Transcriptional regulation: a new dominion for inositol phosphate signaling?

The diverse phosphorylation patterns of the six-carbon inositol ring genera tes a mesmerizing wealth of inositol phosphates but we have little insight into the precise cellular roles of most members of this family. Therefore, new information on these roles is very welcome. The discovery by two indepe ndent groups((1,2)) that the Arg82 transcriptional regulator from Saccharom yces cerevisiae has inositol phosphate kinase activity is intriguing in thi s respect. One group proposes that these events directly affect the functio n of a specific, multimeric transcriptional complex.((2)) It will be argued here, however, that available data do not entirely support such a direct r ole for Arg82 in transcription. The potential relevance of these findings t o higher organisms will also be discussed. BioEssays 22:786-789, 2000. publ ished 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.