Prm1p, a pheromone-regulated multispanning membrane protein, facilitates plasma membrane fusion during yeast mating.

ABSTRACT: Cell fusion occurs throughout development, from fertilization to organogenesis. The molecular mechanisms driving plasma membrane fusion in these processes remain unknown. While yeast mating offers an excellent model system in which to study cell fusion, all genes previously shown to regulate the process act at or before cell wall breakdown; i.e., well before the two plasma membranes have come in contact. Using a new strategy in which genomic data is used to predict which genes may possess a given function, we identified PRM1, a gene that is selectively expressed during mating and that encodes a multispanning transmembrane protein. Prm1p localizes to sites of cell-cell contact where fusion occurs. In matings between Deltaprm1 mutants, a large fraction of cells initiate zygote formation and

SUBMITTER: Heiman MG 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2185589 | biostudies-literature | 2000 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature