Daughter-specific transcription factors regulate cell size control in budding yeast

PLoS Biol. 2009 Oct;7(10):e1000221. doi: 10.1371/journal.pbio.1000221. Epub 2009 Oct 20.

Abstract

In budding yeast, asymmetric cell division yields a larger mother and a smaller daughter cell, which transcribe different genes due to the daughter-specific transcription factors Ace2 and Ash1. Cell size control at the Start checkpoint has long been considered to be a main regulator of the length of the G1 phase of the cell cycle, resulting in longer G1 in the smaller daughter cells. Our recent data confirmed this concept using quantitative time-lapse microscopy. However, it has been proposed that daughter-specific, Ace2-dependent repression of expression of the G1 cyclin CLN3 had a dominant role in delaying daughters in G1. We wanted to reconcile these two divergent perspectives on the origin of long daughter G1 times. We quantified size control using single-cell time-lapse imaging of fluorescently labeled budding yeast, in the presence or absence of the daughter-specific transcriptional regulators Ace2 and Ash1. Ace2 and Ash1 are not required for efficient size control, but they shift the domain of efficient size control to larger cell size, thus increasing cell size requirement for Start in daughters. Microarray and chromatin immunoprecipitation experiments show that Ace2 and Ash1 are direct transcriptional regulators of the G1 cyclin gene CLN3. Quantification of cell size control in cells expressing titrated levels of Cln3 from ectopic promoters, and from cells with mutated Ace2 and Ash1 sites in the CLN3 promoter, showed that regulation of CLN3 expression by Ace2 and Ash1 can account for the differential regulation of Start in response to cell size in mothers and daughters. We show how daughter-specific transcriptional programs can interact with intrinsic cell size control to differentially regulate Start in mother and daughter cells. This work demonstrates mechanistically how asymmetric localization of cell fate determinants results in cell-type-specific regulation of the cell cycle.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

  • Cell Cycle
  • Cell Division
  • Cyclins* / genetics
  • Cyclins* / metabolism
  • DNA-Binding Proteins* / genetics
  • DNA-Binding Proteins* / metabolism
  • DNA-Binding Proteins* / pharmacology
  • G1 Phase* / drug effects
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Fungal*
  • Promoter Regions, Genetic
  • Repressor Proteins* / genetics
  • Repressor Proteins* / metabolism
  • Repressor Proteins* / pharmacology
  • Saccharomyces cerevisiae / cytology*
  • Saccharomyces cerevisiae / genetics
  • Saccharomyces cerevisiae / physiology
  • Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins* / genetics
  • Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins* / metabolism
  • Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins* / pharmacology
  • Time Factors
  • Transcription Factors* / genetics
  • Transcription Factors* / metabolism
  • Transcription Factors* / pharmacology

Substances

  • ACE2 protein, S cerevisiae
  • ASH1 protein, S cerevisiae
  • CLN3 protein, S cerevisiae
  • Cyclins
  • DNA-Binding Proteins
  • Repressor Proteins
  • Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins
  • Transcription Factors