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Eukaryotic Cell, April 2007, p. 734-743, Vol. 6, No. 4
1535-9778/07/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/EC.00412-06
Copyright © 2007, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Basic Helix-Loop-Helix Transcription Factor Heterocomplex of Yas1p and Yas2p Regulates Cytochrome P450 Expression in Response to Alkanes in the Yeast Yarrowia lipolytica{triangledown}

Setsu Endoh-Yamagami,{dagger} Kiyoshi Hirakawa, Daisuke Morioka, Ryouichi Fukuda, and Akinori Ohta*

Department of Biotechnology, The University of Tokyo, Yayoi 1-1-1, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-8657, Japan

Received 29 December 2006/ Accepted 14 February 2007

The expression of the ALK1 gene, which encodes cytochrome P450, catalyzing the first step of alkane oxidation in the alkane-assimilating yeast Yarrowia lipolytica, is highly regulated and can be induced by alkanes. Previously, we identified a cis-acting element (alkane-responsive element 1 [ARE1]) in the ALK1 promoter. We showed that a basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) protein, Yas1p, binds to ARE1 in vivo and mediates alkane-dependent transcription induction. Yas1p, however, does not bind to ARE1 by itself in vitro, suggesting that Yas1p requires another bHLH protein partner for its DNA binding, as many bHLH transcription factors function by forming heterodimers. To identify such a binding partner of Yas1p, here we screened open reading frames encoding proteins with the bHLH motif from the Y. lipolytica genome database and identified the YAS2 gene. The deletion of the YAS2 gene abolished the alkane-responsive induction of ALK1 transcription and the growth of the yeast on alkanes. We revealed that Yas2p has transactivation activity. Furthermore, Yas1p and Yas2p formed a protein complex that was required for the binding of these proteins to ARE1. These findings allow us to postulate a model in which bHLH transcription factors Yas1p and Yas2p form a heterocomplex and mediate the transcription induction in response to alkanes.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Biotechnology, The University of Tokyo, Yayoi 1-1-1, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-8657, Japan. Phone: (81) 3-5841-5169. Fax: (81) 3-5841-8015. E-mail: aaohta{at}mail.ecc.u-tokyo.ac.jp

{triangledown} Published ahead of print on 23 February 2007.

{dagger} Present address: University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, and Genentech, Inc., South San Francisco, CA 94080.

Eukaryotic Cell, April 2007, p. 734-743, Vol. 6, No. 4
1535-9778/07/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/EC.00412-06
Copyright © 2007, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Bethea, E. K., Carver, B. J., Montedonico, A. E., Reynolds, T. B. (2010). The inositol regulon controls viability in Candida glabrata. Microbiology 156: 452-462 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Hirakawa, K., Kobayashi, S., Inoue, T., Endoh-Yamagami, S., Fukuda, R., Ohta, A. (2009). Yas3p, an Opi1 Family Transcription Factor, Regulates Cytochrome P450 Expression in Response to n-Alkanes in Yarrowia lipolytica. J. Biol. Chem. 284: 7126-7137 [Abstract] [Full Text]  


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