Effect of n-alcohols on the electrotransformation and permeability of Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

The correlation between electrotransformation and electropermeability was studied in yeast cells following the modification of their membranes by treatment with n-alcohols. It was found that the number of transformed cells decreased with increase of chain length of the alcohols used as follows: methanol < ethanol < propanol < butanol. The electropermeability was unaffected by the prepulse n-alcohol treatment. The lack of a unidirectional link between permeability and transformation leads to the assumption that the mechanism of DNA introduction into the cell could not be interpreted solely as a result of the existence of pores.