Iron (Fe) is an essential micronutrient for virtually all organisms and serves as a cofactor for a wide variety of vital cellular processes. Although Fe deficiency is the primary nutritional disorder in the world, cellular responses to Fe deprivation are poorly understood. We have discovered a posttranscriptional regulatory process controlled by Fe deficiency, which coordinately drives widespread metabolic reprogramming. We demonstrate that, in response to Fe deficiency, the Saccharomyces cerevisiae Cth2 protein specifically downregulates mRNAs encoding proteins that participate in many Fe-dependent processes. mRNA turnover requires the binding of Cth2, an RNA binding protein conserved in plants and mammals, to specific AU-rich elements in the 3' untranslated region of mRNAs targeted for degradation. These studies elucidate coordinated global metabolic reprogramming in response to Fe deficiency and identify a mechanism for achieving this by targeting specific mRNA molecules for degradation, thereby facilitating the utilization of limited cellular Fe levels.

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The redox active metal copper is an essential cofactor in critical biological processes such as respiration, iron transport, oxidative stress protection, hormone production, and pigmentation. A widely conserved family of high affinity copper transport proteins (Ctr proteins) mediates copper uptake at the plasma membrane. However, little is known about Ctr protein topology, structure, and the mechanisms by which this class of transporters mediates high affinity copper uptake. In this report, we elucidate the topological orientation of the yeast Ctr1 copper transport protein. We show that a series of clustered methionine residues in the hydrophilic extracellular domain and an MXXXM motif in the second transmembrane domain are important for copper uptake but not for protein sorting and delivery to the cell surface. The conversion of these methionine residues to cysteine, by site-directed mutagenesis, strongly suggests that they coordinate to copper during the process of metal transport. Genetic evidence supports an essential role for cooperativity between monomers for the formation of an active Ctr transport complex. Together, these results support a fundamentally conserved mechanism for high affinity copper uptake through the Ctr proteins in yeast and humans.

Wine yeast strains show a high level of chromosome length polymorphism. This polymorphism is mainly generated by illegitimate recombination mediated by Ty transposons or subtelomeric repeated sequences. We have found, however, that the SSU1-R allele, which confers sulfite resistance to yeast cells, is the product of a reciprocal translocation between chromosomes VIII and XVI due to unequal crossing-over mediated by microhomology between very short sequences on the 5Ј upstream regions of the SSU1 and ECM34 genes. We also show that this translocation is only present in wine yeast strains, suggesting that the use for millennia of sulfite as a preservative in wine production could have favored its selection. This is the first time that a gross chromosomal rearrangement is shown to be involved in the adaptive evolution of Saccharomyces cerevisiae.[The sequence data from this study have been submitted to EMBL under accession nos. AF239757, AF239758, and AJ458340-AJ458367. The following individual kindly provided reagents, samples, or unpublished information as indicated in the paper: N. Goto-Yamamoto.] The unaware use of yeast for winemaking by the first agricultural civilizations has been reported as far back as 7400 years ago. Until the middle of the last millennium, wines were mainly produced around the Mediterranean Sea and the Caucasus. Since then, winemaking has spread with the European colonizers throughout the temperate regions of the world (Pretorius 2000).Although different genera and species of yeasts are found in musts, the species Saccharomyces cerevisiae is mainly responsible for the transformation of musts into wines. The origin of S. cerevisiae is controversial. Some authors propose that this species is a "natural" organism present in plant fruits (Mortimer and Polsinelli 1999). Others argue that S. cerevisiae is a domesticated species originated from its closest relative S. paradoxus, a wild species found all around the world (Vaughan-Martini and Martini 1995). This debate is important in postulating the original genome of S. cerevisiae and how the strong selective pressure applied since its first unconscious use in controlled fermentation processes has reshaped it. Useful phenotypic traits such as fast growth in sugar-rich media, high alcohol production and tolerance, and good flavor production selected for billions of generations have had strong influences on the S. cerevisiae genome.In contrast to most S. cerevisiae strains used in the laboratory, which are either haploid or diploid and have a constant chromosome electrophoretic profile, wine yeast strains are mainly diploid, aneuploid, or polyploid, homothallic, and . Their exacerbated capacity to reorganize its genome by chromosome rearrangements such as Ty-promoted chromosomal translocations (Longo and Vézinhet 1993;Rachidi et al. 1999), mitotic crossing-over (Aguilera et al. 2000), and gene conversion (Puig et al. 2000) promotes a faster adaptation to environmental changes than spontaneous mutations, which occur at comparatively very low rat...

