Characterization of deletion mutations in the carboxy-terminal peptide-binding domain of the Kar2 protein in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Hsp70 is structurally composed of three domains, an amino-terminal ATPase domain, a proximal 18 kDa peptide-binding domain and a distal 10 kDa carboxy-terminal (C-terminal) domain. To dissect the functional significance of the distal 10 kDa domain, and the boundary region between the proximal and distal C-terminal domains of Kar2p in vivo in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, we constructed a series of plasmids which were truncated or had internal deletion mutations in this region. We found that all these mutations are recessive, and that the distal 10 kDa C-terminal domain, including the HDEL ER-retention sequence, is not essential for cell growth, although the major role of this 10 kDa C-terminal domain is due to the function of the HDEL ER-retention signal.

Isolation and characterization of kar2-404 mutation in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

We have devised a direct screening method to isolate mutations in the KAR2 gene, and have isolated a BiP/KAR2 mutant, kar2-404, from Saccharomyces cerevisiae as a small halo-forming mutant of secreted mouse alpha-amylase. The mutation site was identified as a point mutation at t1337 to c1337 resulting in the Ile-404Thr mutation of mature Kar2-404p, located at the most NH2-terminal first beta-sheet structure (beta 1) of the putative peptide-binding domain. This isoleucine is highly conserved in the Hsp70 family.

Isolation and genetic characterization of pGKL killer-insensitive mutants (iki) from Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

The linear double stranded DNA plasmid pGKL1 encodes the yeast killer toxin complex (Gunge et al., 1981) of which the killing mechanism is not understood. We isolated and characterized eight mutants in Saccharomyces cerevisiae that were insensitive to both the intracellularly expressed 28-kDa killer subunit and the native killer toxin complex.