High impact information on WSC4

• Disruption of YHC8, a member of the TSR1 gene family, reveals its direct involvement in yeast protein translocation [1].
• Immunofluorescence experiments show that Yhc8p is localized in the endoplasmic reticulum [1].
• We generated a null mutation in the S. cerevisiae YHC8 gene, the closest homologue to Y. lipolytica TSR1, and used different soluble (carboxypeptidase Y, alpha-factor, invertase) and membrane (dipeptidyl-aminopeptidase) secretory proteins to study its phenotype [1].
• The YFW1 and YFW12 proteins are highly serine and threonine rich, and YFW1 contains a stretch of 28 hydrophobic residues, indicating that it may be a membrane protein [2].
• In contrast, deletion of WSC4 enhances the sensitivity of the wsc1delta mutant to heat shock, ethanol, and a DNA-damaging drug, suggesting that WSC4 plays a role in the response to environmental stress but that its function may differ from those of the other WSC family members [3].

Biological context of WSC4

• We propose that the YHC8 gene is a new and important component of the S. cerevisiae endoplasmic reticulum membrane and that it functions in protein translocation/insertion of secretory proteins through or into this compartment [1].

References