Open AccessFungal yapsins and cell wall: a unique family of aspartic peptidases for a distinctive cellular function
Author(s) -
GagArsenault Isabelle,
Tremblay Jessy,
Bourbonnais Yves
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
fems yeast research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.991
H-Index - 92
eISSN - 1567-1364
pISSN - 1567-1356
DOI - 10.1111/j.1567-1364.2006.00129.x
Subject(s) - biology , saccharomyces cerevisiae , cell wall , candida albicans , biochemistry , computational biology , function (biology) , genetics , yeast
A novel class of aspartic peptidases known as fungal yapsins, whose first member Sc Yps1p was identified more than a decade ago in Saccharomyces cerevisiae , is characteristically modified by the addition of a glycophosphatidylinositol moiety and has a preference for cleaving substrates C‐terminally to mono‐ and paired‐basic residues. Over the years, several other members, first in S. cerevisiae and then in other fungi, have been identified. The implication of fungal yapsins in cell‐wall assembly and/or remodelling had been suspected for many years. However, it is only very recently that studies performed on S. cerevisae and Candida albicans have confirmed their importance for cell‐wall integrity. Here, we review 16 years of research, covering all fundamental aspects of these unique enzymes, in an effort to track their functional significance. We also propose a nomenclature for fungal yapsins based on their sequence identity with the founding members of this family, the S. cerevisiae yapsins.