TY - JOUR
T1 - Isolation of mutant Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains that survive without sphingolipids
AU - Dickson, Robert C.
AU - Wells, Gerald B.
AU - Schmidt, Ann
AU - Lester, Robert L.
PY - 1990
Y1 - 1990
N2 - Sphingolipids comprise a large, widespread family of complex eucaryotic-membrane constituents of poorly defined function. The yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae is particularly suited for studies of sphingolipid function because it contains a small number of sphingolipids and is amenable to molecular genetic analysis. Moreover, it is the only eucaryote in which mutants blocked in sphingolipid biosynthesis have been isolated. Beginning with a nonreverting sphingolipid-defective strain that requires the addition of the long-chain-base component of sphingolipids to the culture medium for growth, we isolated two strains carrying secondary, suppressor mutations that permit survival in the absence of exogenous long-chain base. Remarkably, the suppressor strains made little if any sphingolipid. A study of how the suppressor gene products compensate for the lack of sphingolipids may reveal the function(s) of these membrane lipids in yeast cells.
AB - Sphingolipids comprise a large, widespread family of complex eucaryotic-membrane constituents of poorly defined function. The yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae is particularly suited for studies of sphingolipid function because it contains a small number of sphingolipids and is amenable to molecular genetic analysis. Moreover, it is the only eucaryote in which mutants blocked in sphingolipid biosynthesis have been isolated. Beginning with a nonreverting sphingolipid-defective strain that requires the addition of the long-chain-base component of sphingolipids to the culture medium for growth, we isolated two strains carrying secondary, suppressor mutations that permit survival in the absence of exogenous long-chain base. Remarkably, the suppressor strains made little if any sphingolipid. A study of how the suppressor gene products compensate for the lack of sphingolipids may reveal the function(s) of these membrane lipids in yeast cells.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=0025354919&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=0025354919&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1128/MCB.10.5.2176
DO - 10.1128/MCB.10.5.2176
M3 - Article
C2 - 2183021
AN - SCOPUS:0025354919
SN - 0270-7306
VL - 10
SP - 2176
EP - 2181
JO - Molecular and Cellular Biology
JF - Molecular and Cellular Biology
IS - 5
ER -