Densitometry of yeast cells and protoplasts during sugar uptake

Densitometry was applied to the study of sugar transport in yeast cells and protoplasts. The uptake curves of nonmetabolized monosaccharides were without the transient peak observed analytically. Differences in the space of distribution of different monosaccharides (e.g.d-arabinosev.l-arabinose) were confirmed. The uptake of metabolizable sugars (d-glucose,d-fructose) resulted in a gradual increase in protoplast (and cell) volume. The optical density of cells rose abruptly after some 20–60 min of incubation but this rise was not accompanied by a decrease in cell volume. The increase was prevented by 2,4-dinitrophenol but not by iodoacetic acid. The effect of temperature and of ionic strength of the medium was examined. Differences between protoplasts and intact cells in the utilization of sucrose were confirmed.     

Transport and metabolism of 2-deoxy-D-glucose by Rhodotorula glutinis

2-Deoxy-D-glucose transport by Rhodotorula glutinis is an active process. The intracellular concentration of free deoxyglucose after 15 min incubation of Rhodotorula cells with this sugar was 230 times the extracellular concentration. Although cell extracts at this time contained more 2-deoxy-D-glucose 6-phosphate than deoxyglucose, pulse-labelling experiments demonstrated that deoxyglucose is transported as the free sugar and subsequently phosphorylated. After transport, Rhodotorula cells metabolize deoxyglucose. The major metabolites during 30-90 min incubations were determined to be 2-deoxy-D-glucose 6-phosphate, 2-deoxy-D-glucitol, 2-deoxy-D-gluconate and 2,2'-dideoxy-alpha, alpha'-trehalose. Rhodotorula glutinis also degrades deoxyglucose to CO2. The concentrations of intermediates in this pathway were too low to detect and resolve in extracts of control cells. In 2,4-dinitrophenol-poisoned cells, however, it appears that deoxyglucose degradation is restricted largely to loss of C-1 as CO2 and it was possible to identify 1-deoxy-D-ribulose 5-phosphate as an intermediate presumably arising from metabolism of deoxyglucose by the oxidative portion of the hexose monophosphate pathway.     

Mechanism of aluminum inhibition of net ca uptake by amaranthus protoplasts

Calcium ions serve as a second messenger in signal transduction and metabolic regulation. Effects of Al on calcium homeostasis remain to be elucidated. Short-term net ⁴⁵Ca²⁺ uptake by Amaranthus tricolor protoplasts was monitored from uptake media prepared to test the influence of pH, Al, and various inhibitors. Accumulation of ⁴⁵Ca²⁺ increased during the first 3 to 6 minutes and then leveled off or declined. Al and Ca²⁺ channel blockers (verapamil and bepridil) decreased net ⁴⁵Ca²⁺ uptake. This decrease was more pronounced when Al and bepridil were both present in uptake media, but Al did not aggravate verapamil-induced reduction of net ⁴⁵Ca²⁺ uptake. Erythrosin B and calmidazolium each increased net ⁴⁵Ca²⁺ uptake, probably by interfering with Ca²⁺ efflux. This effect was undetectable in the presence of Al. Mycophenolic acid decreased net ⁴⁵Ca²⁺ uptake; guanosine alleviated this effect. Al-induced reduction of net ⁴⁵Ca²⁺ uptake was not aggravated by mycophenolic acid. Net ⁴⁵Ca²⁺ uptake was generally less at pH 4.5 than at 5.5 for all treatments. It is concluded that Al ions affect net ⁴⁵Ca²⁺ uptake by binding to the verapamil-specific channel site that is different from the bepridil-specific one, as well as by interfering with the action of guanosine 5′-triphosphate-binding proteins.     

Effect of 2-deoxy-D-glucose on herpesvirus-induced inhibition of cellular DNA synthesis.

In pseudorabies virus-infected cells host DNA synthesis is turned off 4 to 5 h postinfection. In the presence of 0.5 mM 2-deoxy-D-glucose, however, synthesis of both cellular and viral DNA proceeds unimpaired throughout the virus replication cycle. The uptake of radioactive thymidine into mock-infected cells is not altered in the presence of 2-deoxy-D-glucose. Virus-specific protein synthesis and particle formation also proceed in medium containing the deoxy sugar, but the virus particles produced are noninfectious and cell fusion is inhibited.     

