[34] Kinetic studies of transprot in yeast

Effects of the Fenton reagent on transport in yeast

In the facultatively anaerobic yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae the uptake rate and the accumulation ratio of 2-aminoisobutyric acid was decreased by some 30% by Fenton's reagent (FR), a powerful source of OH. radicals. Likewise, the uptake of glutamic acid, leucine and arginine was diminished. The mediated diffusion of 6-deoxy-D-glucose was not affected. The H+ symport of maltose and trehalose was inhibited by some 40% both in the initial rate and in the accumulation ratio. FR had a dramatic inhibitory effect when present during preincubation with 50 mmol/L glucose. In the obligately aerobic Lodderomyces elongisporus the uptake of all amino acids tested was decreased by 15-30%, that of 6-deoxy-D-glucose by about 10%. The initial rates of uptake of maltose and trehalose were depressed by FR by 40% and the acceleration of uptake observed after 8 min of incubation, was abolished by FR completely. Acidification rate of the external medium by S. cerevisiae in the presence of glucose or galactose was enhanced three-fold, that after subsequently added K+ was substantially decreased. FR appears to have a dual effect on sugar and amino acid transport processes in yeast: (1) it blocks carrier protein synthesis; (2) it inhibits the source of energy for transport. It does not appreciably affect the carrier proteins themselves.

Can yeast glycolysis be understood in terms of in vitro kinetics of the constituent enzymes? Testing biochemistry

This paper examines whether the in vivo behavior of yeast glycolysis can be understood in terms of the in vitro kinetic properties of the constituent enzymes. In nongrowing, anaerobic, compressed Saccharomyces cerevisiae the values of the kinetic parameters of most glycolytic enzymes were determined. For the other enzymes appropriate literature values were collected. By inserting these values into a kinetic model for glycolysis, fluxes and metabolites were calculated. Under the same conditions fluxes and metabolite levels were measured. In our first model, branch reactions were ignored. This model failed to reach the stable steady state that was observed in the experimental flux measurements. Introduction of branches towards trehalose, glycogen, glycerol and succinate did allow such a steady state. The predictions of this branched model were compared with the empirical behavior. Half of the enzymes matched their predicted flux in vivo within a factor of 2. For the other enzymes it was calculated what deviation between in vivo and in vitro kinetic characteristics could explain the discrepancy between in vitro rate and in vivo flux.

Intracellular glucose concentration in derepressed yeast cells consuming glucose is high enough to reduce the glucose transport rate by 50%

In Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells exhibiting high-affinity glucose transport, the glucose consumption rate at extracellular concentrations above 10 mM was only half of the zero trans-influx rate. To determine if this regulation of glucose transport might be a consequence of intracellular free glucose we developed a new method to measure intracellular glucose concentrations in cells metabolizing glucose, which compares glucose stereoisomers to correct for adhering glucose. The intracellular glucose concentration was 1.5 mM, much higher than in most earlier reports. We show that for the simplest model of a glucose carrier, this concentration is sufficient to reduce the glucose influx by 50%. We conclude that intracellular glucose is the most likely candidate for the observed regulation of glucose import and hence glycolysis. We discuss the possibility that intracellular glucose functions as a primary signal molecule in these cells.

Transport of small lons and molecules through the plasma membrane of filamentous fungi

Less than 1% of the estimated number of fungal species have been investigated concerning the transport of low-molecular-weight nutrients and metabolites through the plasma membrane. This is surprising if one considers the importance of the processes at the plasma membrane for the cell: this membrane mediates between the cell and its environment. Concentrating on filamentous fungi, in this review emphasis is placed on relating results from biophysical chemistry, membrane transport, fungal physiology, and fungal ecology. Among the treated subjects are the consequences of the small dimension of hyphae, the habitat and membrane transport, the properties of the plasma membrane, the efflux of metabolites, and the regulation of membrane transport. Special attention is given to methodological problems occurring with filamentous fungi. A great part of the presented material relies on work with Neurospora crassa, because for this fungus the most complete picture of plasma membrane transport exists. Following the conviction that we need "concepts instead of experiments", we delineate the lively network of membrane transport systems rather than listing the properties of single transport systems.

Effects of the physiological state of five yeast species on H(+)-ATPase-related processes

Effects of starvation and glucose preincubation on membrane potential, ATPase-mediated acidification and glutamic acid transport were studied in yeast species Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Schizosaccharomyces pombe, Dipodascus magnusii, Lodderomyces elongisporus and Rhodotorula gracilis. The membrane potential was highest after preincubation with glucose in all species but L. elongisporus and R. gracilis. In all cases the membranes were depolarized in the presence of 20 mmol/L KCl and hyperpolarized with 50 mumol/L diethylstilbestrol (DES). The extracellular acidification caused by addition of glucose was highest after preincubation with glucose in all cases except in R. gracilis where there was none. In all cases except in R. gracilis addition of KCl caused a marked increase in the acidification rate. Addition of DES with glucose caused a large decrease in rate in S. cerevisiae but had much less effect on the other species. Transport of glutamic acid was clearly increased after pretreatment with glucose in S. cerevisiae, S. pombe and D. magnusii (mainly due to enhanced synthesis of the carrier) but actually decreased in R. gracilis and L. elongisporus. Addition of DES had an inhibitory effect in all species but much more pronounced in S. cerevisiae and S. pombe than in others. In general, both the acidification and the transport of glutamate were enhanced after preincubation with glucose but much more so in the semianaerobic species, such as S. cerevisiae, than in the strict aerobes (R. gracilis) where the effect was occasionally negative. There was no relationship between the ATPase-mediated acidification and the membrane potential.

Ordered binding model as a general mechanistic mechanism for secondary active transport systems

The mechanistic mechanism of secondary active transport processes has not been fully elucidated. Based on substrate binding studies dependent on coupling cation concentrations of the glutamate, melibiose, lactose and proline transport carriers in Escherichia coli, the ordered binding mechanism was proposed as the energy coupling mechanism of the transport systems. This ordered binding mechanism satisfactorily explained the properties of the secondary active transport systems. Thus, this mechanism as the general energy coupling mechanism for the transport systems is discussed.