Function of Dual Specificity Kinase, ScKns1, in Adhesive and Filamentous Growth of Saccharomyces cerevisiae

In the previous study with the Saccharomyces cerevisiae S288c strains, no known function of the dual specificity kinase, ScKns1, was reported because its gene deletion did not show any noticeable phenotypic changes. Recent study with fission yeast, however, revealed the involvement of the LAMMER kinase in flocculation, filamentous growth, oxidative stress, and so on. Therefore we made Sckns1-deletion mutants with the Σ1278b-background, with which one can induce filamentous and adhesive growth in contrast to those of the S288c-background. The Sckns1Δ strains of both haploid and diploid showed defect in filamentous growth under conditions for inducing the filamentous growth such as nitrogen starvation and butanol treatment. Both kinds of the deletion mutants also showed decrease in adhesive growth on agar surface. Interestingly enough the defects of the Sckns1Δ strains were suppressed by the over-expression of each gene for the components of the MAPK signaling pathway such as STE11, STE12, and TEC1, respectively, but not by the upstream components, RAS2 and STE20, respectively. Although further investigations are required, these results indicate that the ScKns1 may act in place between the Ste20 and the Ste11 of the S. cerevisiae MAPK cascade.