Bot1p Is Required for Mitochondrial Translation, Respiratory Function, and Normal Cell Morphology in the Fission Yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe

Abstract

Maintenance of cell morphology is essential for normal cell function. For eukaryotic cells, a growing body of recent evidence highlights a close interdependence between mitochondrial function, the cytoskeleton, and cell cycle control mechanisms; however, the molecular details of this interconnection are still not completely understood. We have identified a novel protein, Bot1p, in the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe. Mitochondria are energy-generating organelles that participate in multiple cell signaling cascades, which allow continuous communication with the rest of the cell. Recent studies underline the close relationship between mitochondria and cell morphology control, indicating that while mitochondrial movement, morphology, and function are regulated by the cytoskeleton in mostly uncharacterized ways, mitochondrial function is essential for both maintenance of normal morphology, particularly in neuronal cells, and for normal cell cycle progression (1, 29).The fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe has been extensively used as a powerful genetic model organism for studying the molecular mechanisms of morphology and cell cycle control.

Essential Gene Discovery in the Basidiomycete Cryptococcus neoformans for Antifungal Drug Target Prioritization

“…Bot1 and Tim54 were found to be involved in cell wall maintenance, supported by the increased sensitivity to SDS in the heterozygous strains carrying bot1 and tim54 mutations. A similar function in cell wall maintenance has been reported for S. pombe Bot1 ( 59 ). The C. neoformans protein Saf2 is also involved in the cell wall regulatory network, as suggested by the sensitivity of the saf2 Δ mutant to SDS.…”

The Schizosaccharomyces pombe PPR protein Ppr10 associates with a novel protein Mpa1 and acts as a mitochondrial translational activator

“…For unknown reasons, in vivo labeling of mitochondrial proteins in S. pombe is much less efficient than in S. cerevisiae and human and requires a relatively long time ( 41 , 56 ). Nevertheless, the approach used here has been successfully used in S. pombe ( 41 , 61 , 65 ). Using this approach, we could identify all proteins synthesized by mitochondria based on their sizes and published results ( 41 , 61 , 65 ).…”

“…Nevertheless, the approach used here has been successfully used in S. pombe ( 41 , 61 , 65 ). Using this approach, we could identify all proteins synthesized by mitochondria based on their sizes and published results ( 41 , 61 , 65 ). As shown in Figure 3A , the levels of mtDNA-encoded proteins were substantially decreased in Δ ppr10 cells compared to WT cells, indicating that ppr10 is required for the synthesis of mtDNA-encoded proteins.…”

A genome-wide resource of cell cycle and cell shape genes of fission yeast

“…Previous studies in fission yeast have identified orb mutants that are spherical because cells fail to grow in a polarized manner, ban (banana) mutants that have a curved or bent cell phenotype because cells no longer orientate the growth zones at 180° along the long axis of the cell, and tea (tip elongation aberrant) mutants, which form a new growth zone in the wrong place often at 90° to the long axis of the cell [ 2 , 3 ]. Other cell shape mutants included bottle- or skittle-shaped cells and more generally misshapen cells [ 37 ]. We screened the deletion mutants for shape defects using the following seven categories to describe the mutant phenotypes (see figure 1 and electronic supplementary material 1, table S5 d–f , j–l , n for gene lists).…”