyl as the plc1
strain. To determine whether benomyl resistance correlates with the ability to activate the FLR1 gene, we treated wild-type, plc1
, ipk2
, ipk1
, and kcs1
cells with benomyl and determined FLR1 expression (Fig. 3B). Similarly to plc1
cells, ipk2
cells fail to induce FLR1, although ipk1
and kcs1
cells express intermediate levels of FLR1. Thus, the ability to induce expression of FLR1 in the presence of benomyl requires synthesis of IP4 and/or IP5 and correlates with the ability to grow in the presence of benomyl (Fig. 3). Lack of IP6 in ipk1
cells and PP-IP4 and PP-IP5 in kcs1
cells results in a somewhat decreased level of FLR1 expression. However, it appears that the level of FLR1 expression in ipk1
cells is sufficient to provide wild-type levels of benomyl resistance. Mutations in Several Components of Mediator Cause Increased Expression of FLR1 and Resistance to BenomylSin4p is a component of the Mediator complex of RNA polymerase II. The Mediator plays an essential role in both basal and activated transcription. In addition to the essential role of Mediator complex in transcriptional activation, several lines of evidence indicate the involvement of Mediator also in transcriptional repression. Sin4p, Rgr1p, and Gal11p are required for repression of the HO, SUC2, and IME1 genes (20, 42, 43), and yeast cells lacking the MED1 gene, which encodes a subunit of the Rgr1 module, display defects in both repression and induction of the GAL gene expression (44).
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, mutations in other components of the Mediator suppress benomyl sensitivity of plc1
cells, we constructed corresponding double mutants and tested their ability to grow in the presence of benomyl (Fig. 4). In addition to sin4
, med1
, med2
, med1
plc1
, and med2
plc1
displayed greatly increased levels of resistance to benomyl, although srb8
, srb10
, srb11
, and tup1
are only somewhat more resistant to benomyl than the wild-type cells (Fig. 4).
To test whether one of these mutations is allelic to our pbr2 or pbr3 mutations, we crossed pbr2-1 and pbr3-1 mutants (see "Experimental Procedures") to med1
, med2
, sin4
, srb8
, srb10
, and srb11
strains. The resulting diploids were sporulated and dissected, and the benomyl sensitivity of both the diploids and haploid segregants was determined. Except for the benomyl-resistant diploid carrying pbr2-1 and med2
mutations, all other diploids were benomyl-sensitive. Upon dissection, the diploid carrying pbr2-1 and med2
mutations consistently yielded four benomyl-resistant haploids. Thus, no recombination between pbr2 locus and med2
was detected, and we conclude that pbr2 is allelic to MED2.
Because the sin4
mutation caused derepression of FLR1 transcription even in the absence of benomyl (Fig. 2), we determined FLR1 expression in a series of strains with mutations in other components of the Mediator. As expected, med2
, med1
, sin4
, and also srb11
and srb10
display increased expression of FLR1 (Fig. 5). Because the multidrug membrane transporters involved in drug resistance, such as Pdr5p, Snq2p, Ycf1p, and Yor1p display overlapping substrate specificity and are regulated by the same transcriptional factors (13, 14, 36), we wanted to determine whether their expression is also affected by mutations in components of the Mediator (Fig. 5). It appears that mutations in the Mediator complex (med2
, med1
, sin4
, srb11
, and srb10
) cause most significant derepression of FLR1. Expression of the other transporters is affected by Mediator mutations to a much smaller extent (Fig. 5). Benomyl induces expression of FLR1 significantly more than expression of the other transporters (Fig. 6). In addition, FLR1 is the only transporter that shows in the presence of benomyl significantly higher expression in wild-type and plc1
sin4
strain than in plc1
strain. Thus, it appears that the expression of FLR1 and not YOR1, YCF1, PDR5, and SNQ2 correlates with the resistance to benomyl. This is in agreement with the finding that flr1
cells are sensitive to benomyl, and overexpression of FLR1 confers resistance to benomyl (15).
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strain does not display increased sensitivity to any of the tested compounds, the sin4
strain is slightly more sensitive to cycloheximide than the wild-type strain, and the med2
mutant has increased sensitivity to both 4-NQO and cycloheximide. Double mutants plc1
sin4
, plc1
med1
, and plc1
med2
are more sensitive to the tested compounds than plc1
or single Mediator mutations. Thus, despite the fact that med1
, med2
, or sin4
mutations dramatically elevate resistance to benomyl, they do not confer a multidrug resistance phenotype.
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| DISCUSSION |
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cells are sensitive to benomyl and nocodazole, we speculated that this phenotype is a consequence of the partially compromised kinetochore function. In this study, we intended to utilize benomyl sensitivity as a phenotype that would allow us to identify genes that are important for the function of the kinetochore or spindle and that are downstream of Plc1p and InsPs. However, our screen identified SIN4, encoding a component of the Mediator complex. Because Sin4p was implicated in the regulation of chromatin structure (20), we speculated that the suppression of benomyl sensitivity of plc1
cells by sin4
mutation is because of the altered chromatin structure of the centromeres in plc1
sin4
cells that results in an improved kinetochore function. However, our characterization of the plc1
sin4
mutant showed that sin4
mutation does not suppress benomyl sensitivity of plc1
cells by improving the function of kinetochores (Fig. 1 and Table 2). In the absence of benomyl, the minichromosome loss rate, binding of minichromosomes to microtubules in vitro (Fig. 1), and mitotic delay (Table 2) are indistinguishable in plc1
and plc1
sin4
strains. The minichromosome loss rate, however, is significantly lower in plc1
sin4
cells than in plc1
cells in the presence of benomyl. This result thus suggested that sin4
improves kinetochore function of plc1
cells only in the presence of benomyl. Subsequent experiments demonstrated that sin4
mutation causes derepression of the membrane transporter FLR1 that mediates resistance to benomyl (15). Benomyl is an antimitotic drug that destabilizes microtubules and inhibits microtubule-mediated processes, including nuclear division, migration, and fusion (30). Mutations in components of the mitotic spindle result in benomyl sensitivity or resistance (28, 29). Benomyl was also used with great success as a tool that allowed identification of genes of the mitotic checkpoint (26, 27). Sensitivity to benomyl is generally considered a phenotype indicative of a mitotic spindle defect (for review see Refs. 30 and 45). However, this study demonstrates that mutations that affect expression of FLR1 result in benomyl sensitivity or resistance. Thus, caution is warranted when interpreting benomyl sensitivity as an indication of a spindle defect. Specifically, mutations that affect chromatin or components of general transcription machinery and result in benomyl sensitivity should be evaluated for FLR1 expression before concluding that benomyl sensitivity is a consequence of a mitotic spindle defect in the particular mutant.
