This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow E-mail this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowReprints and Permissions
Right arrow Copyright Information
Right arrow Books from ASM Press
Right arrow MicrobeWorld
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Matsuo, Y.
Right arrow Articles by Marcus, S.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Matsuo, Y.
Right arrow Articles by Marcus, S.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Eukaryotic Cell, November 2007, p. 2092-2101, Vol. 6, No. 11
1535-9778/07/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/EC.00300-07
Copyright © 2007, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Functional Characterization of the Fission Yeast Phosphatidylserine Synthase Gene, pps1, Reveals Novel Cellular Functions for Phosphatidylserine{triangledown}

Yasuhiro Matsuo,1 Edward Fisher,2 Jana Patton-Vogt,2 and Stevan Marcus1*

Department of Biological Sciences, The University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Alabama 35487,1 Department of Biological Sciences, Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 152822

Received 15 August 2007/ Accepted 18 September 2007

To investigate the contributions of phosphatidylserine to the growth and morphogenesis of the rod-shaped fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe, we have characterized the single gene in this organism, pps1, encoding a predicted phosphatidylserine synthase. S. pombe pps1{Delta} mutants grow slowly in rich medium and are inviable in synthetic minimal medium. They do not produce detectable phosphatidylserine in vivo and possess negligible in vitro phosphatidylserine synthase activity, indicating that pps1 encodes the major phosphatidylserine synthase activity in S. pombe. Supplementation of growth medium with ethanolamine partially suppresses the growth-defective phenotype of pps1{Delta} cells, reflecting the likely importance of phosphatidylserine as a precursor for phosphatidylethanolamine in S. pombe. In medium lacking ethanolamine, pps1{Delta} mutants exhibit striking cell morphology, cytokinesis, actin cytoskeleton, and cell wall remodeling and integrity defects. Overexpression of pps1 likewise leads to defects in cell morphology and cytokinesis, thus implicating phosphatidylserine as a dosage-dependent regulator of these processes. During log-phase growth, green fluorescent protein-Pps1p fusion proteins are concentrated at the cell and nuclear peripheries as well as presumptive endoplasmic reticulum membranes, while in stationary-phase cells, they are redistributed to unusual cytoplasmic structures of unknown origin. Moreover, stationary-phase pps1{Delta} cultures retain very poor viability relative to wild-type S. pombe cells, even in medium containing ethanolamine, demonstrating a role for phosphatidylserine in the physiological adaptations required for stationary-phase survival. Our findings reveal novel cellular functions for phosphatidylserine and emphasize the usefulness of S. pombe as a model organism for elucidating potentially conserved biological and molecular functions of this phospholipid.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Dept. of Biological Sciences, The University of Alabama, 343A Shelby Hall, 250 Hackberry Lane, Box 870336, Tuscaloosa, AL 35487. Phone: (205) 348-8094. Fax: (205) 348-9104. E-mail: smarcus{at}bama.ua.edu

{triangledown} Published ahead of print on 28 September 2007.

Eukaryotic Cell, November 2007, p. 2092-2101, Vol. 6, No. 11
1535-9778/07/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/EC.00300-07
Copyright © 2007, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Luo, J., Matsuo, Y., Gulis, G., Hinz, H., Patton-Vogt, J., Marcus, S. (2009). Phosphatidylethanolamine Is Required for Normal Cell Morphology and Cytokinesis in the Fission Yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe. Eukaryot Cell 8: 790-799 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Matsuo, Y., McInnis, B., Marcus, S. (2008). Regulation of the Subcellular Localization of Cyclic AMP-Dependent Protein Kinase in Response to Physiological Stresses and Sexual Differentiation in the Fission Yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe. Eukaryot Cell 7: 1450-1459 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Arikketh, D., Nelson, R., Vance, J. E. (2008). Defining the Importance of Phosphatidylserine Synthase-1 (PSS1): Unexpected Viability of PSS1-Deficient Mice. J. Biol. Chem. 283: 12888-12897 [Abstract] [Full Text]  


Copyright © 2010 by the American Society for Microbiology.   For an alternate route to Journals.ASM.org, visit: http://intl-journals.asm.org | More Info»