Dimeric organization of the yeast oligosaccharyl transferase complex

Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2006 Jun 13;103(24):8947-52. doi: 10.1073/pnas.0603262103. Epub 2006 Jun 5.

Abstract

The enzyme complex oligosaccharyl transferase (OT) catalyzes N-glycosylation in the lumen of the endoplasmic reticulum. The yeast OT complex is composed of nine subunits, all of which are transmembrane proteins. Several lines of evidence, including our previous split-ubiquitin studies, have suggested an oligomeric organization of the OT complex, but the exact oligomeric nature has been unclear. By FLAG epitope tagging the Ost4p subunit of the OT complex, we purified the OT enzyme complex by using the nondenaturing detergent digitonin and a one-step immunoaffinity technique. The digitonin-solubilized OT complex was catalytically active, and all nine subunits were present in the enzyme complex. The purified OT complex had an apparent mass of approximately 500 kDa, suggesting a dimeric configuration, which was confirmed by biochemical studies. EM showed homogenous individual particles and revealed a dimeric structure of the OT complexes that was consistent with our biochemical studies. A 3D structure of the dimeric OT complex at 25-A resolution was reconstructed from EM images. We suggest that the dimeric structure of OT might be required for effective association with the translocon dimer and for its allosteric regulation during cotranslational glycosylation.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Dimerization
  • Hexosyltransferases / chemistry*
  • Hexosyltransferases / genetics
  • Hexosyltransferases / metabolism
  • Image Processing, Computer-Assisted
  • Membrane Proteins / chemistry*
  • Membrane Proteins / genetics
  • Membrane Proteins / metabolism
  • Microscopy, Electron
  • Models, Molecular
  • Multiprotein Complexes
  • Protein Structure, Quaternary*
  • Protein Subunits / chemistry
  • Protein Subunits / genetics
  • Protein Subunits / metabolism
  • Saccharomyces cerevisiae / enzymology*
  • Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins / chemistry*
  • Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins / genetics
  • Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins / metabolism

Substances

  • Membrane Proteins
  • Multiprotein Complexes
  • Protein Subunits
  • Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins
  • Hexosyltransferases
  • dolichyl-diphosphooligosaccharide - protein glycotransferase