Disruption of a gene encoding phosphatidic acid phosphatase causes abnormal phenotypes in cell growth and abnormal cytokinesis in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Phosphatidic acid phosphatase (PAP) is an enzyme involved in lipid metabolism. Diacylglycerol (DG) and phosphatidic acid (PA) are a substrate and a product of PAP, respectively, and function as second messengers in several signal transduction pathways in animals. To investigate the function of PAP in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, we analyzed changes in cellular phenotypes of a mutant that has a disrupted PAP gene. Two putative genes for PAP (ScPAP1 and ScPAP2) are in the S. cerevisiae genome. We generated a ScPAP1-null mutant and observed its cellular phenotypic changes. The ScPAP1-null mutant cells aggregated in liquid culture, and microscopical analyses showed that these mutant cells have an abnormal cell shape and abnormal cytokinesis during cell division. The ScPAP1 is possibly involved in cell growth and cytokinesis in S. cerevisiae. Yeast phosphatidic acid phosphatase is possibly involved in cell growth and cytokinesis.