Growth of a yeast mutant on ring a modified cholesterol derivatives

The ability of cholesterol derivatives without a hydroxyl group or a side-chain, to support the growth of heme and cyclase deficient Saccharomyces cerevisiae mutant GL 7 was tried and found to be in conformity with the results obtained using liposomes. On the other hand, results with other Ring A modified steroids involving saturation or movement of C5-C6 double bond, or isomeric 3-hydroxy-3-methyl cholestane derivatives, indicated that even minor structural variations can cause considerable changes in their growth supporting potential. The consequence of such structural variations need not be obviated by studies using liposomes or vesicles.