Premium
A novel eIF2B‐dependent mechanism of translational control in yeast as a response to fusel alcohols
Author(s) -
Ashe Mark P.,
Slaven John W.,
Long Susan K. De,
Ibrahimo Sálma,
Sachs Alan B.
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
the embo journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 7.484
H-Index - 392
eISSN - 1460-2075
pISSN - 0261-4189
DOI - 10.1093/emboj/20.22.6464
Subject(s) - biology , fusel alcohol , posttranslational modification , mechanism (biology) , yeast , saccharomyces cerevisiae , biochemistry , computational biology , genetics , enzyme , alcohol , philosophy , epistemology
Fusel alcohols are natural products of amino acid catabolism in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae that cause morphological changes similar to those seen during pseudohyphal growth. We have discovered that certain of these alcohols, including butanol and isoamyl alcohol, bring about a rapid inhibition of translation at the initiation step. This inhibition is strain specific and is not explained by previously described translational control pathways. Using genetic mapping, we have identified a proline to serine allelic variation at amino acid 180 of the GCD1 gene product as the genetic locus that allows translational regulation upon butanol addition. Gcd1p forms part of the eIF2B guanine nucleotide complex that is responsible for recycling eIF2‐GDP to eIF2‐GTP. This represents one of the key limiting steps of translation initiation and we provide evidence that fusel alcohols target eIF2B in order to bring about translational regulation.