The ambient pH response Rim pathway in Yarrowia lipolytica: identification of YlRIM9 and characterization of its role in dimorphism

Yarrowia lipolytica is a dimorphic fungus that secretes either an acidic or an alkaline protease depending on the environmental pH. Previous results have indicated that secretion of the alkaline protease is under control of the pH signaling Pal/Rim pathway originally described in Aspergillus nidulans. Several Y. lipolytica mutants defective in some Rim components of this pathway have been previously isolated and the RIM genes characterized. In the present study, Y. lipolytica RIM9 (palI) gene (YlRIM9) was sequenced from a plasmid (AL414126) of the Genolevures project (the DNA sequence data for YlRIM9 gene has been deposited at EMBL with accession number AJ566902). The derived translation product contains 724 amino acids with a predicted signal peptide and four transmembrane domains in its N-terminal region. We demonstrated that mutation in YlRIM9, as well as in other genes encoding members of the Pal/Rim pathway, did not affect the pH-dependent dimorphic transition of Y. lipolytica. A different pathway must exist in this fungus that controls the effect of pH on dimorphism.