Geranylgeranyltransferase Cwg2-Rho4/Rho5 module is implicated in the Pmk1 MAP kinase-mediated cell wall integrity pathway in fission yeast.

Pmk1, a fission yeast homologue of mammalian ERK MAPK, regulates cell wall integrity, cytokinesis, RNA granule formation and ion homeostasis. Our screen for vic (viable in the presence of immunosuppressant and chloride ion) mutants identified regulators of the Pmk1 MAPK signaling, including Cpp1 and Rho2, based on the genetic interaction between calcineurin and Pmk1 MAPK. Here, we identified the vic2-1 mutants carrying a mis-sense mutation in the cwg2(+) gene encoding a beta subunit of geranylgeranyltransferase I (GGTase I), which participates in the post-translational C-terminal modification of several small GTPases, allowing their targeting to the membrane. Analysis of the vic2-1/cwg2-v2 mutant strain showed that the localization of Rho1, Rho4, Rho5 and Cdc42, both at the plasma and vacuolar membranes, was impaired in the vic2-1/cwg2-v2 mutant cells. In addition, Rho4 and Rho5 deletion cells exhibited the vic phenotype and cell wall integrity defects, shared phenotypes among the components of the Pmk1 MAPK pathway. Consistently, the phosphorylation of Pmk1 MAPK on heat shock was decreased in the cwg2-v2 mutants, and rho4- and rho5-null cells. Moreover, Rho4 and Rho5 associate with Pck1/Pck2. Possible roles of Cwg2, Rho4 and Rho5 in the Pmk1 signaling will be discussed.