In
S. cerevisiae, Swe1 (
Saccharomyces wee1 homologue) inhibits mitotic Cdk1-Clb2 (Cdc28-Clb2) activity by phosphorylating Y19 of Cdk1, equivalent to Y15 of Cdk1/cdc2 in
S. pombe and higher eukaryotes
[1]. This modification is reversed by dephosphorylation by Mih1 (
S.p Cdc25)
[2]. Swe1 does not inhibit Cdk1 when associated with its cyclins Clb5 or Clb6, moderately inhibits Cdk1-Clb3/4 and strongly inhibits Cdk1-Clb2
[3]. When Swe1 is first synthesized in late G1 it is predominantly nuclear, but after bud emergence it is additionally localized to the bud-side of the mother-bud neck in an Hsl1 kinase, Hsl7 and septin dependent manner
[4]. Hsl1 and Hsl7 are also required for Cdc5 (polo kinase) bud-neck localization
[5]. Prior to its destruction in late G2, Swe1 is hyperphosphorylated by Cla4, Cdk1-Clb2 and Cdc5, all of which are present at the bud-neck
[5],
[6],
[7],
[8],
[9]. Recently we have found that although Cdk1-Clb activity is essential for Swe1 destruction, the presence of Clb2 or its interaction with Swe1 is dispensable for Swe1 degradation
[10].
Small Ubiquitin-related MOdifier (SUMO, Smt3, 17% identical to ubiquitin) is conjugated to its targets by a system analogous to ubiquitin. Smt3 is activated in an ATP-dependent reaction by thioester bond formation with the E1 activator Aos1/Uba2
[11], transferred to the E2 ligase Ubc9
[12] and passed to a substrate lysine, usually in the sequence ΦKxD/E, where Φ is a hydrophobic amino acid, and x is any amino acid. There are four SUMO-E3 ligases in
S. cerevisiae; Siz1, Siz2
[13], Mms21
[14], and the meiotically expressed Cst9
[15]. Siz1 is responsible for the majority of vegetative growth sumoylation, with Siz2 conducting most of the remainder
[13]. Despite Smt3, Aos1, Uba2 and Ubc9 being essential genes
[11],
[12], a
siz1Δsiz2Δ strain is viable
[13], albeit with a clonal lethality, manifested by a nibbled phenotype which is caused by the 2µ plasmid
[16]. In contrast,
mms21Δ cells are not viable, though mutations in the RING finger domain that abolish its SUMO-ligase activity such as
mms21sp,
mms21-11 or
mms21CH are not lethal
[14],
[17],
[18], suggesting that Mms21 executes another, non-SUMO, essential function. Whereas other SUMO-E3 ligases are nuclear, Siz1 is additionally localized to the bud-neck
[13],
[14],
[19],
[20]. Many proteins have been reported to be SUMOylated with effects being substrate dependent but including ubiquitin mediated proteolysis and re-localization. Different types of proteins are known to be SUMO substrates, many of them are involved in DNA replication stress response.