Yeast mating pheromones are small secreted peptides required for efficient mating between cells of opposite mating type. Pheromone gradients allow the cells to detect potential mating partners. Secreted pheromone degrading proteases steepen local gradients and allow fast recovery from the pheromone signal. The methylotrophic yeast Komagataella phaffii is a preferentially haploid species. Only under nitrogen starvation, mating genes are activated and the cells are able to undergo a full sexual cycle of mating and sporulation. It has been shown that, similar to other yeasts, K. phaffii requires the mating pheromone and pheromone surface receptor genes for efficient mating. The analysis of so far uncharacterized mating-type-specific genes allowed us to identify the K. phaffii α-factor protease gene YPS1-5. It encodes an aspartic protease of the yapsin family and is upregulated only in a-type cells under mating conditions. The phenotype of K. phaffiia-type strains with a deletion in the protease gene was found to be highly similar to the phenotype of Saccharomyces cerevisiae α-factor protease BAR1 deletion strains. They are highly sensitive to α-factor pheromone in pheromone sensitivity assays and were found to mate with reduced efficiency. Based on our results, we propose to rename the gene into K. phaffii BAR1.

中文翻译：

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嗜热小果蝇（Komagataella phaffii）YPS1-5编码降解α因子的蛋白酶Bar1。

酵母交配信息素是在相反交配类型的细胞之间有效交配所需的小分泌肽。信息素梯度使细胞能够检测潜在的交配伴侣。分泌的信息素降解蛋白酶会使局部梯度变陡，并允许从信息素信号中快速恢复。甲基营养型酵母Komagataella phaffii是单倍体物种。仅在缺氮的情况下，才激活交配基因，并且细胞能够经历完整的交配和孢子形成性循环。已经表明，类似于其他酵母，K.phaffii需要交配信息素和信息素表面受体基因以有效交配。到目前为止，尚未表征的交配型特异性基因的分析使我们得以鉴定出嗜酸毛囊菌α-因子蛋白酶基因YPS1-5。它编码Yapsin家族的天冬氨酸蛋白酶，仅在交配条件下在a型细胞中上调。发现在蛋白酶基因中缺失的K.phaffiia型菌株的表型与酿酒酵母α-因子蛋白酶BAR1缺失菌株的表型高度相似。它们在信息素敏感性测定中对α因子信息素高度敏感，并且发现其交配效率降低。根据我们的结果，我们建议将基因重命名为K. phaffii BAR1。它们在信息素敏感性测定中对α因子信息素高度敏感，并且发现其交配效率降低。根据我们的结果，我们建议将基因重命名为K. phaffii BAR1。它们在信息素敏感性测定中对α因子信息素高度敏感，并且发现其交配效率降低。根据我们的结果，我们建议将基因重命名为K. phaffii BAR1。