The S. cerevisiae sexual agglutinins

We are investigating the structure and roles of cell adhesion proteins and other cell surface markers in eukaryotes, especially yeast.

  1. During mating in baker’s yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, two cell adhesion molecules bind the two yeast mating types together. This interaction is similar to those of other members of the immunoglobulin superfamily of cell adhesion proteins. In animals such proteins also have roles in fertilization, neurogenesis, and immune response. 

 

    1. We study the structure of these proteins using molecular modeling, circular dichroism spectroscopy, peptide mapping

 

Biochemical, physical, and genetic studies are leading to three-dimensional models of the sexual cell adhesion proteins in baker's yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae.  Currently (2006) we are overproducing these proteins for studies of domain function and glycosylation.

  


Shen, Z.M., L. Wang, J. Pike, C.K. Jue, H. Zhao, H. de Nobel, J. Kurjan, and P.N. Lipke. 2001. Delineation of Functional Regions within the Subunits of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae Cell Adhesion Molecule a-Agglutinin. J. Biol. Chem. 276:15768-15775

Grigorescu, A., M.-H. Chen, H. Zhao, P.C. Kahn, and P.N. Lipke.  2000. A CD2-based model of the yeast cell adhesion protein alpha-agglutinin elucidates solution and binding properties. IUBMB Life 50: 105-113.

de Nobel, H., P.N. Lipke, and J. Kurjan. 1996. Identification of a ligand binding site in Saccharomyces cerevisiae alpha-agglutinin. Cell. Mol. Biol. 7: 143-153

Chen, M.-H., Z.-M. Shen, S. Bobin, P.C. Kahn and P.N. Lipke. 1995. Structure of Saccharomyces cerevisiae alpha-agglutinin: evidence for a yeast cell wall protein with multiple immunoglobulin-like domains with atypical disulfides. J. Biol. Chem. 270: 26168-26177

Jue, C.K. and P.N. Lipke. 2002. Roles of Fig2p in mating and agglutination in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Euk. Cell 1: 843-845.

    1. We also study the way that these proteins bind to each other to form a bond that is specific for the opposite mating type, and very tight: “Once you have found (him/her), never let (her/him) go.”— Rogers and Hart, South Pacific. These studies include showing that changes in protein structure drive tightening of the bond between two cells.

Zhao, H., M.H. Chen, Z.-M. Shen, P.C. Kahn, and P.N. Lipke. 2001. Environmentally-induced conformational switching in the yeast cell adhesion protein, alpha-agglutinin. Protein Science 10: 1113-1123

Zhao, H., Z.-M Shen, P.C. Kahn, and P.N. Lipke. 2001.  Interaction of alpha-Agglutinin and a-Agglutinin, Saccharomyces cerevisiae Sexual Cell Adhesion Molecules. J. Bacteriol. 183: 2874-2880