Mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathways are critical for the sensing and response of eukaryotic cells to extracellular changes. In Schizosaccharomyces pombe, MAPK Pmk1/ Spm1 has been involved in cell wall construction, morphogenesis, cytokinesis, and ion homeostasis, as part of the so-called cell integrity pathway together with MAPK kinase kinase Mkh1 and MAPK kinase Pek1. We show that Pmk1 is activated in multiple stress situations, including hyper-or hypotonic stress, glucose deprivation, presence of cell wall-damaging compounds, and oxidative stress induced by hydrogen peroxide or pro-oxidants. The stress-induced activation of Pmk1 was completely dependent on Mkh1 and Pek1 function, supporting a nonbranched pathway in the regulation of MAPK activation. Fluorescence microscopy revealed that Mkh1, Pek1, and Pmp1 (a protein phosphatase that inactivates Pmk1) are cytoplasmic proteins. Mkh1 and Pek1 were also found at the septum, whereas Pmk1 localized in both cytoplasm and nucleus as well as in the mitotic spindle and septum during cytokinesis. Interestingly, Pmk1 subcellular localization was unaffected by stress or the absence of Mkh1 and Pek1, suggesting that its activation by the Mkh1-Pek1 cascade takes place at the cytoplasm and/or septum and that the active and inactive forms of this kinase cross the nuclear membrane. Cdc42 GTPase and its effectors, p21-activated kinases Pak2 and Pak1, are not upstream elements controlling the basal level or the stress-induced activation of Pmk1. However, Sty1 MAPK was essential for proper Pmk1 deactivation after hypertonic stress in a process regulated by Atf1 transcription factor. These results provide the first evidence for the existence of cross-talk between two MAPK cascades during the stress response in fission yeast. Mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK)5 pathways are signal transduction mechanisms that regulate many cellular processes in eukaryotic organisms, from yeasts to mammals. The basic architecture of each functional cascade is composed of three sequentially acting protein kinases that become activated in response to triggering signals; the MAPK kinase kinases (MAPKKKs) phosphorylate and activate MAPK kinases (MAPKKs), which in turn phosphorylate and activate MAPKs (1, 2). Among other actions, the effector MAPKs control the activity of transcription factors either directly or indirectly. Thus, activation by specific stimuli of MAPK signal transduction pathways is accompanied by changes in gene expression that play a crucial adaptive role in the adjustment of cells to environmental conditions. In contrast to the six or more MAPK cascades present in budding yeast (3), three distinct MAPK signaling cascades have been so far identified in the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe. These include the mating pheromone-responsive MAPK pathway and the stress-activated protein kinase (SAPK) pathway, whose central elements are MAPKs Spk1 and Sty1/ Spc1, respectively (4, 5). A third pathway, known as the cell integrity pathway, consists of a MAPK ca...

In Schizosaccharomyces pombe, glucose concentrations below a certain threshold trigger the stress-activated protein kinase (SAPK) signal transduction pathway and promote increased transcription of Atf1-dependent genes coding for the general stress response. Removal of glucose specifically induces the nuclear accumulation of green fluorescent protein-labeled Pap1 (GFP-Pap1) and the expression of genes dependent on this transcription factor. In contrast, depletion of the nitrogen source triggers the SAPK pathway but does not activate Pap1-dependent gene transcription, indicating that carbon stress rather than growth arrest leads to an endogenous oxidative condition that favors nuclear accumulation of Pap1. The reductant agents glutathione or N-acetylcysteine suppress the nuclear accumulation of GFP-Pap1 induced by glucose deprivation without inhibiting the activation of the MAPK Sty1. In addition, cells expressing a mutant GFP-Pap1 unable to accumulate into the nucleus upon hydrogen peroxide-mediated oxidative stress failed to show this protein into the nucleus in the absence of glucose. These results support the concept of a concerted action between the SAPK pathway and the Pap1 transcription factor during glucose exhaustion by which glucose limitation induces activation of the SAPK pathway prior to the oxidative stress caused by glucose deprivation. The ensuing induction of Atf1-dependent genes (catalase) decreases the level of hydroperoxides allowing Pap1 nuclear accumulation and function. Congruent with this interpretation, glucose-depleted cells show higher adaptive response to exogenous oxidative stress than those maintained in the presence of glucose.

