title: BTS1 encodes a geranylgeranyl diphosphate synthase in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.
abstract: Protein prenylation utilizes different types of isoprenoids groups, namely farnesyl and geranylgeranyl, to modify proteins. These lipophilic moieties attach to carboxyl-terminal cysteine residues to promote the association of soluble proteins to membranes. Most prenylated proteins are geranylgeranylated. Geranylgeranylation is catalyzed by two different prenyltransferases, the type I and type II geranylgeranyl transferases, both of which utilize geranylgeranyl diphosphate as a lipid donor. In the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the BET2 gene encodes the beta-subunit of the type II geranylgeranyl transferase. Mutations in this gene cause a defect in the geranylgeranylation of small GTP-binding proteins that mediate vesicular traffic. In an attempt to analyze those genes whose products may interact with Bet2, we isolated a suppressor of the bet2-1 mutant. This suppressor gene, called BTS1, encodes the yeast geranylgeranyl diphosphate synthase. BTS1 is not essential for the vegetative growth of cells; however, disrupting it impedes the geranylgeranylation of many cellular proteins and renders cells cold sensitive for growth. Our findings imply that BTS1 suppresses the bet2-1 mutant by increasing the intracellular pool of geranylgeranyl diphosphate.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell Biology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut 06536, USA.
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Proteau
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Poulter
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ferro-Novick
mesh_terms: D019883:Alkyl and Aryl Transferases; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001483:Base Sequence; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D017124:Conserved Sequence; D004271:DNA, Fungal / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D004926:Escherichia coli; D015870:Gene Expression; D005800:Genes, Fungal; D015698:Genomic Library; D051232:Geranylgeranyl-Diphosphate Geranylgeranyltransferase; D007700:Kinetics; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016296:Mutagenesis; D010088:Oxidoreductases / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000378:metabolism; D015183:Restriction Mapping; D012441:Saccharomyces cerevisiae / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000235:genetics* / Q000254:growth & development; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D013489:Suppression, Genetic
chemical_list: D004271:DNA, Fungal; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D010088:Oxidoreductases; D019883:Alkyl and Aryl Transferases; D051232:Geranylgeranyl-Diphosphate Geranylgeranyltransferase