Comparison of various ways of extraction of nucleic acids and of preparation of yeast extract from saccharomyces cerevisiae and candida utilis

Six different variations of the extraction procedure applied to yeast cells of Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Candida utilis to optimize the production of yeast extract and isolation of nucleic acids were compared. The autolysis of C. utilis at 50 to 52°C without adding chemical agents was found to be the best for the production of yeast extract. The most suitable procedures used for the extraction of nucleic acids were those which were carried out from C. utilis at pH 7.5 (92°C) and the other with 0.4 M NH₄OH (40°C). Both these modifications yielded the highest amounts of polymer nucleic acids. Applying all procedures compared to S. cerevisiae an increased content of sterols (including Δ^5.7-sterols, predominantly ergosterol) was detected.