In fission yeast centromeres cluster at the nuclear envelope in a region underlying the spindle pole body during interphase, an arrangement known as a Rabl configuration. We have identified a strain in which one pair of sister kinetochores is unclustered from the others and binds the nuclear envelope at a point distal to the spindle pole body. We show that during mitosis unclustered kinetochores are captured by intranuclear spindle microtubules which then pull the kinetochores back to one of the two spindle poles before they are bi-oriented on the mitotic spindle. We find that kinetochore retrieval occurs at the depolymerising microtubule plus end and is dependent on the non-essential Dam1/DASH complex. In the absence of Dam1 unclustered kinetochores are captured on the lateral surface of spindle microtubule bundles but poleward kinetochore movement does not occur. These data provide the first direct evidence that the Dam1/DASH complex can couple the force generated by microtubule depolymerisation to direct chromosome movement in vivo.

In the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe the cell integrity pathway (CIP) orchestrates multiple biological processes like cell wall maintenance and ionic homeostasis by fine tuning activation of MAPK Pmk1 in response to various environmental conditions. The small GTPase Rho2 positively regulates the CIP through protein kinase C ortholog Pck2. However, Pmk1 retains some function in mutants lacking either Rho2 or Pck2, suggesting the existence of additional upstream regulatory elements to modulate its activity depending on the nature of the environmental stimulus. The essential GTPase Rho1 is a candidate to control the activity of the CIP by acting upstream of Pck2, whereas Pck1, a second PKC ortholog, appears to negatively regulate Pmk1 activity. However, the exact regulatory nature of these two proteins within the CIP has remained elusive. By exhaustive characterization of strains expressing a hypomorphic Rho1 allele (rho1-596) in different genetic backgrounds we show that both Rho1 and Pck1 are positive upstream regulatory members of the CIP in addition to Rho2 and Pck2. In this new model Rho1 and Rho2 control Pmk1 basal activity during vegetative growth mainly through Pck2. Notably, whereas Rho2-Pck2 elicit Pmk1 activation in response to most environmental stimuli, Rho1 drives Pmk1 activation through either Pck2 or Pck1 exclusively in response to cell wall damage. Our study reveals the intricate and complex functional architecture of the upstream elements participating in this signaling pathway as compared to similar routes from other simple eukaryotic organisms.

The receptor of activated C kinase (RACK1) is a protein highly conserved among eukaryotes. In mammalian cells, RACK1 functions as an adaptor to favor protein kinase C (PKC)-mediated phosphorylation and subsequent activation of c-Jun NH 2 -terminal kinase mitogen-activated protein kinase. Cpc2, the RACK1 orthologue in the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe, is involved in the control of G2/M transition and interacts with Pck2, a PKC-type protein member of the cell integrity Pmk1 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway. Both RACK1 and Cpc2 are structural components of the 40S ribosomal subunit, and recent data suggest that they might be involved in the control of translation. In this work, we present data supporting that Cpc2 negatively regulates the cell integrity transduction pathway by favoring translation of the tyrosine-phosphatases Pyp1 and Pyp2 that deactivate Pmk1. In addition, Cpc2 positively regulates the synthesis of the stress-responsive transcription factor Atf1 and the cytoplasmic catalase, a detoxificant enzyme induced by treatment with hydrogen peroxide. These results provide for the first time strong evidence that the RACK1-type Cpc2 protein controls from the ribosome the extent of the activation of MAPK cascades, the cellular defense against oxidative stress, and the progression of the cell cycle by regulating positively the translation of specific gene products involved in key biological processes.