Department of Biophysics, Faculty of Science, Kyoto University, Japan.
The Schizosaccharomyces pombe sts1+ gene, identified by supersensitive mutations to a protein kinase inhibitor, staurosporine, was isolated by complementation by the use of a fission yeast genomic library. Nucleotide sequencing shows that the sts1+ gene encodes a 453 amino acid putative membrane-associated protein that is significantly similar (26% identity) to the chicken lamin B receptor. It is also highly related (53% identity) to a budding yeast ORF, YGL022. These three proteins contain a similar hydrophobicity pattern consisting of eight or nine putative transmembrane domains. By gene disruption we demonstrate that the sts1+ gene is not essential for viability. These disruptants exhibit pleiotropic defects, such as cold-sensitivity for growth and at the permissive temperature, a supersensitivity to divalent cations and several unrelated drugs including staurosporine, caffeine, chloramphenicol, sorbitol, and SDS. Disruption of the sts1+ gene does not lead to a sensitivity to thiabendazole or hydroxyurea.