Generation and characterization of temperature-sensitive alleles of the glucanosyltransferase Gas1 in Schizosaccharomyces pombe.
The  Schizosaccharomyces pombe  Gas family of β-1,3-glucanosyltransferases modify the cell wall by elongating β-1,3-glucan chains. While  gas1Δ  cells are inviable under standard laboratory growth conditions, they are viable in the presence of an osmotic stabilizer. Even under these conditions however,  gas1Δ  cells are slow-growing and display cell separation and morphology defects. Here, we isolated and characterized two  gas1  temperature-sensitive alleles. Our data support that Gas1 is the primary  S. pombe  β-1,3-glucanosyltransferase important for cell separation and cell viability and provide useful tools for further analysis of  S. pombe  cell wall formation.
Howard IV, Tavafoghi B, Igarashi MG, Ren L, Willet AH, Gould KL