Increased activity of wall hydrolytic enzymes may explain the phenotype of Saccharomyces cerevisiae fragile mutants.

Fragile mutants of Saccharomyces cerevisiae require osmotic stabilizers and lyse in hypotonic solutions. A single recessive mutation, srb1, is responsible for their phenotype, but the cause of cell lysis remains uncertain. We have analyzed three possible mechanisms for this behavior: comparative amounts of wall per cell; their chitin content; and the relative activity of wall hydrolytic enzymes activated by osmotic shock. We found normal amounts of wall and higher amounts of chitin in the fragile mutants. Determination of lytic enzymes by radiolabel of the reducing ends of wall polysaccharides gave results suggesting that fragile mutants produce increased amounts of stretch-activated wall hydrolytic enzymes, which may be responsible for their lysis in hypotonic media. These enzymes normally may play a role in cell wall growth and shaping.