title: A conditionally lethal yeast mutant blocked at the first step in glycosyl phosphatidylinositol anchor synthesis.
abstract: Glycosyl phosphatidylinositols (GPIs) anchor many proteins to the surface of eukaryotic cells and may also serve as sorting signals on proteins and participate in signal transduction. We have isolated a Saccharomyces cerevisiae GPI anchoring mutant, gpi1, using a colony screen for cells blocked in [3H]inositol incorporation into protein. The gpi1 mutant is defective in vitro in the synthesis of N-acetylglucosaminyl phosphatidylinositol, the first intermediate in GPI synthesis, and is also temperature-sensitive for growth. Completion of the first step in GPI assembly is therefore required for growth of the unicellular eukaryote S. cerevisiae. GPI synthesis could therefore be exploited as a target for antifungal or antiparasitic agents.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign 61801.
authors.forename: S D
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Leidich
authors.forename: D A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Drapp
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Orlean
mesh_terms: D002240:Carbohydrate Sequence; D003433:Crosses, Genetic; D005800:Genes, Fungal; D005804:Genes, Lethal; D017261:Glycosylphosphatidylinositols / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009154:Mutation; D012441:Saccharomyces cerevisiae / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D017261:Glycosylphosphatidylinositols