Antimutagenicity in yeast.

In recent years there has been increasing interest in antimutagenesis, and studies have been done using both prokaryotic and eukaryotic systems. In eukaryotic systems the first studies were performed with different strains of Schizosaccharomyces pombe. In particular, caffeine and L-methionine were investigated. Different strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae were employed in studies of a wide variety of compounds, including acridine, saccharin, salts, tumor promoters and co-carcinogens. Strain D7 was widely employed and antimutagenic activity of spermine, chlorophyllin, cobaltous chloride and fermented milk is reported.     

The aconitase of yeast. II. Crystallization and general properties of yeast aconitase.

Yeast aconitase [citrate (isocitrate) hydro-lyase, ED 4.2.1.3], inductively formed by Candida iipolytica in the presence of fluoroacetate, was purified approximately 100-fold by Sephadex G-100 gel filtration and DEAE-Sephadex column chromatography, yielding dark-brown needle crystals. The crystalline aconitase was homogenious as judged by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and sedimentation by ultracentrifugation. The enzyme showed maximal activity at pH 8.0 and at 55 degrees. It has an S20, W of 5.03 S, a molecular weight of 68,500 and an isolectric point of pH 4.2. The presence of 2.10 moles of iron per mole of the enzyme was demonstrated by atomic absorption spectroscopy.     

Thiamine secretion in yeast.

To isolate thiamine excretors and (or) overproducers, 188 cultures belonging to nine yeast and three fungal genera were screened. Nine excreted thiamine as determined by both the presence of cross-feeding zones on a thiamine-free agar medium seeded with a thiamine-requiring yeast strain and by the direct detection of excreted thiamine on agar plates. Several of these cultures produced several-fold more intracellular thiamine than the general culture population. Thiamine-requiring strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae and S. uvarum (carlsbergensis) were identified and were tentatively assigned to 10 complementation groups.     

Computer-aided baker's yeast fermentations.

The economics of yeast production depend heavily upon the cellular yield coefficient on the carbon source and the volumetric productivity of the process. The application of an on-line computer to maximize these two terms during the fermentation requires a continuous method of measuring cell density and growth rate. Unfortunately, a direct sensor for biomass concentration suitable for use in industrial fermentations is not available. Material balancing, with the aid of on-line computer monitoring, offers an indirect method of measurement. Laboratory results from baker's yeast production in a 14-liter fermentor (with a PDP-11/10 computer for on-line analyses) show this indirect measurement technique to be a viable alternative. From the oxygen uptake and carbon dioxide production data, gas flow rate, and ammonia addition rate, the cell density during the fermentation has been estimated and found to compare well with actual fermentation data.     

Glucose repression in yeast.

The Snf1 protein kinase is a central component of the signaling pathway for glucose repression in yeast. Recent studies have addressed the regulation of Snf1 kinase activity and elucidated mechanisms by which Snf1 controls repression and activation of glucose-repressed genes. Important advances include evidence that Snf1 regulates the localization of the Mig1 repressor and that Snf1 functions at multiple points to control Cat8 and Sip4, the activators of gluconeogenic genes.     

Preparation of an inner membrane-matrix fraction from yeast yeast mitochondria.

Treatment of yeast mitochondria with digitonin was used in order to prepare an inner membrane-matrix fraction preserving its permeability properties. The incubation time of mitochondria with digitonin was an essential parameter for the selective solubilization of the outer membrane. The incubation of mitochondria for l min at different concentrations of digitonin led to a three-step release of mitochondrial enzymes: (a) at low concentrations of digitonin, adenylate kinase was released; (b) higher concentrations were required to solubilize kynurenine hydroxylase, an outer membrane marker; (c) inner membrane markers (succinate dehydrogenase and oligomycin-sensitive adenosine triphosphatase) and matrix markers (fumarase and isocitrate dehydrogenase) were significantly released at concentrations of digitonin higher than 0.4 mg/mg of protein. The electron microscopic aspects of yeast mitoplasts (inner membrane-matrix fraction obtained by treatment with 0.4 mg of digitonin) showed an orthodox and a twisted configuration. These new organelles retained respiratory control when assayed with ethanol as the substrate. Their selective permeability properties were preserved as shown by isoosmotic swelling in potassium or ammonium salt solutions.     

Protamine kinase from yeast.

A protein kinase (ATP: protein phosphotransferase, EC 2.7.1.37) which preferentially phosphorylates protamine is purified about 250-fold from the soluble fraction of baker's yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae). This enzyme is not sensitive to activation by cyclic nucleotides. Histone is about 5% as active as protamine in the reaction rate. Neither casein, phosvitin nor glycogen phosphorylase is active as substrate. The enzyme is distinguishable from casein kinase of the classical type (Rabinowitz, M. and Lipmann, F. (1960) J. Biol. Chem. 235, 1043-1050) and from adenoshine 3', 5'-monophosphate-dependent protein kinase described earlier (Takai, Y., Yamamura, H. and Nishizuka, Y. (1974) J. Biol. Chem. 249,530-535).     

The yeast cell cycle.

This review focuses on the G1 regulation of the p34cdc2/CDC28 kinase by cyclin-like proteins, which has substantially altered our understanding of cell cycle control. We discuss advances in elucidating the molecular composition of the mitotic apparatus, an essential step in understanding its cell-cycle-dependent assembly and functions.     

Transfer of yeast artificial chromosomes from yeast to mammalian cells.

Human DNA can be cloned as yeast artificial chromosomes (YACs), each of which contains several hundred kilobases of human DNA. This DNA can be manipulated in the yeast host using homologous recombination and yeast selectable markers. In relatively few steps it is possible to make virtually any change in the cloned human DNA from single base pair changes to deletions and insertions. In order to study the function of the cloned DNA and the effects of the changes made in the yeast, the human DNA must be transferred back into mammalian cells. Recent experiments indicate that large genes can be transferred from the yeast host to mammalian cells in tissue culture and that the genes are transferred intact and are expressed. Using the same methods it may soon be possible to transfer YAC DNA into the mouse germ line so that the expression and function of genes cloned in YACs can be studied in developing and adult mammalian animals.