Stress-dependent regulation of Pbh1, a BIR domain-containing protein, in the fission yeast

To elicit the physiological roles of Pbh1, a baculoviral IAP repeat (131R) domain-containing protein, in Schizosaccharomyces pombe, we investigated if Pbh1 expression is regulated by stress. The upstream region (1221 bp) of the pbh1 gene was fused into the promoterless beta-galactosidase gene of the shuttle vector YEp367R, and the resultant fusion plasmid was named pPbh04. The synthesis of beta-galactosidase from the pbh1-lacZ fusion gene was markedly enhanced by sodium nitroprusside (SNP) generating nitric oxide. The basal expression of the pbh1 gene required the presence of Pap1. Pap1 also mediated the induction of the pbh1 gene by SNP and nitrogen starvation. Pap1-dependent induction of the pbh1 gene by SNP was confirmed by the enhanced level of the pbh1 mRNA in Pap1-positive cells but not in Pap1-negative cells. Taken together, it was demonstrated that the pbh1 genes are positively regulated by nitrosative and nitrogen starvation stresses in Pap1-dependent manner.