Familial Parkinson's Disease Mutant E46K α-Synuclein Localizes to Membranous Structures, Forms Aggregates, and Induces Toxicity in Yeast Models

Figure 2

E46K associates with the plasma membrane in budding yeast. (a) Live cell GFP microscopy of BY4741 cells expressing WT, E46K, A30P, or A53T α-synuclein and GFP alone at 24 and 48 hours of expression (left). Quantification: ~750 cells of each type were scored for these localization patterns: cytoplasmically diffuse, plasma membrane, aggregate, plasma membrane/diffuse, and plasma membrane/aggregate (right). Phenotypes were plotted as a percent of total cells that fluoresced. (b) BY4742 and (c) BY4743 cells expressing WT, E46K, A30P, or A53T α-synuclein at 24 and 48 hours of expression. In each of these three strains, E46K consistently localized to the plasma membrane just like WT and A53T, while A30P and GFP alone were predominantly cytoplasmically diffuse.