Amino acid transport: its role in cell division and growth of Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells.

The transport of six amino acids was studied in exponentially growing and G1 arrested temperature sensitive mutants of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The uptake of three amino acids viz. Gly, Ala and Val was selectively reduced in G1 arrested cells. The reduction in transport was only noticeable when cdc 28 mutant cells were arrested at their non-permissive temperature. Cdc 28 is known to arrest at the point of commitment to the cell cycle 'start'. The uptake, however, was unaffected in G1 arrested cdc 4 and cdc 7 cells. The wild type cells (A364A) when arrested at stationary phase, also demonstrated the reduction in the uptake of Ala and Val. It appears that amino acid transport may be involved in growth and cell division of Saccharomyces cerevisiae.