Internal Ca2+ release in yeast is triggered by hypertonic shock and mediated by a TRP channel homologue

Calcium ions, present inside all eukaryotic cells, are important second messengers in the transduction of biological signals. In mammalian cells, the release of Ca2+ from intracellular compartments is required for signaling and involves the regulated opening of ryanodine and inositol-1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP3) receptors. However, in budding yeast, no signaling pathway has been shown to involve Ca2+ release from internal stores, and no homologues of ryanodine or IP3 receptors exist in the genome. Here we show that hyperosmotic shock provokes a transient increase in cytosolic Ca2+ in vivo. Vacuolar Ca2+, which is the major intracellular Ca2+ store in yeast, is required for this response, whereas extracellular Ca2+ is not. We aimed to identify the channel responsible for this regulated vacuolar Ca2+ release. Here we report that Yvc1p, a vacuolar membrane protein with homology to transient receptor potential (TRIP) channels, mediates the hyperosmolarity induced Ca2+ release. After this release, low cytosolic Ca2+ is restored and vacuolar Ca2+ is replenished through the activity of Vcx1p, a Ca2+/H+ exchanger. These studies reveal a novel mechanism of internal Ca2+ release and establish a new function for TRP channels.