Regulation of cytokinesis by the Elm1 protein kinase in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

A Saccharomyces cerevisiae mutant unable to grow in a cdc28-1N background was isolated and shown to be affected in the ELM1 gene. Elm1 is a protein kinase, thought to be a negative regulator of pseudo-hyphal growth. We show that Cdc11, one of the septins, is delocalised in the mutant, indicating that septin localisation is partly controlled by Elm1. Moreover, we show that cytokinesis is delayed in an elm1delta mutant. Elm1 levels peak at the end of the cell cycle and Elm1 is localised at the bud neck in a septin-dependent fashion from bud emergence until the completion of anaphase, at about the time of cell division. Genetic and biochemical evidence suggest that Elm1 and the three other septin-localised protein kinases, Hsl1, Gin4 and Kcc4, work in parallel pathways to regulate septin behaviour and cytokinesis. In addition, the elm1delta;) morphological defects can be suppressed by deletion of the SWE1 gene, but not the cytokinesis defect nor the septin mislocalisation. Our results indicate that cytokinesis in budding yeast is regulated by Elm1.