Study of SAL1 and its interaction with Dmo2p in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

• Grant number: 25/05702-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: June 01, 2025
• End date: May 31, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Biochemistry - Molecular Biology
• Principal Investigator: Mario Henrique de Barros
• Grantee: Natália Kauffman Zolnerkevic
• Host Institution: Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas (ICB). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae is widely used as a model organism in genetic and biochemical studies due to its molecular accessibility and flexible metabolism. In respiratory metabolism, an essential component is the protein Sal1p, a mitochondrial adenine nucleotide transporter belonging to the MCF (Mitochondrial Carrier Family). Sal1p enables the electroneutral import of mitochondrial ATP, contributing to energy homeostasis. However, some S. cerevisiae strains do not encode a functional version of SAL1. When analyzing the interactome of the product of DMO2, a poorly characterized gene, the co-precipitation of Sal1p was observed, suggesting a possible interaction between these proteins. Additionally, strains with DMO2 deletion showed significant differences in respiratory capacity, with the strain exhibiting the most impaired respiration corresponding to the one with dysfunctional SAL1. This suggests that the phenotypic variation observed in DMO2 mutant strains may be related to Sal1p functionality. Given this, this project aims to investigate the relationship between DMO2 and SAL1 through gene overexpression and deletion experiments, protein interaction analysis, and identification of interaction sites between their products.