Molecular Insights into Fungal Glycosylphosphatidylinositol Transamidase Complex
- PMID: 41085069
- DOI: 10.1002/advs.202511340
Molecular Insights into Fungal Glycosylphosphatidylinositol Transamidase Complex
Abstract
The glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI) biosynthesis pathway is critical for antifungal drug development. As a key component of this pathway, GPI transamidase (GPIT) catalyzes the attachment of GPI anchors to proteins, a process essential for fungal cell wall integrity and virulence. Despite its biological significance, structural and mechanistic insights into fungal GPIT remain limited. Here, a series of cryo-electron microscopy structures capturing distinct functional states of Saccharomyces cerevisiae GPIT is reported, including GPIT complexed with a GPI anchor, GPIT bound to a substrate-mimetic peptide, and an unprecedented dimeric GPIT assembly. These structures reveal the conserved GPI anchor binding site formed by Gab1 and Gpi16, as well as a key protein substrate recognition site, Gpi16 Y550. Comparative structural analyses uncover fungal-specific adaptations and the dynamic accommodation of catalytic subunit Gpi8. The dimeric GPIT structure exhibits a unique T-shaped organization unexpectedly mediated by transmembrane helices of Gab1 and Gaa1, a configuration unlikely to form in the human counterpart. This study provides a molecular framework for understanding GPIT function and species-specific divergences, providing a molecular basis for antifungal drug development.
Keywords: GPI anchor; GPI transamidase; antifungal drug; glycobiology; glycosylphosphatidylinositol.
© 2025 The Author(s). Advanced Science published by Wiley‐VCH GmbH.
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Grants and funding
- 92478121/National Natural Science Foundation of China
- 92053112/National Natural Science Foundation of China
- 31971148/National Natural Science Foundation of China
- 32100575/National Natural Science Foundation of China
- 0204K0010/National Natural Science Foundation of China
- 2024AFA044/Natural Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars of Hubei Province
- A2303054/Shenzhen Medical Research Fund
- B2302039/Shenzhen Medical Research Fund
- 5003510141/Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities
- 5003510056/Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities
- 5003510112/Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities
- GZB20240245/Postdoctoral Fellowship Program of China Postdoctoral Science Foundation
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