The formation of
N
-glycosidic linkages of eukaryotic glycoproteins involves the assembly of a specific lipid-linked precursor oligosaccharide in the endoplasmic reticulum. This oligosaccharide is transferred from the lipid carrier to appropriate asparagine residues during protein synthesis. The protein-linked oligosaccharide then undergoes processing reactions that include both removal and addition of carbohydrate residues. In this paper we report recent studies from our laboratory on the synthesis of asparagine-linked oligosaccharides. In the first part we describe the isolation and characterization of temperature-sensitive mutants of yeast blocked at specific stages in the assembly of the lipid-linked oligosaccharide. In addition, we are using these mutants to clone the genes for the enzymes in this pathway by complementation of the temperature-sensitive phenotype. The second part deals with the topography of asparagine-linked oligosaccharide assembly. Our studies on the transmembrane movement of sugar residues during the assembly of secreted glycoproteins from cytoplasmic precursors are presented. Finally, experiments on the control of protein-linked oligosaccharide processing are described. Recent data are presented on the problem of how specific oligosaccharides are assembled from the common precursors at individual sites on glycoproteins.
Isolation and characterization of temperature-sensitive mutants of adenovirus type 7.
