Loss of Apm1, the μ1 Subunit of the Clathrin-Associated Adaptor-Protein-1 Complex, Causes Distinct Phenotypes and Synthetic Lethality with Calcineurin Deletion in Fission Yeast

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Abstract
Calcineurin is a highly conserved regulator of Ca2+ signaling in eukaryotes. In fission yeast, calcineurin is not essential for viability but is required for cytokinesis and Cl- homeostasis. In a genetic screen for mutations that are synthetically lethal with calcineurin deletion, we isolated a mutant, cis1-1/apm1-1, an allele of the apm1+ gene that encodes a homolog of the mammalian μ1A subunit of the clathrin-associated adaptor protein-1 (AP-1) complex. The cis1-1/apm1-1 mutant as well as the apm1-deleted (Δapm1) cells showed distinct phenotypes: temperature sensitivity; tacrolimus (FK506) sensitivity; and pleiotropic defects in cytokinesis, cell integrity, and vacuole fusion. Electron micrographs revealed that Δapm1 cells showed large vesicular structures associated with Golgi stacks and accumulated post-Golgi secretory vesicles. Δapm1 cells also showed the massive accumulation of the exocytic v-SNARE Syb1 in the Golgi/endosomes and a reduced secretion of acid phosphatase. These phenotypes observed in apm1 mutations were accentuated upon temperature up-shift and FK506 treatment. Notably, Apm1-GFP localized to the Golgi/endosomes, the spindle pole bodies, and the medial region. These findings suggest a role for Apm1 associated with the Golgi/endosome function, thereby affecting various cellular processes, including secretion, cytokinesis, vacuole fusion, and cell integrity and also suggest that calcineurin is involved in these events.
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