Attenuation of pheromone responsiveness in yeast in the absence of the glucose sensor Gpr1.

Abstract

G protein coupled receptors are known to associate with other GPCRs as either homo or heterodimers. Haploid strains of the yeast saccharomyces cereviseae express only two types of GPCRs which mediate either pheromone or glucose sensing via very different signal transduction pathways. We have observed a reduction in the activity of the pheromone pathway in strains lacking either the glucose receptor (Gpr1p) or its associated G protein (Gpa2p). Cells lacking either of these components had reduced levels of pheromone‐induced projection formation or growth inhibition. This suggests that the two receptors may interact during signal transduction.