Resolving the Network of Cell Signaling Pathways using the Evolving Yeast Two-Hybrid System

Figures & data

Figure 1. Detecting protein-protein interactions with the yeast two-hybrid system.

Protein-protein interactions are detected by the mating of two haploid complementary yeast strains, each expressing a distinct expression plasmid. The first strain expresses a protein prey fused to a transcription activation domain (AD). The second strain expresses a protein bait fused to a DNA-binding domain (DBD) that binds to its cognate binding site, usually upstream of a reporter gene. If there is interaction between bait and prey, the AD is brought into proximity of the DBD to cause transcriptional activation of the reporter gene and lead to selection.

Figure 2. Three assessments of Y2H usage.

Numbers appearing across the graph represent citations of the seminal 1989 Fields and Song publication of a Y2H approach (5). Green bars represent the results recovered in each year from the Web of Science for a topic line query “yeast two-hybrid” OR “yeast two hybrid.” Red bars represent results recovered in each year from a PubMed search using the terms, yeast and two-hybrid and YEAR. We hypothesize that the divergence of trends for the last set of data versus the first two in the years 2006 and 2007 reflects the growing use of results from high-throughput Y2H screening projects in studies not directly using the Y2H system.

Fields, S. and O.Song. 1989. A novel genetic system to detect protein-protein interactions. Nature340:245–246.

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