In situ localization of cell wall alpha-1,3-glucan in the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe

The yeast cell walls of the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae are well studied and the results show the existence of a framework composed of beta-1,3-glucan. It is reported that the cell wall of the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe has different components and our analysis by 13C-nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy also showed there is alpha-1,3-glucan in its cell wall. To refine our understanding of the architecture of the yeast cell wall, we re-examined the cell wall glucans of S. pombe by NMR spectroscopy and prepared antibody against alpha-1,3-glucan, which is a characteristic component of this yeast. By the competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) system, specificity of the antibody was restricted to alpha-1,3-glucan, which did not take a highly ordered structure. We analysed the localization of the cell wall glucans by immunoelectron microscopy. Transmission electron microscope (TEM) images showed that most of the alpha-1,3-glucan was along the cell membrane and appeared to enclose the cytoplasm, supporting previous reports that this glucan is synthesized on the cell membrane.