# Yeast Pheromone Signal Transduction

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIV OF MASSACHUSETTS MED SCH WORCESTER · 2022 · $399,431

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract PI/PD: Pryciak, Peter M.
Proper cell function and behavior depends on the ability to respond to signals in the extracellular environment
and make appropriate decisions about whether or not to proliferate. In eukaryotic cells, responses to external
signals are commonly initiated at the plasma membrane and then disseminated throughout the cell by signal
transduction pathways, which control both cytoplasmic and nuclear events including gene expression. While
many signaling pathways and their molecular components have been identified, some well-studied systems
offer unique opportunities to understand how the molecular and biochemical properties of the individual
pathway components shape the overall response of the system, and in a manner that integrates both positive
and negative regulatory effects. This proposal explores such issues by using the mating reaction of the yeast
Saccharomyces cerevisiae as a model system to understand fundamental aspects of eukaryotic signal
transduction, via a molecular genetic and cell biological approach. The response to yeast mating pheromones
involves a dynamic assembly of plasma membrane-localized signaling complexes, which include proteins
found ubiquitously from yeast to humans such as a heterotrimeric G protein, a MAP kinase cascade, and a
scaffold protein. The long-term objective of this project is to gain a molecular understanding of how signaling
through this pathway is initiated and propagated, with an emphasis on the role of subcellular localization, the
balance of positive and negative regulation, and the control of transcriptional responses. One goal will be to
investigate the organization of signaling proteins into discrete compartments at the plasma membrane, and
how this impacts the efficiency and dynamics of signal transmission. Another project will probe the
mechanisms that control the ability of a MAP kinase protein to activate a negative feedback loop by inhibiting
the pathway scaffold protein. Also under investigation will be how the gene expression program activated by
pheromone is controlled by antagonistic effects of of two different pathway MAP kinases. Overall, these studies
will contribute to our general understanding of signal transduction, with relevance to the mechanisms by which
both normal and diseased cells make decisions regarding differentiation or proliferation.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10458023
- **Project number:** 5R01GM057769-24
- **Recipient organization:** UNIV OF MASSACHUSETTS MED SCH WORCESTER
- **Principal Investigator:** PETER M PRYCIAK
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $399,431
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 1997-09-30 → 2024-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10458023

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10458023, Yeast Pheromone Signal Transduction (5R01GM057769-24). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10458023. Licensed CC0.

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