Isolation and characterization of the liponucleotides of Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

The liponucleotide fraction of Saccharomyces cerevisiae was isolated from cells grown on tritiated uracil and identified as CDPdiacylglycerol on the basis of (1), its behavior as a single compound upon DEAE-cellulose and thin-layer chromatography; (2), its extreme lability to mild alkaline methanolysis; and (3), its hydrolysis by the CDPdiacylglycerol hydrolase of Escherichia coli to yield tritiated 5'-CMP. At most, only about 5% of yeast liponucleotide could be dCDPdiacylglycerol, in contrast to the presence of nearly equimolar amounts of CDP-and dCDPdiacylglycerols in E. coli. Although no CDPceramide could be detected in the liponucleotide fraction of this organism, the possibility still exists that it may be an intermediate in the biosynthesis of sphingolipids in systems yet to be examined.