Inhibition of leucine transport in Saccharomyces by S-adenosylmethionine.

S-Adenoxyl-L-methionine (SAM) inhibited leucine transport in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. By using a mutant defective in the active transport of SAM, we demonstrated that the inhibitory effect was exerted at an extracellular site. Cells preincubated wtih SAM for 120 min became refractory to its inhibitory effect, which was not a result of either the active transport or the metabolism of SAM. The quantitative recovery of labeled SAM from the incubation medium indicated that SAM, and not a metabolite, was the true inhibitory molecule. S-Adenosyl-L-homocysteine and S-adenosyl-L-ethionine also functioned as inhibitors of leucine transport, whereas S-adenosyl-D-methionine, S-adenosyl-D-homocystein, 5'-methylthioadenosine, 5'-dimethylthioadenosine, and adenosine lacked this property. Kinetic studies demonstrated that SAM was a competitive inhibitor of leucine transport.