KlSEC53 is an essential Kluyveromyces lactis gene and is homologous with the SEC53 gene of Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Phosphomannomutase (PMM) is a key enzyme, which catalyses one of the first steps in the glycosylation pathway, the conversion of D-mannose-6-phosphate to D-mannose-1-phosphate. The latter is the substrate for the synthesis of GDP-mannose, which serves as the mannosyl donor for the glycosylation reactions in eukaryotic cells. In the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae PMM is encoded by the gene SEC53 (ScSEC53) and the deficiency of PMM activity leads to severe defects in both protein glycosylation and secretion. We report here on the isolation of the Kluyveromyces lactis SEC53 (KlSEC53) gene from a genomic library by virtue of its ability to complement a Saccharomyces cerevisiae sec53 mutation. The sequenced DNA fragment contained an open reading frame of 765 bp, coding for a predicted polypeptide, KlSec53p, of 254 amino acids. The KlSec53p displays a high degree of homology with phosphomannomutases from other yeast species, protozoans, plants and humans. Our results have demonstrated that KlSEC53 is the functional homologue of the ScSEC53 gene. Like ScSEC53, the KlSEC53 gene is essential for K. lactis cell viability. Phenotypic analysis of a K. lactis strain overexpressing the KlSEC53 gene revealed defects expected for impaired cell wall integrity.