Hydroxylase regulation in Candida tropicalis grown on alkanes.

Candida tropicalis synthesizes a hydroxylase (3 to 5 nmol of product formed per minute per milligram of protein) and a cytochrome P-450 (0.10 to 0.13 nmol per milligram of protein) during growth on n-tetradecane. A three- to four-fold increase in the level of NADPH cytochrome c reductase is also observed in those cells as compared to the level of cells grown on glycerol. The most efficient inducers of the hydroxylase and of cytochrome P-450 are straight-chain alkanes having at least 10 carbon atoms. Alkenes and higher alcohols are also good inducers. There is little or no growth on ramified hydrocarbons such as pristane and on long-chain aldehydes and fatty acids. The partial inhibition of growth on decane is probably due to the denaturation of the microsomal electron carrier systems by the fatty acid formed by hydroxylation of the decane in the yeast.