(A) A schematic representation illustrating the experimental design for sulfur starvation. Wild type cells growing in standard glucose medium were shifted to sulfur-rich and sulfur-starved/sulfur amino acid limited conditions. From appropriate cell extracts, metabolites were analyzed by LC/MS/MS or enzyme assays, to estimate amino acids, nucleotides (AMP), or, trehalose, and luciferase assays were performed to measure GCN4 translation. (B) Intracellular levels of sulfur amino acid metabolites decrease in the sulfur-starved condition. Steady-state amounts of sulfur-containing metabolites (methionine, cysteine, SAM and SAH) were measured in wild-type (WT) grown in sulfur-rich and sulfur-starved media using targeted LC-MS/MS. Relative metabolite levels are plotted, where levels in sulfur-rich condition was set to 1. Data are displayed as means ± SD, n = 4. ****p<0.0001, Student’s t-test, comparing sulfur limited to sulfur-rich condition. (C) In WT cells, intracellular pools of amino acids increase in the sulfur-starved condition, similar to tRNA thiolation mutants. Steady-state amino acid amounts were measured in wild-type (WT) grown in sulfur-rich and sulfur-starved media using targeted LC-MS/MS. Relative amino acids are plotted, where level in sulfur-rich condition was set to 1. Data are displayed as mean ± SD, n >= 3. *p<0.05, **p<0.01, ***p<0.001, ****p<0.0001, Student’s t-test, comparing sulfur limited to sulfur-rich condition. Amino acid amounts in wild-type (WT) and tRNA thiolation mutant were re-plotted from for comparison. (D) In WT cells, intracellular levels of nucleotides decrease in the sulfur-starved similar to tRNA thiolation mutants. Steady-state nucleotide (AMP) amounts were measured in wild-type (WT) grown in sulfur rich and sulfur-starved media using targeted LC-MS/MS. Relative nucleotide levels are plotted, where levels in sulfur-rich condition was set to 1. Data are displayed as means ± SD, n = 2. **p<0.01, ***p<0.001, Student’s t-test, comparing sulfur limited to sulfur-rich condition. Nucleotide amounts in wild-type (WT) and tRNA thiolation mutant were re-plotted from for comparison. (E) In WT cells, steady-state trehalose amounts increase in the sulfur-starved condition, similar to tRNA thiolation mutants. Trehalose content of WT grown in sulfur-rich and sulfur-starved medium was plotted. Data are displayed as means ± SD, n = 3 biological replicates with three technical replicates. ***p<0.001, ****p<0.0001, Student’s t-test, comparing sulfur limited to sulfur-rich condition. Trehalose amounts in wild-type (WT) and tRNA thiolation mutant were re-plotted from for comparison. (F) In WT cells, GCN4 translation increases in sulfur amino acid (methionine and cysteine) limited conditions similar to tRNA thiolation mutants. Wild-type (WT) transformed with Gcn4-luciferase translational reporter construct was grown in sulfur amino acid replete media and subsequently shifted to sulfur amino acid limited media for 1 hr and luciferase assay was performed. Data are displayed as means ± SD, n = 4. *p<0.05, ***p<0.001, Student’s t-test. GCN4 translation in wild-type (WT) and tRNA thiolation mutant were re-plotted from for comparison.