Chapter 2 Inhibitors of Macromolecular Synthesis in Yeast

Abstract

Publisher Summary This chapter focuses on inhibitors of macromolecular synthesis in yeasts. Studies of macromolecular metabolism in eukaryotic cells have been aided by the availability of inhibitors that specifically block nucleic acid or protein synthesis. There are several inhibitors of macromolecular synthesis that have been used in yeasts—for example, actinomycin D suppresses rRNA synthesis at low concentrations, cordycepin prevents the formation of poly A during nuclear mRNA metabolism, and camptothecin is a reversible inhibitor of nuclear RNA synthesis, which allows continued mitochondria1 RNA synthesis. Such inhibitors cannot be used in similar studies of yeasts such as Saccharomyces cerevisiae , because yeasts are impermeable to many drugs. The chapter catalogs the known inhibitors of macromolecular functions that inhibit the growth of yeast and discusses the inhibitors that have been used in physiological studies and their specificity in in vitro systems. The chapter considers the interrelationships among DNA, RNA, and protein synthesis and examines the effects of inhibitors on such interdependent processes in yeasts.