Expression of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae DPM1 gene (coding for dolichylphosphate mannose synthase) in Trichoderma reesei (Hypocrea jecorina) increases the intensity of protein glycosylation and secretion and causes ultrastructural changes in the fungal cell wall. In the present work, we undertook further biochemical and morphological characterization of the DPM1-expressing T. reesei strains. We established that the carbohydrate composition of the fungal cell wall was altered with an increased amount of N-acetylglucosamine, suggesting an increase in chitin content. Calcofluor white staining followed by fluorescence microscopy indicated changes in chitin distribution. Moreover, we also observed a decreased concentration of mannose and alkali-soluble -(1,6) glucan. A comparison of protein secretion from protoplasts with that from mycelia showed that the cell wall created a barrier for secretion in the DPM1 transformants. We also discuss the relationships between the observed changes in the cell wall, increased protein glycosylation, and the greater secretory capacity of T. reesei strains expressing the yeast DPM1 gene.The saprobic fungus Trichoderma reesei secretes a wide range of hydrolytic enzymes, such as cellulases and hemicellulases, which are widely used in the food, animal feed, and paper industries (10). Hence, stimulation of its secretory capacity is of considerable interest for biotechnology. Many, if not all, of these extracellular proteins are glycosylated. Our previous study showed a close correlation between protein secretion and the activity of dolichylphosphate mannose (DPM)-synthase (EC 2.4.1.83), a key enzyme in O glycosylation in T. reesei (15,17). We have shown that in T. reesei, DPM, which is synthesized by DPM-synthase, donates the mannosyl residue that is transferred to the hydroxyl group of serine or threonine in protein O mannosylation (16). Moreover, T. reesei DPM-synthase, like its counterpart from rat liver (3), is activated in vitro by cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase (18). An obligatory requirement for DPM-synthase in O mannosylation was demonstrated for Saccharomyces cerevisiae by the finding that a temperature-sensitive DPM-synthase mutant (dpm1) was completely blocked in O mannosylation of the model protein chitinase (24). Loss of DPM1 expression in yeast is lethal (24). DPM-synthase also participates in N glycosylation of protein, supplying the last four mannosyl residues during the assembly of the lipid-linked precursor oligosaccharide dolichol diphosphate-GlcNAc 2 Man 9 Glc 3 , and is required for the biosynthesis of glycosylphosphatidylinositol membrane anchors (11).Our earlier data indicated that overexpression of the S. cerevisiae DPM1 gene encoding DPM-synthase in T. reesei elevated the enzyme activity twofold and resulted in an increased level of protein secretion. The secreted proteins were glycosylated to the same extent as in the control, although at a level up to seven times higher (15).We have also isolated the dpm1 gene encoding DPM-synthase from T. reesei and tr...