The activity of yeast Hog1 MAPK is required during endoplasmic reticulum stress induced by tunicamycin exposure.

Accumulation of unfolded proteins in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) triggers the so-called unfolded protein response (UPR), a conserved signaling pathway that drives the transcription of genes such as chaperones and folding enzymes. Nevertheless, the activity of the UPR accounts only for a part of the gene expression program activated upon ER stress. Moreover, the mechanism(s) for how cells adapt and survive to this stress are largely unknown. Here, we show that the yeast high osmolarity glycerol (HOG) pathway plays a role in ER stress resistance. Strains lacking the MAPK Hog1p displayed sensitivity to tunicamycin or beta-mercaptoethanol, whereas hyperactivation of the pathway enhanced their resistance. However, these effects were not due to Hog1p-mediated regulation of the UPR. Northern blot analysis demonstrated that Hog1p controls the tunicamycin-induced transcriptional change of GPD1 and that wild-type cells exposed to the drug accumulated glycerol in a Hog1p-dependent manner. Consistent with this, deletion of genes involved in glycerol synthesis caused increased sensitivity to tunicamycin, whereas overexpression of GPD1 provided higher tolerance to both wild-type and hog1Delta mutant cells. Quite remarkably, these effects were mediated by the basal activity of the MAPK because tunicamycin exposure does not trigger the phosphorylation of Hog1p or its nuclear import. Hence, our results describe new aspects of the yeast response to ER stress and identify additional functions of glycerol and the Hog1p MAPK to provide stress resistance.