Tor1 and CK2 kinases control a switch between alternative ribosome biogenesis pathways in a growth-dependent manner.

Ribosome biogenesis is a major energy-consuming process in the cell that has to be rapidly down-regulated in response to stress or nutrient depletion. The target of rapamycin 1 (Tor1) pathway regulates synthesis of ribosomal RNA (rRNA) at the level of transcription initiation. It remains unclear whe...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Isabelle C Kos-Braun, Ilona Jung, Martin Koš
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2017-03-01
Series:PLoS Biology
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.2000245
Description
Summary:Ribosome biogenesis is a major energy-consuming process in the cell that has to be rapidly down-regulated in response to stress or nutrient depletion. The target of rapamycin 1 (Tor1) pathway regulates synthesis of ribosomal RNA (rRNA) at the level of transcription initiation. It remains unclear whether ribosome biogenesis is also controlled directly at the posttranscriptional level. We show that Tor1 and casein kinase 2 (CK2) kinases regulate a rapid switch between a productive and a non-productive pre-rRNA processing pathways in yeast. Under stress, the pre-rRNA continues to be synthesized; however, it is processed differently, and no new ribosomes are produced. Strikingly, the control of the switch does not require the Sch9 kinase, indicating that an unrecognized Tor Complex 1 (TORC1) signaling branch involving CK2 kinase directly regulates ribosome biogenesis at the posttranscriptional level.
ISSN:1544-9173
1545-7885