Sterol metabolism and ERG2 gene regulation in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae

• Published in: FEBS letters Vol. 470; no. 2; pp. 102 - 106
• Main Authors: Soustre, Isabelle, Dupuy, Pascal-Henry, Silve, Sandra, Karst, Francis, Loison, Gérard
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Elsevier B.V 24.03.2000; Wiley
• Subjects: Anaerobiosis; Biological Transport; Cellular Biology; Cholesterol - metabolism; Cholesterol - pharmacology; Cyclohexanes - pharmacology; Ergosterol; Ergosterol - analogs & derivatives; Ergosterol - biosynthesis; Ergosterol - metabolism; Ergosterol - pharmacology; Gene Expression Regulation, Enzymologic - drug effects; Gene Expression Regulation, Fungal - drug effects; Genes, Fungal - genetics; Genes, Fungal - physiology; Genes, Reporter - genetics; Lanosterol - metabolism; Lanosterol - pharmacology; Life Sciences; Morpholines - pharmacology; Mutation - genetics; Oxygen - metabolism; RNA, Fungal - genetics; RNA, Fungal - metabolism; RNA, Messenger - genetics; RNA, Messenger - metabolism; Saccharomyces cerevisiae; Saccharomyces cerevisiae - drug effects; Saccharomyces cerevisiae - enzymology; Saccharomyces cerevisiae - genetics; Saccharomyces cerevisiae - metabolism; Steroid Isomerases - antagonists & inhibitors; Steroid Isomerases - genetics; Sterol isomerase; Sterol uptake; Sterols - metabolism; Sterols - pharmacology; Transcription; Transcription, Genetic - drug effects; Transcription, Genetic - genetics; Sterol isomerase; Ergosterol; Transcription; Sterol uptake; Saccharomyces cerevisiae
• ISSN: 0014-5793; 1873-3468
• DOI: 10.1016/S0014-5793(00)01300-4

Certain exogenously-supplied sterols, like ergost-8-enol, are efficiently converted into ergosterol in yeast. We have taken advantage of this property to study the regulation of the Δ8-Δ7-sterol isomerase-encoding ERG2 gene in an ergosterol auxotrophic mutant devoid of squalene-synthase activity. Ergosterol starvation leads to an 8–16-fold increase in ERG2 gene expression. Such an increase was also observed in wild-type cells either grown anaerobically or treated with SR31747A a sterol isomerase inhibitor. Exogenously-supplied zymosterol is entirely transformed into ergosterol, which represses ERG2 transcription. By contrast, exogenously-supplied ergosterol has little or no effect on ERG2 transcription.