The patterns of utilization and accumulation of polyphosphates in the cytosol of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae under inactivation of exopolyphosphatase genes PPX1 and PPN1

Abstract

The effect of inactivation of the PPX1 and PPN1 genes encoding the yeast exopolyphosphatases on the activities of these enzymes and polyphosphate content in the cytosol of Saccharomyces cerevisiae was studied under Pi deficit and Pi excess in the cultivation medium. Under Pi deficit, exopolyphosphatase activity in strain CRN (with inactivated PPN1 gene) and in the parent strain CRY increased 3- and 1.5-fold, respectively. In the strain CRX (with inactivated PPX1 gene), exopolyphosphatase activity did not change under Pi deficit. Transfer from Pi-deficient to Pi-rich medium was accompanied by an ∼1.7-fold increase of exopolyphosphatase activities in the cytosol preparations of strains CRY, CRX, and CRN. In the cytosol of the double mutant, exopolyphosphatase activity was practically absent under all of the above cultivation conditions. The content of polyphosphates in the cytosol preparations of all strains under study substantially decreased under Pi deficit. Transfer from Pi-deficient to Pi-rich medium was accompanied by polyphosphate over-accumulation only in the cytosol preparations of stains CRX and CNX, where their levels increased ∼1.3 and 3.5-fold, respectively. No over-accumulation was observed in the parent strain CRY and in the PPN1-deficient strain CRN. These data suggest that the exopolyphosphatases encoded by the PPX1 and PPN1 genes are not involved in polyphosphate synthesis.