Arrestin-related proteins mediate pH signaling in fungi

S Herranz, JM Rodríguez, HJ Bussink… - Proceedings of the …, 2005 - National Acad Sciences
S Herranz, JM Rodríguez, HJ Bussink, JC Sánchez-Ferrero, HN Arst Jr, MA Peñalva…
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2005National Acad Sciences
Metazoan arrestins bind to seven-transmembrane (7TM) receptors to regulate function.
Aspergillus nidulans PalF, a protein involved in the fungal ambient pH signaling pathway,
contains arrestin N-terminal and C-terminal domains and binds strongly to two different
regions within the C-terminal cytoplasmic tail of the 7TM, putative pH sensor PalH. Upon
exposure to alkaline ambient pH, PalF is phosphorylated and, like mammalian β-arrestins,
ubiquitinated in a signal-dependent and 7TM protein-dependent manner. Substitution in …
Metazoan arrestins bind to seven-transmembrane (7TM) receptors to regulate function. Aspergillus nidulans PalF, a protein involved in the fungal ambient pH signaling pathway, contains arrestin N-terminal and C-terminal domains and binds strongly to two different regions within the C-terminal cytoplasmic tail of the 7TM, putative pH sensor PalH. Upon exposure to alkaline ambient pH, PalF is phosphorylated and, like mammalian β-arrestins, ubiquitinated in a signal-dependent and 7TM protein-dependent manner. Substitution in PalF of a highly conserved arrestin N-terminal domain Ser residue prevents PalF-PalH interaction and pH signaling in vivo. Thus, PalF is the first experimentally documented fungal arrestin-related protein, dispelling the notion that arrestins are restricted to animal proteomes. Epistasis analyses demonstrate that PalF posttranslational modification is partially dependent on the 4TM protein PalI but independent of the remaining pH signal transduction pathway proteins PalA, PalB, and PalC, yielding experimental evidence bearing on the order of participation of the six components of the pH signal transduction pathway. Our data strongly implicate PalH as an ambient pH sensor, possibly with the cooperation of PalI.
National Acad Sciences