Synthesis of yeast wall glucan.

Saccharomyces cerevisiae was treated with a mixture of toluene and ethanol to make it permeable to small molecules. This treatment unmasked a glucan synthetase activity which was assayed with UDP-[U-14C]glucose. About 60% of the polymer formed was beta-(I leads to 3)glucan. No labelled lipids were detected. The 14C incorporated was recovered in a particulate membrane preparation isolated by differential centrifugation. When the particles themselves were assayed for glucosyl transfer activity none was found. The toluene-treated preparations also catalysed the transfer of mannosyl residues from GDP-mannose to polymeric materials by a process independent of glucosyl transfer.