MAPK related phenotypic decisions in yeast

TL;DRAbstract

The evolutionarily conserved mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) network is a signalling module, which enables the coordination and processing of various extracellular stimuli. It thereby guarantees a specific biological response to a precise dose of a given stimuli. The haploid yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae uses this network to select particular mating partners by quantitatively interpreting the pheromone concentration gradient generated by potential mates. Activation of the mating MAPK module occurs only above a certain pheromone concentration threshold and relies on the pheromone-induced recruitment of a protein complex consisting of the scaffold Ste5 and the MAPKs Ste11, Ste7 and Fus3. This module ensures a robust morphological response in form of a mating projection to a defined pheromone concentration and allows cells to gauge the distance to a potential mating partner. Yet it remains unclear which of the module’s features interpret the pheromone concentration to decide when

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