title: Chitin synthetase distribution on the yeast plasma membrane.
abstract: Purified, intact yeast plasma membranes were allowed to synthesize chitin, and the nascent chains of polysaccharide were observed either by the fluorescence produced with a brightener or by autoradiography. By both methods, it was concluded that the newly formed chitin emerged at many sites on each membrane. Thus, the synthetase that catalyzes chitin formation has a similar distribution. Since chitin synthetase is found mainly in a zymogen form, these results confirm the hypothesis that initiation of the chitinous primary septum of Saccharomyces occurs by localized activation of the uniformly distributed zymogen.
mesh_terms: D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000201:enzymology; D002687:Chitin Synthase / Q000378:metabolism*; D004789:Enzyme Activation; D005964:Glucosyltransferases / Q000378:metabolism*; D011498:Protein Precursors / Q000378:metabolism*; D012441:Saccharomyces cerevisiae / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000648:ultrastructure
chemical_list: D011498:Protein Precursors; D005964:Glucosyltransferases; D002687:Chitin Synthase