Regulation of phospholipid biosynthetic enzymes by the level of CDP-diacylglycerol synthase activity.

Amine-containing phospholipid synthesis in Saccharomyces cerevisiae starts with the conversion of CDP-diacylglycerol (CDP-DAG) and serine to phosphatidylserine (PS), whereas phosphatidylinositol (PI) is formed from CDP-DAG and inositol (derived from inositol 1-phosphate). In this study the regulation of PS synthase (encoded by CHO1/PSS), PI synthase (encoded by PIS1), and inositol 1-phosphate synthase (encoded by INO1) activities by the in vivo level of CDP-DAG synthase activity (encoded by CDS1) is described. Reduction in the level of CDP-DAG synthase activity from 10-fold over wild type levels to 10% of wild type levels results in a 7-fold increase in PS synthase activity, which follows a similar change in the CHO1/PSS mRNA level. INO1 mRNA also increases but only after CDP-DAG synthase activity falls below the wild type level. PI synthase activity follows the decrease of the CDP-DAG synthase activity, but there is no parallel change in the level of PIS1 mRNA. These changes in CHO1/PSS and INO1 mRNA levels are mediated by a mechanism not dependent on changes in the expression of the INO2-OPI1 regulatory genes. CDS1 expression is repressed in concert with INO2 expression in response to inositol.