1 research outputs found
Single-cell fluidic force microscopy reveals stress- dependent molecular interactions in yeast mating
Sexual agglutinins of the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae are proteins mediating cell aggregation during mating. Complementary agglutinins expressed by cells of opposite mating types āaā and āĪ±ā bind together to promote agglutination and facilitate fusion of haploid cells. By means of an innovative single-cell manipulation assay combining fluidic force microscopy with force spectroscopy, we unravel the strength of single specific bonds between a- and Ī±-agglutinins (~100 pN) which require pheromone induction. Prolonged cellācell contact strongly increases adhesion between mating cells, likely resulting from an increased expression of agglutinins. In addition, we highlight the critical role of disulfide bonds of the a- agglutinin and of histidine residue H273 of Ī±-agglutinin. Most interestingly, we find that mechanical tension enhances the interaction strength, pointing to a model where physical stress induces conformational changes in the agglutinins, from a weak-binding folded state, to a strong-binding extended state. Our single-cell technology shows promises for under- standing and controlling the complex mechanism of yeast sexuality