The main filamentous structural component of the cell wall of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae is 1,3-b-glucan, which is synthesized by a plasma membrane-localized enzyme called 1,3-b-glucan synthase (GS).Here we analyzed the quantitative cell morphology and biochemical properties of 10 different temperaturesensitive mutants of FKS1, a putative catalytic subunit of GS. To untangle their pleiotropic phenotypes, the mutants were classified into three functional groups. In the first group, mutants fail to synthesize 1,3-b-glucan at the proper subcellular location, although GS activity is normal in vitro. In the second group, mutants have normal 1,3-b-glucan content but are defective in polarized growth and endocytosis. In the third group, mutations in the putative catalytic domain of Fks1p result in a loss of the catalytic activity of GS. The differences among the three groups suggest that Fks1p consists of multiple domains that are required for cell wall construction and cellular morphogenesis.
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