The N-terminal domain of yeast Bap2 permease is phosphorylated dependently on the Npr1 kinase in response to starvation.

The Saccharomyces cerevisiae branched-chain amino acid permease Bap2p plays a major role in leucine, isoleucine, and valine transport, and its synthesis is regulated transcriptionally. Bap2p undergoes a starvation-induced degradation depending upon ubiquitination and the functions of N- and C-terminal domains of Bap2p. Here we show that the N-terminal domain of Bap2p is phosphorylated in response to rapamycin treatment when both the N- and C-termini of Bap2p are fused to glutathione S-transferase. The phosphorylation is dependent on Ser/Thr kinase Npr1p. In npr1 cells, Bap2p becomes slightly more susceptible to the rapamycin-induced degradation, suggesting that Npr1p counteracts the degradation system for Bap2p.