Mecanismo y regulación de la citoquinesis en la levadura Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Abstract

In budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, contraction of the actomyosin ring is coupled to the synthesis of a chitinous septum by Chs2 protein. To understand how this enzyme works, we tried a structural approach, which did not succeed as we did not have enough protein to work with. Hence, we switched to a genetic approach, in which we studied the influence of Cyk3 protein in chitin synthesis from Chs2 and the contraction of the actomyosin ring. Cyk3 interacts physically with Chs2 through fragments containing a transglutaminase-like domain. This domain is also crucial for the induction of Chs2 chitin synthase activity from Cyk3. Finally, a coordination model was proposed between the contraction of the actomyosin ring with the synthesis of a chitin septum between mother and daughter cells during cytokinesis in budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae.