Vps34p is required for the decline of extracellular fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase in the vacuole import and degradation pathway.

When Saccharomyces cerevisiae are starved of glucose for a prolonged period of time, gluconeogenic enzymes such as fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase (FBPase), malate dehydrogenase, isocitrate lyase, and phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase are induced. However, when glucose is added to prolonged-starved cells, these enzymes are degraded in the vacuole via the vacuole import and degradation (Vid) pathway. The Vid pathway merges with the endocytic pathway to remove intracellular and extracellular proteins simultaneously. Ultrastructural and cell extraction studies indicate that substantial amounts of FBPase were in the extracellular fraction (periplasm) during glucose starvation. FBPase levels in the extracellular fraction decreased after glucose re-feeding in wild-type cells. The decline of FBPase in the extracellular fraction was dependent on the SLA1 and ARC18 genes involved in actin polymerization and endocytosis. Moreover, the reduction of extracellular FBPase was also dependent on the VPS34 gene. VPS34 encodes the PI3 kinase and is also required for the Vid pathway. Vps34p co-localized with actin patches in prolonged-starved cells. In the absence of this gene, FBPase and the Vid vesicle protein Vid24p associated with actin patches before and after the addition of glucose. Furthermore, high levels of FBPase remained in the extracellular fraction in the Δvps34 mutant during glucose re-feeding. When the Asn-736 residue of Vps34p was mutated and when the C-terminal 11 amino acids were deleted, mutant proteins failed to co-localize with actin patches, and FBPase in the extracellular fraction did not decrease as rapidly. We suggest that VPS34 plays a critical role in the decline of extracellular FBPase in response to glucose.