Regulation of cell wall synthesis by the clathrin light chain is essential for viability in Schizosaccharomyces pombe

PLoS One. 2013 Aug 19;8(8):e71510. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0071510. eCollection 2013.

Abstract

The regulation of cell wall synthesis by the clathrin light chain has been addressed. Schizosaccharomyces pombe clc1Δ mutant was inviable in the absence of osmotic stabilization; when grown in sorbitol-supplemented medium clc1Δ cells grew slowly, formed aggregates, and had strong defects in morphology. Additionally, clc1Δ cells exhibited an altered cell wall composition. A mutant that allowed modulating the amount of Clc1p was created to analyze in more detail the dependence of cell wall synthesis on clathrin. A 40% reduction in the amount of Clc1p did not affect acid phosphatase secretion and bulk lipid internalization. Under these conditions, β(1,3)glucan synthase activity and cell wall synthesis were reduced. Also, the delivery of glucan synthases to the cell surface, and the secretion of the Eng1p glucanase were defective. These results suggest that the defects in the cell wall observed in the conditional mutant were due to a defective secretion of enzymes involved in the synthesis/remodelling of this structure, rather than to their endocytosis. Our results show that a reduction in the amount of clathrin that has minor effects on general vesicle trafficking has a strong impact on cell wall synthesis, and suggest that this is the reason for the lethality of clc1Δ cells in the absence of osmotic stabilization.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Cell Wall / drug effects
  • Cell Wall / metabolism*
  • Cell Wall / ultrastructure
  • Clathrin Light Chains / metabolism*
  • Endocytosis / drug effects
  • Glucans / biosynthesis
  • Microbial Viability* / drug effects
  • Mutation / genetics
  • Osmosis / drug effects
  • Schizosaccharomyces / cytology*
  • Schizosaccharomyces / drug effects
  • Schizosaccharomyces / metabolism*
  • Schizosaccharomyces / ultrastructure
  • Schizosaccharomyces pombe Proteins / metabolism*
  • Sorbitol / pharmacology

Substances

  • Clathrin Light Chains
  • Clc1 protein, S pombe
  • Glucans
  • Schizosaccharomyces pombe Proteins
  • Sorbitol

Grants and funding

Financial support to our group from the MICINN (http://www.idi.mineco.gob.es/. Spain)/European Union FEDER program (grant BFU2010-15085) made this work possible. NdL and MAC were supported by FPU fellowships from the Ministry of Science, and MH was supported by a JAE-PREDOC fellowship from Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas, Spain. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.