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Fission yeast Vps1 and Atg8 contribute to oxidative stress resistance
Author(s) -
Mikawa Takumi,
Kanoh Junko,
Ishikawa Fuyuki
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
genes to cells
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.912
H-Index - 115
eISSN - 1365-2443
pISSN - 1356-9597
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2443.2009.01376.x
Subject(s) - atg8 , biology , microbiology and biotechnology , mutant , autophagy , mitochondrial fission , oxidative stress , mitochondrion , vacuolar protein sorting , reactive oxygen species , gene , genetics , biochemistry , apoptosis
Organisms have evolved diverse means to protect themselves from oxidative stress. To better understand the molecular mechanisms involved in oxidative stress resistance, we screened fission yeast mutants sensitive to paraquat, a reagent acting on the mitochondria to generate reactive oxygen species. Among the mutants we isolated, we focused on a mutant defective in the vps1 + (vacuolar protein sorting 1) gene that encodes a dynamin‐related protein family member. vps1 Δ exhibited aberrant mitochondrial and vacuolar morphology on treatment with paraquat. vps1 Δ was sensitive to osmotic stress, high concentrations of Ca 2+ and Fe 2+ . Interestingly, the deletion of atg8 + , a gene essential for the autophagy pathway, exhibited strong genetic interactions with vps1 Δ. The vps1 Δ atg8 Δ double mutant was additively sensitive to oxidative stress, osmotic stress and Ca 2+ . The deletion of vps1 + rescued the bizarre vacuolar morphology shown by atg8 Δ. Such genetic interactions were not observed with other atg mutants. Furthermore, the atg8‐G116A mutant did not show abnormal vacuolar morphology while being sensitive to nitrogen starvation, an autophagy‐related phenotype. Taken together, we conclude that atg8 + regulates vacuolar functions independently of its role in autophagy. We propose that Vps1 and Atg8 cooperatively participate in vacuolar function, thereby contributing to oxidative stress resistance.