Abstract
Folate, vitamin B9, is well recognized as being essential for cell growth. The utilization of folate is common to all cells, but the source of it may be quite different. For example, mammalian cells depend on exogenous uptake of folates, while plants and microbes can synthesize them. There has been little consideration of uptake of folate in microbial cells, and studies on the effects of folates in mammalian cells, where conditions are restricted. This study shows that exogenous folates (folic acid or folinic acid), causes Candida glabrata cells suspended in water alone to undergo two cycles of cell division and to form multiple buds. The effect was limited to cells in the stationary phase and more profound in quiescent cells. These data indicate a novel response of yeast to folates that may increase the utility of yeast as a model to study folate transport and signaling.
Highlights
The effect on cell proliferation caused by folates was limited to the cells in stationary phase and no effect was detected on cells growing in exponential phase
Induction of cell proliferation by folates was Exogenous folate effects on yeast growth limited to quiescent cells with a significant increase in the number of cells in the presence of 100 μM of folic acid (P < 0.01) and folinic acid (P < 0.05)
In the present study we investigated the influence of folates on yeast cells in the absence of nutrients
Summary
Mammalian cells cannot synthesize folates and are dependent on folates in their diet, utilising receptors and transporters to deliver them into cells. Plants and microbes synthesise folates de novo and should have no need for the uptake of folates and for folate transporters and receptors. Yeast with folate synthesis genes deleted, demonstrate that folate, or the cellular processes depending on it are essential [1, 2]. These yeast deletion strains can be grown in media containing folinic acid or folic acid, or through the addition of adenine, methionine, histidine and thymidine monophosphate, using a TUP1 strain that contains a thymidine uptake mutation
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