The CCAAT box-binding factor stimulates ammonium assimilation in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, defining a new cross-pathway regulation between nitrogen and carbon metabolisms.

In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, carbon and nitrogen metabolisms are connected via the incorporation of ammonia into glutamate; this reaction is catalyzed by the NADP-dependent glutamate dehydrogenase (NADP-GDH) encoded by the GDH1 gene. In this report, we show that the GDH1 gene requires the CCAAT box-binding activator (HAP complex) for optimal expression. This conclusion is based on several lines of evidence: (1) overexpression of GDH1 can correct the growth defect of hap2 and hap3 mutants on ammonium sulfate as a nitrogen source, (ii) Northern (RNA) blot analysis shows that the steady-state level of GDH1 mRNA is strongly lowered in a hap2 mutant, (iii) expression of a GDH1-lacZ fusion is drastically reduced in hap mutants, (iv) NADP-GDH activity is several times lower in the hap mutants compared with that in the isogenic wild-type strain, and finally, (v) site-directed mutagenesis of two consensual HAP binding sites in the GDH1 promoter strongly reduces expression of GDH1 and makes it HAP independent. Expression of GDH1 is also regulated by the carbon source, i.e., expression is higher on lactate than on ethanol, glycerol, or galactose, with the lowest expression being found on glucose. Finally, we show that a hap2 mutation does not affect expression of other genes involved in nitrogen metabolism (GDH2, GLN1, and GLN3 encoding, respectively, the NAD-GDH, glutamine synthetase, and a general activator of several nitrogen catabolic genes). The HAP complex is known to regulate expression of several genes involved in carbon metabolism; its role in the control of GDH1 gene expression, therefore, provides evidence for a cross-pathway regulation between carbon and nitrogen metabolisms.