Ergosterol is an essential component of fungal cell membranes that determines the fluidity, permeability and activity of membrane-associated proteins. Ergosterol biosynthesis is a complex and highly energy-consuming pathway that involves the participation of many enzymes. Deficiencies in sterol biosynthesis cause pleiotropic defects that limit cellular proliferation and adaptation to stress. Thereby, fungal ergosterol levels are tightly controlled by the bioavailability of particular metabolites (e.g., sterols, oxygen and iron) and environmental conditions. The regulation of ergosterol synthesis is achieved by overlapping mechanisms that include transcriptional expression, feedback inhibition of enzymes and changes in their subcellular localization. In the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the sterol regulatory element (SRE)-binding proteins Upc2 and Ecm22, the heme-binding protein Hap1 and the repressor factors Rox1 and Mot3 coordinate ergosterol biosynthesis (ERG) gene expression. Here, we summarize the sterol biosynthesis, transport and detoxification systems of S. cerevisiae, as well as its adaptive response to sterol depletion, low oxygen, hyperosmotic stress and iron deficiency. Because of the large number of ERG genes and the crosstalk between different environmental signals and pathways, many aspects of ergosterol regulation are still unknown. The study of sterol metabolism and its regulation is highly relevant due to its wide applications in antifungal treatments, as well as in food and pharmaceutical industries.

Plants have developed sophisticated mechanisms to tightly control the acquisition and distribution of copper and iron in response to environmental fluctuations. Recent studies with Arabidopsis thaliana are allowing the characterization of the diverse families and components involved in metal uptake, such as metal-chelate reductases and plasma membrane transporters. In parallel, emerging data on both intra-and intercellular metal distribution, as well as on long-distance transport, are contributing to the understanding of metal homeostatic networks in plants. Furthermore, gene expression analyses are deciphering coordinated mechanisms of regulation and response to copper and iron limitation. Prioritizing the use of metals in essential versus dispensable processes, and substituting specific metalloproteins by other metal counterparts, are examples of plant strategies to optimize copper and iron utilization. The metabolic links between copper and iron homeostasis are well documented in yeast, algae and mammals. In contrast, interactions between both metals in vascular plants remain controversial, mainly owing to the absence of copperdependent iron acquisition. This review describes putative interactions between both metals at different levels in plants. The characterization of plant copper and iron homeostasis should lead to biotechnological applications aimed at the alleviation of iron deficiency and copper contamination and, thus, have a beneficial impact on agricultural and human health problems.

Iron (Fe) is an essential cofactor for a wide range of cellular processes. We have previously demonstrated in yeast that Cth2 is expressed during Fe deficiency and promotes degradation of a battery of mRNAs leading to reprogramming of Fe-dependent metabolism and Fe storage. We report here that the Cth2-homologous protein Cth1 is transiently expressed during Fe deprivation and participates in the response to Fe deficiency through the degradation of mRNAs primarily involved in mitochondrially localized activities including respiration and amino acid biosynthesis. In parallel, wild-type cells, but not cth1Deltacth2Delta cells, accumulate mRNAs encoding proteins that function in glucose import and storage and store high levels of glycogen. In addition, Fe deficiency leads to phosphorylation of Snf1, an AMP-activated protein kinase family member required for the cellular response to glucose starvation. These studies demonstrate a metabolic reprogramming as a consequence of Fe starvation that is dependent on the coordinated activities of two mRNA-binding proteins.

SummarySince copper (Cu) is essential in key physiological oxidation reactions, organisms have developed strategies for handling Cu while avoiding its potentially toxic effects. Among the tools that have evolved to cope with Cu is a network of Cu homeostasis factors such as Cu-transporting P-type ATPases that play a key role in transmembrane Cu transport. In this work we present the functional characterization of an Arabidopsis Cutransporting P-type ATPase, denoted heavy metal ATPase 5 (HMA5), and its interaction with Arabidopsis metallochaperones. HMA5 is primarily expressed in roots, and is strongly and specifically induced by Cu in whole plants. We have identified and characterized plants carrying two independent T-DNA insertion alleles, hma5-1 and hma5-2. Both mutants are hypersensitive to Cu but not to other metals such as iron, zinc or cadmium. Interestingly, root tips from Cu-treated hma5 mutants exhibit a wave-like phenotype at early stages and later on main root growth completely arrests whereas lateral roots emerge near the crown. Accordingly, these lines accumulate Cu in roots to a greater extent than wild-type plants under Cu excess. Finally, yeast two-hybrid experiments demonstrate that the metal-binding domains of HMA5 interact with Arabidopsis ATX1-like Cu chaperones, and suggest a regulatory role for the plant-specific domain of the CCH Cu chaperone. Based on these findings, we propose a role for HMA5 in Cu compartmentalization and detoxification.