Express yourself: how PP2A-B55 Pab1 helps TORC1 talk to TORC2.

The control of cell fate, growth and proliferation in response to nitrogen availability is a tightly controlled process, with the two TOR complexes (TORC1 and TORC2) and their effectors playing a central role. PP2A-B55Pab1 has recently been shown to be a key element in this response in fission yeast, where it regulates cell cycle progression and sexual differentiation. Importantly, a recent study from our group has shown that PP2A-B55Pab1 acts as a mediator between the activities of the two TOR signaling modules, enabling a crosstalk that is required to engage in the differentiation program. In this review, we recapitulate the studies that have led to our current understanding of the interplay between TOR complexes. Moreover, we discuss several aspects of the response to nitrogen availability that still require further attention, and which will be important in the future to fully realize the implications of phosphatase activity in the context of TOR signaling.