Lipid intermediates in the synthesis of the inner core of yeast mannan.

The synthesis by yeast microsomes of compounds that are probably dolichol-pyrophosphate derivatives containing N,N'-diacetylchitobiose and several mannose residues is described. However, the presence of monosaccharide residues other than N-acetylglucosamine and mannose has not been ruled out. The amount of the lipid derivatives synthesized was enhanced by the addition to the incubation mixture of an organic-solvent-soluble extract from rat liver known to contain dolicholpyrophosphate oligosaccharides. Incubation of these derivatives with yeast microsomes led to the transfer of about fifteen percent of their saccharide moieties to endogenous proteins. The oligosaccharides released from the dolichol derivatives by mild acid hydrolysis could serve as primers for the synthesis of a polysaccharide having the characteristics of mannan outer-chain. It is suggested that the dolichol-pyrophosphate derivatives described in this paper are intermediates in the synthesis of mannan inner core.