J. Horák

Transport protein synthesis in non-growing yeast cells

Abstract Addition of a metabolizable substrate (glucose, ethanol and, to a degree, trehalose) to non-growing bakers yeast cells causes a boost of protein synthesis, reaching maximum rate 20 min after addition of glucose and 40–50 min after ethanol or trehalose addition. The synthesis involves that of transport proteins for various solutes which appear in the following sequence: H+, l -proline, sulfate, l -leucine, phosphate, α-methyl- d -glucoside, 2-aminoisobutyrate. With the exception of the phosphate transport system, the Kt of the synthesized systems is the same as before stimulation. Glucose is usually the best stimulant, but ethanol matches it in the case of sulfate and exceeds it in the case of proline. This may be connected with ethanols stimulating the synthesis of transport proteins both in mitochondria and in the cytosol while glucose acts on cytosolic synthesis alone. The stimulation is often repressed by ammonium ions (leucine, proline, sulfate, H+), by antimycin (proline, trehalose, sulfate, H+), by iodoacetamide (all systems tested), and by anaerobic preincubation (leucine, proline, trehalose, sulfate). It is practically absent in a respiration-deficient petite mutant, only little depressed in the op1 mutant lacking ADP/ATP exchange in mitochondria, but totally suppressed (with the exception of transport of phosphate) in a low-phosphorus strain. The addition of glucose causes a drop in intracellular inorganic monophosphate by 30%, diphosphate by 45%, ATP by 70%, in total amino acids by nearly 50%, in transmembrane potential (absolute value) by about 50%, an increase of high-molecular-weight polyphosphate by 65%, of total cAMP by more than 100%, in the endogenous respiration rate by more than 100%, and a change of intracellular pH from 6.80 to 7.05. Ethanol caused practically no change in ATP, total amino acids, endogenous respiration, intracellular pH or transmembrane potential; a slight decrease in inorganic monophosphate and diphosphate and a sizeable increase in high-molecular-weight polyphosphate. The synthesis of the various transport proteins thus appears to draw its energy from different sources and with different susceptibility to inhibitors. It is much more stimulated in facultatively aerobic species (Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Endomyces magnusii) than in strictly aerobic ones (Rhodotorula glutinis, Candida parapsilosis) where an inhibition of transport activity is often observed after preincubation with metabolizable substrates.

Transport of acyclic polyols inSaccharomyces cerevisiae

Acyclic polyols (erythritol, xylitol, ribitol, D-arabinitol, mannitol, sorbitol and galactitol) are not metabolized bySaccharomyces cerevisiae. They are taken up by a fast non-active process, reaching 402–70% distribution referred to total cell water. The uptake is insensitive to temperature, pH (between 4 and 8), 2,4-dinitrophenol and uranyl ions. Its initial rate rises linearly with concentration from 10-5M to 1m. The process resembles simple diffusion through large pores or the trapping of the whole solution ont he surface. Protoplasts behave like whole cells in this respect. Only erythritol shows a second type of uptake which is inhibitor-insensitive but temperature-dependent.

Energization of sulfate transport in yeast

Abstract Sulfate uptake by Saccharomyces cerevisiae is stimulated about 12-fold by preincubation of cells with 1% d -glucose or 1% ethanol. The K T remains unchanged (0.34–0.38 mM), the J mar increase from 18–20 to 195–230 and 170–185 nmol/min per g dry wt., respectively, after glucose and ethanol preincubation. The stimulation involves protein synthesis (it is suppressed by cycloheximide), has a half-time of 18 min and requires mitochondrial respiration (no or low effect in respiration-deficient mutants and those lacking ADP-ATP transport in mitochondria, as well as after anaerobic preincubation of the wild-type strain, and in low-phosphate cells). The presence of NH4+ and some amino acids (e.g., leucine, aspartate, cysteine and methionine) depressed the stimulation while that of cationic amino acids (typically arginine and lysine) and of K+ increased it by 50–80%. The stimulated (i.e., newly synthesized) transport system was degraded with a half-life of about 10 min.

Anomalous uptake ofd-ribose byRhodotorula gracilis

Abstractd-Ribose was found to enter the cells ofRhodotorula gracilis by a mechanism resembling simple diffusion (proportionality between rate and concentration, no effect of inhibitors, of temperature, of other sugars) at concentrations from 0.001 to 10mm. With a lag of about 1 hour,d-ribose was oxidized and, with a lag of about 20 hours, it could serve as a growth substrate. The transport step appears to be rate-limiting for the subsequent metabolic processes. The oxidation was stimulated byd-xylose but unaffected byd-glucose.

