Purification and Properties of Bakers' Yeast Trehalase.

Since recent surveys of insect hemolymph (1, 2) have shown that trehalose is the major blood sugar, the hydrolytic enzyme trehalase has also awakened the interest of investigators. A purified preparation of the enzyme from Galleria mellonella (3) and from Phormia regina (4) was recently obtained and some of its properties described. The biosynthesis of trehalose with an enzyme preparation from brewers’ yeast (5) and from bakers’ yeast (6) has been accomplished. One of us (7) has also determined the function of trehalose in bakers’ yeast as an energy source for cell division, compared to that of trehalose of insects, in which it serves as an energy source for flight. Yeast trehalase, however, has never been purified because the bulk of it remains strongly attached to the cell debris, and only a small part is soluble (8, 9). Autolysis, therefore, does not liberate enough enzyme to permit more than a 4to 5-fold purification. The aim of this report is to present a purification procedure for bakers’ yeast trehalase and to describe some of its properties.