Inhibition of sugar uptake by ascorbic acid in Escherichia coli

The uptake of glucose by the glucose phosphotransferase system in Escherichia coli was inhibited greater than 90% by ascorbate. The uptake of the nonmetabolizable analog of glucose, methyl-alpha-glucoside, was also inhibited to the same extent, confirming that it was the transport process that was sensitive to ascorbate. Similarly, it was the transport function of mannose phosphotransferase for which mannose and nonmetabolizable 2-deoxyglucose were substrates that was partially inhibited by ascorbate. Other phosphotransferase systems, including those for the uptake of sorbitol, fructose and N-acetylglucosamine, but not mannitol, were also inhibited to varying degrees by ascorbate. The inhibitory effect on the phosphotransferase systems was reversible, required the active oxidation of ascorbate, was sensitive to the presence of free-radical scavengers, and was insensitive to uncouplers. Because ascorbate was not taken up by E. coli, it was concluded that the active inhibitory species was the ascorbate free radical and that it was interacting reversibly with a membrane component, possibly the different enzyme IIB components of the phosphotransferase systems. Ascorbate also inhibited other transport systems causing a slight reduction in the passive diffusion of glycerol, a 50% inhibition of the shock-sensitive uptake of maltose, and a complete inhibition of the proton-symport uptake of lactose. Radical scavengers had little or no effect on the inhibition of these systems.     

Inhibition of glycolytic enzymes by endogenous aldehydes: a possible relation to diabetic neuropathies

Endogenous saturated and unsaturated aldehydes were found in significant elevations in serum of diabetic humans and rats. These compounds, originating from the lipid peroxidation processes, are shown here to be potent inhibitors of the glycolytic enzymes, phosphofructokinase and glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase. The inhibition process is non-competitive and progressive. The aldehyde mixture, when supplemented to the standard rat diet at $\text{1}\text{100}$ ratio, caused nerve damage that is reminiscent of diabetic polyneuropathies.     

Inhibition and inactivation of glucose-phosphorylating enzymes from Saccharomyces cerevisiae by D-xylose

Three glucose-phosphorylating enzymes were separated from cell-free extracts of Saccharomyces cerevisiae by hydroxylapatite chromatography. Variations in the amounts of these enzymes in cells growing on glucose and on ethanol showed that hexokinase PI was a constitutive enzyme, whereas synthesis of hexokinase PII and glucokinase were regulated by the carbon source used. Glucokinase proved to be a glucomannokinase with Km values of 0.04 mM for both glucose and mannose. D-Xylose produced an irreversible inactivation of the three glucose-phosphorylating enzymes depending on the presence or absence of ATP. Hexokinase PI inactivation required ATP, while hexokinase PII was inactivated by D-xylose without ATP in the reaction mixture. Glucokinase was protected by ATP from this inactivation. D-Xylose acted as a competitive inhibitor of hexokinase PI and glucokinase and as a non-competitive inhibitor of hexokinase PII.     

Isolation and sugar uptake characteristics of protoplasts from maize endosperm suspension cultures

The isolation and sugar uptake characteristics of protoplasts from maize ( Zea mays L.) endosperm-derived suspension cultures are described. In contrast with protoplasts from intact developing endosperm, which by virtue of their large size and high starch content are too fragile for sugar uptake experiments, suspension cultures yielded protoplasts capable of withstanding the necessary handling and centrifugations. Intactness of the protoplasts was demonstrated by dye exclusion or accumulation and latency of malate dehydrogenase activity. Uptake of radioactivity from [³H]-inulin did not increase with time, but that from [¹⁴C]-sugars increased over a wide range of external concentrations. Kinetics of fructose, glucose and sucrose uptake were biphasic, and the saturable components of uptake were eliminated by p -chloromercuribenzene sulfonate (PCMBS). Rates of uptake of sucrose and 1'-fluorosucrose were similar, confirming that hydrolysis by cell wall invertase contributes to sucrose uptake by the suspension cultures. The isolation of protoplasts from this tissue source will enable experimental access to plasma membrane sugar carriers which may exist in the intact maize endosperm.     

Effects of 2-deoxy-D-glucose on the glucose metabolism in Saccharomyces cerevisiae studied by multinuclear-NMR spectroscopy and biochemical methods.

