Aca1 and Aca2, ATF/CREB activators in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, are important for carbon source utilization but not the response to stress

Mol Cell Biol. 2000 Jun;20(12):4340-9. doi: 10.1128/MCB.20.12.4340-4349.2000.

Abstract

In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the family of ATF/CREB transcriptional regulators consists of a repressor, Acr1 (Sko1), and two activators, Aca1 and Aca2. The AP-1 factor Gen4 does not activate transcription through ATF/CREB sites in vivo even though it binds these sites in vitro. Unlike ATF/CREB activators in other species, Aca1- and Aca2-dependent transcription is not affected by protein kinase A or by stress, and Aca1 and Aca2 are not required for Hog1-dependent salt induction of transcription through an optimal ATF/CREB site. Aca2 is important for a variety of biological functions including growth on nonoptimal carbon sources, and Aca2-dependent activation is modestly regulated by carbon source. Strains lacking Aca1 are phenotypically normal, but overexpression of Aca1 suppresses some defects associated with the loss of Aca2, indicating a functional overlap between Aca1 and Aca2. Acr1 represses transcription both by recruiting the Cyc8-Tup1 corepressor and by directly competing with Aca1 and Aca2 for target sites. Acr1 does not fully account for osmotic regulation through ATF/CREB sites, and a novel Hog1-dependent activator(s) that is not a bZIP protein is required for ATF/CREB site activation in response to high salt. In addition, Acr1 does not affect a number of phenotypes that arise from loss of Aca2. Thus, members of the S. cerevisiae ATF/CREB family have overlapping, but distinct, biological functions and target genes.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Activating Transcription Factors
  • Amino Acid Sequence
  • Carbon / physiology
  • Cyclic AMP Response Element-Binding Protein / genetics*
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Fungal / physiology*
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Saccharomyces cerevisiae / physiology*
  • Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins*
  • Transcription Factors / genetics*
  • Transcription Factors / physiology

Substances

  • ACA1 protein, S cerevisiae
  • Activating Transcription Factors
  • CST6 protein, S cerevisiae
  • Cyclic AMP Response Element-Binding Protein
  • Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins
  • Transcription Factors
  • Carbon