Trehalose synthesis during starvation of baker's yeast

Abstract

1. Trehalose is synthesized in baker's yeast even in the absence of an exogenous carbon source. 2. Glycogen does not contribute substantially to trehalose synthesis. 3. The decrease in the amino acid pool during starvation as well as the requisite of fully derepressed mitochondria, point towards a gluconeogenic pathway of trehalose synthesis under these conditions. 4. The results contribute to the understanding of the “ripening” period which corresponds to the final stage of commercial baker's yeast production in which cells with an optimum balance of yeast properties are formed.