Could Yeast Help Us with More Than Just Beer to Survive Stress?
Faculty Mentor Information
Allan Caplan
Abstract
We have found that overexpression of the gene VPS70, yeast vacuolar protein sorting 70, and other similarly structured proteins protects yeast from a number of unrelated growth-inhibiting conditions including exposure to high levels of zinc and amino acid starvation. A genetic analysis of this pro-life process indicates that proteins could either be activating a form of autophagy, the unfolded protein response, or a process different from either. As part of our effort to evaluate these hypotheses, we have introduced VPS70 into a variety of knockout strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Each of these isogenic strains is missing a different gene from one or another of the investigated pathways. Each of these strains was then grown on media containing inhibitory levels of zinc or chemicals known to induce the unfolded protein response. By identifying gene knockouts that abolish VPS70-mediated survival on these media, we hope to identify the pathways that VPS70 operates to protect the cell. Experiments are planned to test whether removing the transmembrane or cytoplasmic domains of VPS70 affects its operation. The pathways we are studying are integral parts of the mammalian cell’s response to cancer and viral infection so the work being done may identify new targets for chemotherapies.
Could Yeast Help Us with More Than Just Beer to Survive Stress?
We have found that overexpression of the gene VPS70, yeast vacuolar protein sorting 70, and other similarly structured proteins protects yeast from a number of unrelated growth-inhibiting conditions including exposure to high levels of zinc and amino acid starvation. A genetic analysis of this pro-life process indicates that proteins could either be activating a form of autophagy, the unfolded protein response, or a process different from either. As part of our effort to evaluate these hypotheses, we have introduced VPS70 into a variety of knockout strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Each of these isogenic strains is missing a different gene from one or another of the investigated pathways. Each of these strains was then grown on media containing inhibitory levels of zinc or chemicals known to induce the unfolded protein response. By identifying gene knockouts that abolish VPS70-mediated survival on these media, we hope to identify the pathways that VPS70 operates to protect the cell. Experiments are planned to test whether removing the transmembrane or cytoplasmic domains of VPS70 affects its operation. The pathways we are studying are integral parts of the mammalian cell’s response to cancer and viral infection so the work being done may identify new targets for chemotherapies.