Activation of the Alternative Oxidase of Yarrowia lipolytica by Adenosine Monophosphate

The study of the effect of nucleoside phosphates on the activity of cyanide-resistant oxidase in the mitochondria and the submitochondrial particles of Yarrowia lipolytica showed that adenosine-5-monophosphate (AMP) did not stimulate the respiration of the intact mitochondria. The incubation of the mitochondria at room temperature (25°) for 3–5 h or their treatment with ultrasound, phospholipase A, and the detergent Triton X-100 at a low temperature inactivated the cyanide-resistant alternative oxidase. The inactivated alternative oxidase could be reactivated by AMP. The reactivating effect of AMP was enhanced by azolectin. Some other nucleoside phosphates also showed reactivating ability, in the following descending order: AMP = GMP > GDP > GTP > XMP > IMP. The apparent reaction rate constant K _m for AMP upon the reactivation of the alternative oxidase of mitochondria treated with Triton X-100 or incubated at 25°C was 12.5 and 20 M, respectively. The K _m for AMP upon the reactivation of the alternative oxidase of submitochondrial particles was 15 M. During the incubation of yeast cells under conditions promoting the development of alternative oxidase, the content of adenine nucleotides (AMP, ADP, and ATP) in the cells and their respiration tended to decrease. The subsequent addition of cyanide to the cells activated their respiration, diminished the intracellular content of ATP by three times, and augmented the content of AMP by five times. These data suggest that the stimulation of cell respiration by cyanide may be due to the activation of alternative oxidase by AMP.