Inositol acylation of a potential glycosyl phosphoinositol anchor precursor from yeast requires acyl coenzyme A.

Glycosyl phosphoinositol (GPI) anchors on proteins can be modified by palmitoylation of their inositol residue, which makes such anchors resistant to cleavage by phosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase C (PI-PLC) (Roberts, W. L., Myher, J. J., Kuksis, A., Low, M. G., and Rosenberry, T.L. (1988) J. Biol. Chem. 263, 18766-18775). Mannosylated GPI lipids made in trypanosomal and mammalian cells can also be inositol-acylated, indicating that inositol acylation may be a normal step in GPI anchor synthesis. We find that Saccharomyces cerevisiae mutants blocked in dolichyl phosphate mannose synthesis accumulate a lipid that can be radiolabeled in vivo with 3H]myo-inositol, 3H]GlcN, and 3H]palmitic acid. This lipid is resistant to PI-PLC, yet sensitive to mild alkaline hydrolysis, and has been characterized as GlcN-phosphatidylinositol (PI), fatty acylated on its inositol residue. When yeast membranes are incubated with UDP-14C] GlcNAc, 14C-labeled GlcNAc-PI and GlcN-PI are made. Addition of ATP and CoA, or of palmitoyl-CoA to incubations results in the synthesis of 14C]GlcN-(acyl-inositol)PI. This lipid is also made when membranes are incubated with 1-14C]palmitoyl-CoA and UDP-GlcNAc. We propose that acyl CoA is the donor in inositol acylation of GlcN-PI, and that GlcN-(acyl-inositol)PI is an obligatory intermediate in GPI synthesis.