Relationship between fluidity and L-alanine transport in a fatty acid auxotroph of Saccharomyces cerevisiae

The influence of the physical state of membrane on L-alanine uptake has been investigated in Saccharomyces cerevisiae KD115, an unsaturated fatty acid auxotrophic mutant. By monitoring the unsaturation index and steady state fluorescence polarization of 1,6 diphenyl hexatriene (DPH), it was observed that at mid log phase the membrane fluidity increased with an increase in the number of double bonds of supplemented fatty acid. Arrhenius plots of the velocities for L-alanine transport in cells grown on palmitoleate, oleate, linoleate and linolenate were biphasic and dependent on supplemented unsaturated fatty acid. Results illustrate a correlation between membrane fluidity and shift in transition points. Further, results confirm the role of fatty acyl milieu in regulation of transport activity of S. cerevisiae.