Our finding of increased FLR1 expression in med1
, med2
, and sin4
mutants suggests that at the FLR1 promoter the Mediator functions as a co-repressor. This is not entirely surprising, because the Mediator plays a role not only in transcriptional activation but also in repression of gene transcription (20, 42, 43). Mediator displays three distinct submodules: a head, middle, and tail region (46, 47). The RNA polymerase II contacts the head and middle regions, although the elongated tail region that represents the largest part of the Mediator is responsible for interaction with several different activators, including Gal4p (48, 49), SBF (50), and Swi5p (51). These activators directly interact with components of the Mediator tail region Sin4p, Gal11p, Med2p, and Med3p (48, 49, 52), thereby recruiting the Mediator and RNA polymerase II to regulated promoters. The repressive role of the Mediator requires function of the Srb8-11 module that is believed to inhibit association of RNA polymerase II with the Mediator and formation of the preinitiation complex (53, 54). The co-repressor complex Tup1p/Ssn6p recruits Mediator to repressed promoters by physically interacting with Mediator components Med3p (55), Srb7p (56), Srb10p (57), and Srb11p (58). However, Tup1p/Ssn6p is probably not involved in recruitment of the Mediator to the FLR1 promotor, because FLR1 expression and benomyl resistance in the tup1
mutant are increased much less than in med1
, med2
, and sin4
mutants (Figs. 2 and 5). Currently, we do not know the identity of the repressor or co-repressor that recruits Mediator to the FLR1 promoter.
The fact that plc1
cells fail to induce FLR1 expression when challenged with benomyl is also not unprecedented. Cells with PLC1 deletion are osmosensitive because of the inability to induce expression of GPD1 (encoding glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase; see Ref. 59). The possible explanation for the two transcriptional defects in plc1
cells is that InsPs produced by the Plc1p-dependent pathway regulate the activity of chromatin remodeling complexes at the GPD1 and FLR1 promoters. InsPs are required for induction of the phosphate-responsive PHO5 gene, recruitment of Swi/Snf and Ino80 chromatin remodeling complexes, and chromatin remodeling of its promoter (7). However, swi2
cells are not sensitive to benomyl (data not shown). It is possible that the failure to induce FLR1 expression in plc1
cells is caused by a defect in recruitment or deregulation of another chromatin remodeling complex at the FLR1 promoter. Chromatin remodeling mediated by this chromatin remodeling complex may be required for efficient binding of transcriptional activators or co-activators to the FLR1 promoter. Expression of FLR1 is regulated by three transcriptional activators, Yap1p, Pdr3p, and Yrr1p (15-17, 35-37). On the basis of analogy with the PHO5 promoter, where InsPs and the Swi/Snf complex are required for efficient recruitment of Pho4p activator (7), we speculate that chromatin remodeling facilitates recruitment of Yap1p, Pdr3p, and/or Yrr1p to the FLR1 promoter. In support of this possibility, we note that overexpression of Yap1p also suppresses benomyl sensitivity of plc1
cells.4 However, it is also possible that InsPs affect function or recruitment of another transcriptional complex, such as the Mediator or SAGA, which may be required for assembly of the preinitiation complex at the FLR1 promoter.
Multidrug resistance of cancer cells results in failure of chemotherapy and remains a major problem in cancer treatment. In yeast cells, cellular resistance to diverse drugs is mediated by the PDR network that includes several transcription factors that regulate expression of the multidrug membrane transporters (for review see Refs. 13 and 14). In this study we have demonstrated that in addition to these promoter-specific transcription factors, expression of the transporters can be regulated by component(s) of signal transduction pathway(s) (Plc1p) and by general transcription factor(s) (Mediator). The results thus suggest another layer of complexity in regulation of the PDR network.
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1 Supported by Dept. of Education Grant P200A010130. ![]()
2 To whom correspondence should be addressed: Dept. of Biological Sciences, St. John's University, 8000 Utopia Pkwy., Queens, NY 11439. Tel.: 718-990-6287; Fax: 718-990-5958; E-mail: vancuraa{at}stjohns.edu.
3 The abbreviations used are: PLC, phosphoinositide-specific phospholipase C; InsPs, inositol polyphosphates; IP3, inositol trisphosphate; IP4, inositol tetrakisphosphate; IP5, inositol pentakisphosphate IP6, inositol hexakisphosphate; MTs, microtubules; PDR, pleiotropic drug resistance; PP-IP, inositol pyrophosphates; 4-NQO, 4-nitroquinoline 1-oxide; WT, wild type. ![]()
4 C. Romero and A. Vancura, unpublished data. ![]()
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