The endomembrane system of all eukaryotic cells consists of a collection of membrane bound compartments. Movement of materials amongst these compartments is achieved by the regulated trafficking of cargo vesicles between compartments. In the process of differentiation, higher cells re-organize their internal membranes in an enormous variety of ways; expanding or specializing certain compartments, distributing them differently in the cell, or carrying vesicles to new destinations. Though these rearrangements are often critical to the function of the differentiated cell, little is known about how these specializations are imposed on the basic pattern of the secretory pathway. Spore formation in yeast involves a cell division that requires a similar organized rearrangement of the secretory apparatus. In this instance, retargetting of secretory vesicles gives rise to a new membrane compartment, the prospore membrane. This membrane arises by the redirection of secretory vesicles away from the plasma membrane to the cell interior. Prospore membrane formation therefore serves as a model for understanding the developmental^ programmed reorganization of cellular membranes. In addition to the retargetting of secretory vesicles, new genetic requirements are imposed on the fusion and trafficking of these vesicles during sporulation. During the initial coalescence of vesicles into a membrane sheet, fusion of the vesicles requires a specialized docking complex, specific fusion proteins, and a lipid modifying enzyme. We are using a combination of genetic and cell biological approaches to understand how these different activities interact to allow the de novo formation of a new membrane compartment. Once an initial membrane sheet is formed, fusion of vesicles to the membrane is controlled by a distinct set of proteins. The basis for this change is also under investigation. Together these studies will provide insight into how the cell modifies its basic architecture during differentiation.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01GM062184-08
Application #
7337970
Study Section
Membrane Biology and Protein Processing (MBPP)
Program Officer
Shapiro, Bert I
Project Start
2001-01-01
Project End
2009-12-31
Budget Start
2008-01-01
Budget End
2008-12-31
Support Year
8
Fiscal Year
2008
Total Cost
$286,906
Indirect Cost
Name
State University New York Stony Brook
Department
Biochemistry
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
804878247
City
Stony Brook
State
NY
Country
United States
Zip Code
11794
Ucisik-Akkaya, Esma; Leatherwood, Janet K; Neiman, Aaron M (2014) A genome-wide screen for sporulation-defective mutants in Schizosaccharomyces pombe. G3 (Bethesda) 4:1173-82
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Mathieson, Erin M; Schwartz, Cindi; Neiman, Aaron M (2010) Membrane assembly modulates the stability of the meiotic spindle-pole body. J Cell Sci 123:2481-90
Lisa-Santamaría, Patricia; Neiman, Aaron M; Cuesta-Marbán, Alvaro et al. (2009) Human initiator caspases trigger apoptotic and autophagic phenotypes in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Biochim Biophys Acta 1793:561-71
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Yan, Hongyan; Ge, Wanzhong; Chew, Ting Gang et al. (2008) The meiosis-specific Sid2p-related protein Slk1p regulates forespore membrane assembly in fission yeast. Mol Biol Cell 19:3676-90
Pablo-Hernando, M Evangelina; Arnaiz-Pita, Yolanda; Nakanishi, Hideki et al. (2007) Cdc15 is required for spore morphogenesis independently of Cdc14 in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Genetics 177:281-93
Liu, Song; Wilson, Kirilee A; Rice-Stitt, Travis et al. (2007) In vitro fusion catalyzed by the sporulation-specific t-SNARE light-chain Spo20p is stimulated by phosphatidic acid. Traffic 8:1630-43
Nakanishi, Hideki; Suda, Yasuyuki; Neiman, Aaron M (2007) Erv14 family cargo receptors are necessary for ER exit during sporulation in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. J Cell Sci 120:908-16
Nakanishi, Hideki; Morishita, Masayo; Schwartz, Cindi L et al. (2006) Phospholipase D and the SNARE Sso1p are necessary for vesicle fusion during sporulation in yeast. J Cell Sci 119:1406-15

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