Skip to main content
NCBI home page
Journal of Bacteriology logoLink to Journal of Bacteriology
. 1964 Aug;88(2):339–345. doi: 10.1128/jb.88.2.339-345.1964

NUTRITION OF “ADENINELESS” AUXOTROPHS OF YEASTS

Arnold L Demain 1
PMCID: PMC277305  PMID: 14203349

Abstract

Demain, Arnold L. (Merck Sharp & Dohme Research Laboratories, Division of Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, N.J.). Nutrition of “adenineless” auxotrophs of yeasts. J. Bacteriol. 88:339–345. 1964.—Nutritional studies on 29 “adenineless” yeast strains were carried out. In no case could guanine, xanthine, or their ribonucleosides or ribonucleotides be used to satisfy the purine requirement. The cultures fell into three nutritional groups: group A, absolute purine requirement satisfied by adenine or hypoxanthine; group B, stimulatory purine requirement (leaky) satisfied by adenine or hypoxanthine; group C, absolute purine requirement satisfied only by adenine. Although adenosine, adenylic acid (AMP), inosine, and inosinic acid (IMP) could not be used by the absolute mutants, the leaky mutants were stimulated by these compounds. The rapid growth on adenine observed with members of all three nutritional groups was delayed by guanine. No inhibition was observed with guanosine or guanylic acid (GMP). Guanine and its derivatives did not inhibit growth of wild-type Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The slow growth of the leaky mutants in unsupplemented medium was inhibited by guanine, guanosine, and GMP. The results were interpreted as follows. (i) Yeasts lack GMP-reductase. (ii) Group A and B yeasts are blocked before IMP; group C yeasts lack one of the enzymes leading from IMP to AMP. (iii) The absolute mutants cannot take ribonucleotides or ribonucleosides into the cell and cannot break down these compounds extracellularly to the free base; the leaky mutants can slowly use extracellular nucleosides and nucleotides. (iv) Guanine competes with adenine for entry into the cell. (v) Guanine inhibits de novo synthesis of AMP. The inhibition is probably a weak feedback effect which can only be demonstrated with leaky strains which synthesize purines at suboptimal rates.

Full text

PDF
339

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. AUDLEY B. G., GOODWIN T. W. Studies on the biosynthesis of riboflavin. 7. The incorporation of adenine and guanine into riboflavin and into nucleic acid purines in Eremothecium ashbyii and Candida flareri. Biochem J. 1962 Sep;84:587–592. doi: 10.1042/bj0840587. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. BARKER G. R., HIGNETT R. C., JACKSON M., WADSWORTH M. J. Biosynthesis of polynucleotides. 4. The utilization of exogenous precursors by Candida utilis. Biochem J. 1961 Feb;78:429–435. doi: 10.1042/bj0780429. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. COWIE D. B., BOLTON E. T. The use of metabolic pools of purine compounds for nucleic acid synthesis in yeast. Biochim Biophys Acta. 1957 Aug;25(2):292–298. doi: 10.1016/0006-3002(57)90471-7. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. GOTS J. S. Purine metabolism in bacteria. V. Feed-back inhibition. J Biol Chem. 1957 Sep;228(1):57–66. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. HEPPEL L. A., HILMOE R. J. [Phosphorolysis and hydrolysis of purine ribosides by enzymes from yeast]. J Biol Chem. 1952 Oct;198(2):683–694. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Hawthorne D C, Mortimer R K. Chromosome Mapping in Saccharomyces: Centromere-Linked Genes. Genetics. 1960 Aug;45(8):1085–1110. doi: 10.1093/genetics/45.8.1085. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. KERR S. E., CHERNIGOY F. On the biosynthesis of ribonucleic acid purines and their interconversion in yeast. J Biol Chem. 1953 Feb;200(2):887–894. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. KERR S. E., SERAIDARIAN K., BROWN G. B. On the utilization of purines and their ribose derivatives by yeast. J Biol Chem. 1951 Jan;188(1):207–216. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. LEUPOLD U. Studies on recombination in Schizosaccharomyces pombe. Cold Spring Harb Symp Quant Biol. 1958;23:161–170. doi: 10.1101/sqb.1958.023.01.020. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. MAGASANIK B., KARIBIAN D. Purine nucleotide cycles and their metabolic role. J Biol Chem. 1960 Sep;235:2672–2681. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. MCLELLAN W. L., Jr, LAMPEN J. O. The acid phosphatase of yeast. Localization and secretion by protoplasts. Biochim Biophys Acta. 1963 Feb 12;67:324–326. doi: 10.1016/0006-3002(63)91832-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. MOAT A. G., FRIEDMAN H. The biosynthesis and interconversion of purines and their derivatives. Bacteriol Rev. 1960 Sep;24(3):309–339. doi: 10.1128/br.24.3.309-339.1960. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. NORTHAM B. E., NORRIS F. W. Growth requirements of Schizosaccharomyces octosporus, a yeast exacting towards adenine. J Gen Microbiol. 1951 Aug;5(3):502–507. doi: 10.1099/00221287-5-3-502. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. POMPER S. Purine-requiring and pyrimidine-requiring mutants of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. J Bacteriol. 1952 Jun;63(6):707–713. doi: 10.1128/jb.63.6.707-713.1952. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Journal of Bacteriology are provided here courtesy of American Society for Microbiology (ASM)

RESOURCES