Abstract
For virulence and transmission, the protozoan parasite Leishmania must assemble a complex glycolipid on the cell surface, the lipophosphoglycan (LPG). Functional complementation identified the gene LPG2, which encodes an integral Golgi membrane protein implicated in intracellular compartmentalization of LPG biosynthesis. lpg2- mutants lack only characteristic disaccharide-phosphate repeats, normally present on both LPG and other surface or secreted molecules considered critical for infectivity. In contrast, a related yeast gene, VAN2/VRG4, is essential and required for general Golgi function. These results suggest that LPG2 participates in a specialized virulence pathway, which may offer an attractive target for chemotherapy.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 1869-1872 |
Number of pages | 4 |
Journal | Science |
Volume | 269 |
Issue number | 5232 |
State | Published - Sep 29 1995 |