Rho1p mutations specific for regulation of beta(1-->3)glucan synthesis and the order of assembly of the yeast cell wall.

In the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the GTP-binding protein Rho1 is required for beta(1-->3)glucan synthase activity, for activation of protein kinase C and the cell integrity pathway and for progression in G1, cell polarization and exocytosis. A genetic screen for cells that become permeabilized at non-permissive temperature was used to isolate in vitro-generated mutants of Rho1p. After undergoing a battery of tests, several of them appeared to be specifically defective in the beta(1-->3) glucan synthesis function of Rho1p. At the non-permissive temperature (37 degrees C), the mutants developed defects in the cell wall, especially at the tip of new buds. In the yeast cell wall, beta(1-->6)glucan is linked to both beta(1-->3)glucan and mannoprotein, as well as occasionally to chitin. We have used the rho1 mutants to study the order of assembly of the cell wall components. The incorporation of [(14)C]-glucose into beta(1-->3)glucan at 37 degrees C was decreased or abolished in the mutants. Concomitantly, a partial defect in the incorporation of label into cell wall mannoproteins and beta(1-->6)glucan was observed. In contrast, YW3458, an inhibitor of glycosylphosphatidylinositol anchor formation, prevented mannoprotein incorporation, whereas the beta(1-->3)-beta(1-->6)glucan complex was synthesized at almost normal levels. As beta(1-->3)glucan can be synthesized in vitro or in vivo independently, we conclude that the order of addition in vivo is beta(1-->3)glucan, beta(1-->6)glucan, mannoprotein. Previous observations indicate that chitin is the last component to be incorporated into the complex.