NewFelPro Project Abstract

Banfic and York Have a NewFelPro Project to Study Cellular Signaling and Cell Cycle

Abstract

The Role of Inositol Pyrophosphates in the Regulation of the Cell Cycle
Our recent study (Banfic et al. J. Biol Chem. 288 (3) 1717-1725, 2013., provided genetic, metabolic and biochemical evidence that synthesis of inositol pyrophosphates through activation of Plc1 and Kcs1 play an important role in the signaling response required for cell cycle progression after mating pheromone arrest in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. However, it is still uncertain which of the pyrophosphates increased is/are responsible for Kcs1-mediated effects, and it is unclear what might be the possible link between the Kcs1-mediated increase in the level of pyrophosphates and the progression of yeast cells through the S phase of the cell cycle. This is a project that aims to define the mechanism of inositol pyrophosphates-mediated regulation of cell cycle progression. We will use a set of yeasts deletion mutants to define the particular pyrophosphate responsible for S phase-associated effects, to identify which proteins are pyrophosphorylated by inositol pyrophosphates in a-factor synchronized cells, and to determine the changes in metabolism in a-factor synchronized cells and to correlate them with the changes in the level of inositol pyrophosphates and protein pyrophosphorylation.