Secretion of cell-wall glycoproteins by yeast protoplasts. Effect of 2-deoxy-D-glucose and cycloheximide

The effect of 2-deoxy-d-glucose and cycloheximide on the synthesis and secretion of the cell-wall constituents protein and mannan in yeast protoplasts was examined in detail. Although the 2-deoxy-d-glucose hardly influenced protein synthesis, a significant parallel inhibition of carbohydrate and protein secretion into the medium was observed. The mechanism of this inhibition is considered as an interference of metabolites of 2-deoxy-d-glucose with the synthesis of yeast mannan. Cycloheximide, which is an effective inhibitor of protein synthesis in yeast (Kerridge, 1958), inhibited the secretion of non-diffusible carbohydrate in yeast protoplasts, but on the other hand had no effect on the activity of particulate yeast mannan synthetase. Our results clearly show that blocking the synthesis of either part of the mannan-protein complex prevents the extracellular appearance of the other component. The nature of this phenomenon is discussed.