Lipid composition of 30 species of yeast

Abstract

The detailed composition of cellular lipid of more than 23 species of yeast has been determined quantitatively by thinchrography on quartz rods, a method previously used for estimating cellular lipids of seven species of yeast. That data was fortified by neutral and phospholipid quantitations on 30 species of yeast cells. Most of the test organisms contained 7-15% total lipid and 3-6% total phospholipid per dry cell weight, except for the extremely high accumulation of triglycerides in two species of Lipomyces. Qualitatively, 30 species of yeast cells contained similar neutral lipid constituents (triglyceride, sterol ester, free fatty acid, and free sterol) and polar lipid components (phosphatidyl choline, phosphatidyl ehtanolamine, phosphatidyl serine, phosphatidyl inositol, cardiolipin, and ceramide monohexoside) without minor constituents. Based on the quantitative composition of neutral lipids, the 30 species of yeast were divided into two groups , the triglyceride predominant group and the sterol derivative group. These groupings were fairly well overlapped from the standpoint of the distribution characteristics of fatty acid. The relative polar lipid compositions also grossly resembled each other. Only one exception of polar lipid composition in yeast cells was found in Rhodotorula rubra species which contained phosphatidyl ethanolamine as the most abundant phospholipid. Fatty acid distribution patterns in yeast cells consistently coincided with other reports concerning fatty acid composition of yeast cells. Correlation of lipid composition and classification of yeasts are suggested and discussed.

Effect of antifungal agents on lipid biosynthesis and membrane integrity in Candida albicans

“…It was similar to that reported for C. albicans (19,32,45) and Saccharomyces cerevisiae (13 Table 3). Naftifine and tolnaftate, at 10 and 100 p.M, respectively, inhibited sterol biosynthesis by 70% and caused a 10-fold accumulation of squalene.…”

Distribution of pyrophosphatidic acid in yeast species.

“…ITOH and KANEKO (14) reported that pyro-PA was detected in Kb. apiculata, but this phospholipid was not found in the same strain in the following study (15). In this study, pyro-PA was not found in 3 strains of Kb.…”

“…ITOH and KANEKO (13) reported that pyrophosphatidic acid [P,P-bis-(1,2-diacyl-sn-glycero-3)-pyrophosphate] (pyro-PA), was first found in the cellular lipid of Cryptococcus neoformans (13), and was also found in 2 strains of Cryptococcus, 2 of Rhodotorula, and 1 of Trichosporon (14,15). This paper describes the distribution of pyro-PA in ascomycetous and basidiomycetous yeast species (241 strains belonging to 167 species of 43 genera), and suggests that the presence of pyro-PA in yeast species is significant in yeast taxonomy.…”

Lipids of Candida albicans: subcellular distribution and biosynthesis

“…For Candida albicans, there are reports on the lipid composition of the plasma membrane and cell wall (Marriott, 1975), variation in lipid composition associated with dimorphism (Ghannoum et al, 1986), and the effect of antifungal agents on lipids (Singh et al, 1979). Total lipid content ranges from 7% to 32% in various species of Candida (Kaneko et al, 1976). Phosphatidylcholine (PC), p hosphatidylethanolamine (PE), p hosp hatidylserine (PS) and phosphatidylinositol (PI) represent the major phospholipids, while triglycerides, free sterols, esterified sterols and free fatty acids are the major neutral lipids (Henry et al, 1981;Kaneko et al, 1976).…”

“…Total lipid content ranges from 7% to 32% in various species of Candida (Kaneko et al, 1976). Phosphatidylcholine (PC), p hosphatidylethanolamine (PE), p hosp hatidylserine (PS) and phosphatidylinositol (PI) represent the major phospholipids, while triglycerides, free sterols, esterified sterols and free fatty acids are the major neutral lipids (Henry et al, 1981;Kaneko et al, 1976). Although C. albicans lipids have been studied in detail, information on lipid biosynthesis is meagre and variation in lipid content among different strains has not been studied.…”