RUI: Interdependence of Nutrient and Pheromone Sensing Pathways in Yeast

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Cell division and fusion are resource intensive activities, and thus the ability of the yeast cell to coordinate the availability of nutrients in its environment with reproduction is of great physiological importance. This project will examine the role that glucose availability plays in yeast mating by testing the hypothesis that glucose sensing and mating are interdependent. The glucose sensor and the pheromone receptor are the only G protein coupled receptors (GPCR) in yeast. The aims of this project include 1) assessing the effects of pheromone stimulation on the glucose sensor, 2) examining the direct physical interactions of the glucose sensing and pheromone receptors, and 3) identifying interactions between components of the signaling pathways downstream of these receptors. Broader Impacts: This project, while enhancing our understanding of the relationship between nutrient sensing and mating in yeast, will impact undergraduate students and the science faculty at three primarily undergraduate institutions. Undergraduate students will be exposed to biochemical research during an intensive ten week summer project, with the opportunity to continue their research during the academic year. These students will be involved in the design, implementation, interpretation, and dissemination of the results of their own experiments in a community of their peers. This project represents an opportunity for the investigators to integrate their research into their teaching, thereby enhancing the scientific education of hundreds of students at the participating institutions. The students involved in this research will be primarily from a typically underserved population (including under-represented minorities) in rural Appalachia.