The effects of various concentrations of deoxyglucose (DG) on the aerobic metabolism of glucose in glucose-grown repressed Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells were studied at 30 degrees C in a standard pyrophosphate medium containing 4.5 10(7) cells/ml. 31P-nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy was used to monitor DG phosphorylation and the formation of polyphosphates. The production of soluble metabolites of glucose was evaluated by 13C- and 1H-NMR and biochemical techniques. The cells were aerobically incubated with 25 mM of glucose and various concentrations of DG (0, 5 and 10 mM) in order to determine the DG concentration leading to optimum of 2-deoxy-D-glucose 6-phosphate (DG6P) formation without over-inhibiting the synthesis of other metabolites. The production of DG6P increased by about 25% when the external DG concentration was doubled (from 5 to 10 mM). The formation of polyphosphates (polyP), on the other hand, was found to be mainly conditioned by the DG concentration. The amount of polyP decreased by a factor of four upon addition of 5 mM DG and became undetectable in the presence of 10 mM DG. The glucose consumption and the production of soluble metabolites of [1-13C]glucose were then evaluated as a function of time in both the absence and presence of 5 mM DG. The effect of DG is to decrease the glucose consumption and the formation of polyphosphates, ethanol, glycerol, trehalose, glutamate, aspartate and succinate while stimulating the formation of arginine and citrate. Upon co-addition of 25 mM glucose and 5 mM DG, the ratio between the initial rates of glucose consumption (0.16 mM/min) and DG6P production (0.027 mM/min) is about (5.9 +/- 1.2), not very different from the ratio of the initial concentration of glucose and DG (= 5.0). Therefore, hexokinase can phosphorylate deoxyglucose as well as glucose. However, after 100 min of incubation, the glucose concentration in the external medium decreased by about 64% while only 10% of DG was phosphorylated. DG6P was formed and quickly reached the limiting value about 30 min after co-addition of glucose and DG. Nevertheless, when the maximum quantity of DG6P was obtained, the DG consumption became negligible. By contrast, the glucose consumption and the production of ethanol and glycerol, although substantially reduced by about 42%, varied linearly with time up to 80 min of incubation. Thus even in the presence of an excess of DG, glycolysis is only slowed but not gradually or completely inhibited by DG.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)     

Inhibition of unscheduled DNA synthesis and repair of potentially lethal X-ray damage by 2-deoxy-D-glucose in yeast.

The effects of the glucose antimetabolite, 2-deoxy-D-glucose (2-DG), on DNA repair (assayed by unscheduled DNA synthesis) and on the repair of potentially-lethal damage (assayed by cell viability after irradiation) have been studied in X-irradiated respiratory-deficient yeast cells (auxotroph for 5'-thymidine-monophosphate). Experimental results show that: (a) both these phenomena can be inhibited by 2-DG; (b) the repair of potentially-lethal damage occurs after the unscheduled DNA synthesis is almost complete; and (c) the repair of potentially-lethal damage can be inhibited by 2-DG even after the completion of the unscheduled DNA synthesis.     

Regulation of sugar and ethanol metabolism in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

This review briefly surveys the literature on the nature, regulation, genetics, and molecular biology of the major energy-yielding pathways in yeasts, with emphasis on Saccharomyces cerevisiae. While sugar metabolism has received the lion's share of attention from workers in this field because of its bearing on the production of ethanol and other metabolites, more attention is now being paid to ethanol metabolism and the regulation of aerobic metabolism by fermentable and nonfermentable substrates. The utility of yeast as a highly manipulable organism and the discovery that yeast metabolic pathways are subject to the same types of control as those of higher cells open up many opportunities in such diverse areas as molecular evolution and cancer research.     

Inhibition of biosynthesis of Saccharomyces cerevisiae sugar transport system by tunicamycin.

Tunicamycin apparently inhibited the biosynthesis of glucose, galactose, and maltose transport systems in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Under the conditions used, the antibiotic also blocked the biosynthesis of invertase, a well-known yeast glycoprotein, as well as the glycosylation of a marker mannoprotein of the yeast cell wall. However, the antibiotic did not affect certain proteins which did not contain carbohydrate. It seems, therefore, that these sugar carriers are glycoproteins.     

Effects of 2-deoxy-D-glucose on the synthesis of RNA and protein in Saccharomyces carlsbergensis G-517

When Saccharomyces carlsbergensis G-517 was grown in 10 mM galactose as the carbon source, the addition of 2-deoxy-D-glucose restricted the uptake of galactose, [3H]uridine and [3H]leucine, and restricted invertase synthesis (beta-D-fructofuranoside fructohydrolase; EC 3.2.1.26) for a period of 60-90 min. During this time, the radioactive antimetabolite was taken up by the cells; afterwards, invertase synthesis was enhanced, and the utilizaton rate of galactose, [3H]uridine and [3H]leucine increased until it reached that of the control culture. When glucose was used as a carbon source, sugar utilization and uptake of radioactive precursors were unaffected by addition of the deoxysugar.     

Copper uptake by whole cells and protoplasts of a wild-type and copper-resistant strain of Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Abstract A stable copper-resistant mutant of Saccharomyces cerevisiae took up less copper than the wild-type. The use of protoplasts showed that the decreased uptake depended on changed membrane transport properties and not on alterations in the cell wall.