Energetics of l-proline uptake by Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Abstract l -Proline is transported into the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae against a concentration gradient of up to 135:1, the gradient decreasing with increasing proline concentration and suspension density. The concentrative uptake is practically unaffected by inhibitors, except antimycin. It is markedly reduced by anaerobic conditions. Uptake of l -proline, either by normal cells or in the presence of inhibitors, elicits no alkalification of the medium (estimated by pH and conductivity measurements) and no membrane depolarization (estimated by distribution of tetraphenylphosphonium). There is no relationship between the electrochemical potential gradient of protons and the measured accumulation ratios of proline. Likewise, intracellular ATP levels bear little relation to the accumulation. If, based on analogy with other yeasts and bacteria, l -proline is symported with H + ions the process must occur in local domains of the membrane where both the ΔpH and the membrane potential may differ substantially from those measured in the bulk solution.

Stimulation of amino acid transport inSaccharomyces cerevisiae by metabolic inhibitors

Inhibitors of energy metabolism (3-ohlorophenylhydrazonomalononitrile, antimycin A, iodoacetamide, dicyclohexylcarbodiimide) but not of transport (uranyl ions) stimulate at low concentrations the uptake ofl-leucine,l-glutamic acid,l-argimne and, to a lesser degree, of 2-aminoisobutyric acid inSaccharomyces cerevisiae. The effect is apparent only after augmenting the energy reserves of cells by preincubation withd-glueose or, more strikingly, with ethanol. It is absent in a mutant (op1) lacking the translocation system for ADP-ATP in mitochondria. The presence of two different energy reserves for amino acid transport is indicated (one in energy-poor, the other in energy-rich cells). The stimulating effect appears to be caused by a retarded degradation of the transport proteins as occurs at a lowered level of mitochondria-produced ATP.

Peculiarities of amino acid transport inSchizosaccharomyces pombe: Effects of growth medium

Transport systems for amino acids in the wild-type strain ofSchizosaccharomyces pombe are not constitutive. During growth on different media no transport of acidic, neutral and basic amino acids is detectable. To acquire the ability to transport amino acids, cells must be preincubated with a metabolic source of energy, such as glucose. The appearance of transport activity is associated with protein synthesis (suppression by cycloheximide) at all phases of culture growth. After such preincubation the initial rate of amino acid uptake depends on the phase of growth of the culture and on the amount of glucose in the growth medium but not on the nitrogen source used.l-Proline and 2-aminoisobutyric acid are practically not transported under any of the conditions tested.

Specificity of trans-inhibition of amino acid transport in baker's yeast.

The trans-inhibition potency of intracellular amino acids on the transport of various amino acids follows the same sequence,viz. Pro(Lys), Phe, Glu, Ala, Gly, Leu, and α-aminoisobutyric acid. The same sequence was found for the reciprocal of trans-inhibition constants. It appears that the intracellular amino acid itself or a derivative thereof acts on a component that is common to all amino acid transport systems of baker’s yeast.

Possible role of histidine in the l-proline transport system of Saccharomyces cerevisiae

The L-proline transport system of Saccharomyces cerevisiae is shown to be specifically inactivated upon incubation of intact yeast cells with the histidine modifier diethylpyrocarbonate. The extent of inactivation is half-maximum at 0.5 mM diethylpyrocarbonate for an incubation of 2 min at 30 degrees C and pH 6.0. Under the same conditions, the time dependence of inactivation is monophasic with the second-order rate constant of 5.5 M-1 X s-1 and the maximum rate Jmax of L-proline transport is lowered by about 50%, while the KT value remains unchanged. Moreover, L-proline afforded significant protection against diethylpyrocarbonate inactivation. The complete reactivation of a partially inactivated L-proline transport system by neutral hydroxylamine and the elimination of the possibility that the modification of other amino acid residues are responsible for the inactivation, suggested that the transport protein inactivation occurs solely by a modification of histidine residues.

Protein transport and compartmentation in yeast.

Many newly synthesized proteins must be translocated across one or more membranes to reach their destination in the individual organelles or membrane systems. Translocation, mostly requiring an energy source, a signal on the protein itself, loose conformation of the protein and the presence of cytosolic and/or membrane receptor-like proteins, is often accompanied by covalent modifications of transported proteins. In this review I discuss these aspects of protein transportvia the classical secretory pathway and/or special translocation mechanisms in the unicellular eukaryotic organismSaccharomyces cerevisiae.