mTOR-dependent sensing of translation stress in Neurospora crassa (17)

• Subject Area: Biochemistry
• Term: from 2012 to 2021
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 201348542

CHK-2, a key component of the conserved DNA damage response (DDR) pathway, is activated upon genotoxic stress by the apical kinases, ATM and ATR. We have shown that PRD-4, the CHK-2 ortholog of Neurospora, is part of an additional signaling pathway that is activated upon translation stress by TORC1, a kinase complex related to ATM and ATR. Hence, genotoxic and proteotoxic stress signaling in Neurospora merge in a common pathway. Under unstressed conditions activation of PRD-4 by TORC1 is suppressed by an antagonizing unstable phosphatase. It is the aim of this project to identify the phosphatase and characterize this stress-sensing system at the molecular level.

• DFG Programme: Collaborative Research Centres
• Subproject of: SFB 1036: Cellular Surveillance and Damage Response
• Applicant Institution: Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg
• Project Head: Professor Dr. Michael Brunner