Cell wall structure and biogenesis

Role of GPI anchors in fungal cell walls. We discovered that GPI anchors cross-link many cell wall proteins to the glucans. This was the basis for the current models of fungal cell walls.

Link to cell wall assembly cartoon

We are currently engaged in searches for ways to interfere with this anchorage, as an opening to discovery of new antifungal drugs.

Papers:

Kipnis, P., Thomas, N., Ovalle, R. and Lipke, P.N. 2004. The v-SNARE Bet1p is required for cell wall cross-linking of S. cerevisiae a-Agglutinin. Microbiology 150: 3219-3228.

Lipke, P.N. and R. Ovalle. 1998. Yeast Cell Walls: New Structures, New Challenges. J. Bacteriol. 180: 3735-3740  

With Dr. Rafael Ovalle, we are also investigating how oxidative drugs destroy fungal cell walls and developing analytic techniques to characterize the products of oxidation.

Ovalle, R., C. Soll, F. Lim, C. Flanagan, T. Rotunda, and P.N. Lipke. 2001. Systematic analysis of oxidative degradation of polysaccharides using PAGE and HPLC/MS. Carbohydrate Res. 330: 131-139.

Ovalle, R., M. Spencer, M. Thiwamont, and P.N. Lipke. 1999. The spheroplast lysis assay for yeast in microtiter format. Applied Environ. Microbiol. 65: 3325-3327

Ovalle, R., S.T. Lim, B. Holder,C.K. Jue, C. Wood Moore, and P.N. Lipke. 1998. Spheroplast rate assay for determination of cell wall integrity in yeast. Yeast 14: 1159-1166