Protein localisation approaches for understanding yeast cell wall biogenesis

Yeast cells are surrounded by the cell wall, a rigid but dynamic structure that is essential for their viability. The complexity and functionality of this structure suggest that a high number of proteins must be involved in t he biogenesis of the cell wall architecture and, as a consequence, in the m aintenance of cell integrity. Among them, a high percentage is assumed to b e located at the cell surface, mostly as structural or enzymatic components of the cell wall. Therefore, the presence of a protein in the cell wall is suggestive of its cell wall-related function. Different techniques can be used to specifically detect the cell wall localisation of a given protein o r to identify cell wall proteins in large-scale analyses. These include the detection of proteins in whole cells or specific cell wall fractions by im munological, biochemical, microscopic, or genetic approaches, as well as th e emerging proteomic technology. The advantages, limitations, and usefulnes s of these techniques are discussed and illustrated with some examples. (C) 2000 Wiley-Liss, Inc.