M-factor, a farnesylated mating factor from the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe.

Introduction Conjugation between two haploid yeast cells is generally controlled by the reciprocal action of diffusible mating factors, cells of each mating type releasing peptide pheromones that induce mating-specific changes in cells of the opposite type. The pheromones bind to specific receptors at the surface of their target cell and binding initiates a series of intracellular events that lead to changes in gene expression and consequent changes in cell behaviour. Recent studies into the pheromone communication system in the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe have revealed significant parallels with processes in higher eukaryotes, and the yeast provides an opportunity for investigating a diverse range of biologically important phenomena in an organism that is amenable to both biochemical and genetic manipulation. There have been several reviews of the pheromone system in S. pombe [1,2] and I shall therefore focus on the M-factor mating pheromone. Like many fungal pheromones, the mature M-factor is farnesylated on its C-terminal cysteine residue and this has important consequences for its biosynthesis, secretion and activity. Here I shall review our studies on the M-factor and discuss how our findings relate to other lipopeptide pheromones.