Multiple cellular consequences of isocitrate dehydrogenase isozyme dysfunction

To probe the functions of multiple forms of isocitrate dehydrogenase in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, mutants lacking three of the isozymes were constructed and analyzed. Results show that, while the mitochondrial NAD ⁺-dependent enzyme, IDH (composed of Idh1p and Idh2p subunits) is not the major contributor to total isocitrate dehydrogenase activity under any growth condition, loss of IDH produces the most dramatic growth phenotypes. These include reduced growth in the absence of glutamate, as well as an increase in expression of Idp2p (the cytosolic NADP⁺-dependent enzyme) under some growth conditions. In this study, we have focused on another phenotype associated with loss of IDH, an elevated frequency of petite mutations indicating loss of functional mtDNA. Using mutant forms of IDH with altered active site residues, a correlation was observed between the high frequency of petite mutations and the loss of catalytic activity. Loss of Idp1p (the mitochondrial NADP⁺-dependent enzyme) and Idp2p contributes to the loss of functional mtDNA, but only in an IDH dysfunctional background. Surprisingly, overexpression of Idp1p, but not of Idp2p, was found to result in an elevated petite frequency independent of the functional state of IDH. This is the first phenotype associated with altered Idp1p. Finally, throughout this study we examined effects of loss of mitochondrial citrate synthase (Cit1p) on isocitrate dehydrogenase mutants, since defects in the CIT1 gene were previously shown to enhance growth of IDH dysfunctional strains on nonfermentable carbon sources. Loss of Cit1p was found to suppress the petite phenotype of strains lacking IDH, suggesting that these phenotypes may be linked.