Accumulation of Neutral Lipids in Saccharomyces carlsbergensis by myo-Inositol Deficiency and Its Mechanism

The abnormal accumulation of lipids due to myo-inositol deficiency in Saccharomyces carlsbergensis, and the mechanism involved was investigated. The deficient cells contained much more neutral lipids with a greater ratio of unsaturated fatty acids compared to the supplemented cells, whereas there was no significant change in their phospholipid contents. The biosynthesis of fatty acids and sterols from acetate, and of triacylglycerols and sterol esters from palm&ate was markedly augmented in the deficient cells. Acetyl-CoA carboxylase activity of the deficient supernatant was 2to 5-fold higher than that of the supplemented. However, the activity from both sources was not significantly different after Sephadex G-25 gel filtration of the supernatant, suggesting the presence of low molecular effector in the deficient supernatant. There was a great increase in acid-soluble glycogen, trehalose, and fructose-1,6-P,, as well as a drastic decrease in citrate in the deficient cells. Their intracellular levels were calculated so that their effects on acetyl-CoA carboxylase was examined over the range of physiological concentration. Citrate strongly inhibited the enzyme activity of the supernatant, but it had no effect on the preparation after gel filtration. On the other hand, fructose-1,6-Pz stimulated the enzyme activity both before and after gel filtration. The acetyl-CoA carboxylase activity in the gel filtrate was measured as a function of citrate concentration at several fixed concentrations of fructose-1,6-P*. Citrate counteracted the activation by fructose-1,6-P, in a dose-dedpendent manner. Citrate lacked the inhibitory effect in the absence of fructose-1,6-P*. It was concluded from these results that neutral lipid accumulation in the deficient cells reflected an increase in the synthesis of fatty acids, at least partly based on an enhancement of acetyl-CoA carboxylase activity, and that the operation of a reciprocal regulation of the enzyme by fructose-1,6-P, and citrate caused a marked elevation of the enzyme activity in the deficient cells with a high fructose-1,6-P, level and a low citrate level.