Signal integration in budding yeast

Abstract

A complex signalling network governs the response of Saccharomyces cerevisiae to an array of environmental stimuli and stresses. In the present article, we provide an overview of the main signalling system and discuss the mechanisms by which yeast integrates and separates signals from these sources. We apply our classification scheme to a simple semi-quantitative model of the HOG (high-osmolarity glycerol)/FG (filamentous growth)/PH (pheromone) MAPK (mitogen-activated protein kinase) signalling network by perturbing its signal integration mechanisms under combinatorial stimuli of osmotic stress, starvation and pheromone exposure in silico. Our findings include that the Hog1 MAPK might act as a timer for filamentous differentiation, not allowing morphological differentiation before osmo-adaptation is sufficiently completed. We also see that a mutually exclusive decision-making between pheromone and osmo-response might not be taken on the MAPK level and transcriptional regulation of MAPK targets. We conclude that signal integration mechanisms in a wider network including the cell cycle have to be taken into account for which our framework might provide focal points of study.