Saccharomyces cerevisiae, cell-wall structure

Charpentier, C., Nguyen Van Long, T., Bonaly, R., Feuillat, M. (1986). Alteration of cell wall structure in Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Saccharomyces bayanus during autolysis. Appl. Microbiol. BiotechnoL, 24, 405 13. 

The cell wall of Saccharomyces cerevisiae has a structure of crossed molecules of /3-D-linked D-glucan, which gives the wall its strength and the cell its shape. This glucan is embedded in other polysaccharide(s) or in glycoprotein. Thus, yeast cell-walls consist mainly of polysaccharide, with relatively little protein, lipid, or min-... 

The main structural constituents of Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast cell wall are glucans and mannans with a minor proportion of chitin (Walker 1998). Manno-proteins are located in the outer layer of the yeast cell wall and determine most of the surface properties of the wall. Vasserot et al. (1997) studied the capacity of yeast lees to adsorb anthocyanins in an attempt to reduce the detrimental effects of charcoal on the color of red musts and wines. Experiments based on model wine solutions revealed that yeast lees possess a greater affinity for anthocyanins than... 

Five, genetically distinct, /8-D-fructofuranosidases have been described for strains of Saccharomyces hybrids. The behavior and kinetics of each enzyme are very similar.362,451 W. L. Smith and Ballou have purified the mannan-protein /3-D-fructofiiranosidases of three strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae whose cell walls have differences in mannan structure.452 By use of immunochemical methods, they found that the structure of each /3-D-fructofuranosidase mannan is similar to that of the cell wall of the corresponding strain only. Mutations affecting the structure of the one also produced similar changes in the other. 

Figure 1. Possible structures for alkali-insoluble ft-glucan from the cell wall of Saccharomyces cerevisiae after Manners et al. (3). Part A represents a comb-type structure, while part B represents a tree-type structure. In the former, most or all of the glucose residues comprising the backbone are thought to carry side chains with an average of ca. 30 glucose residues (two side chains shown). In the latter, a + b -f c comprise ca. 60 glucose residues. See text for further details.

Their functions have been best studied in the model yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Here, apart from structural functions, they play important roles as second messengers in signal transduction pathways, regulating diverse cellular processes like growth, nutrient uptake, heat stress response, cell wall synthesis... 

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