Cell cycle coordinates carbohydrate metabolism in yeast
We are proud to announce that our paper on The yeast cyclin-dependent kinase routes carbon fluxes to fuel cell cycle progression was published today in Molecular Cell. The study was conducted jointly with Jenny Ewald and Jan Skotheim (Stanford).
Abstract
Cell division entails a sequence of processes whose specific demands for biosynthetic precursors and energy place dynamic requirements on metabolism. However, little is known about how metabolic fluxes are coordinated with the cell division cycle. Here, we examine budding yeast to show that more than half of all measured metabolites change significantly through the cell division cycle. Cell cycle-dependent changes in central carbon metabolism are controlled by the cyclin-dependent kinase (Cdk1), a major cell cycle regulator, and the metabolic regulator protein kinase A. At the G1/S transition, Cdk1 phosphorylates and activates the enzyme Nth1, which funnels the storage carbohydrate trehalose into central carbon metabolism. Trehalose utilization fuels anabolic processes required to reliably complete cell division. Thus, the cell cycle entrains carbon metabolism to fuel biosynthesis. Because the oscillation of Cdk activity is a conserved feature of the eukaryotic cell cycle, we anticipate its frequent use in dynamically regulating metabolism for efficient proliferation.
Link
Ewald J, Kühne A, Zamboni N, Skotheim J, The Yeast Cyclin-Dependent Kinase Routes Carbon Fluxes to Fuel Cell Cycle Progression, Molecular Cell, 2016, 61, 532–545 external pagedoicall_made