The Role of Polyphosphates in the Transport Mechanism of Glucose in Yeast Cells

Several cations inhibit anaerobic fermentation of glucose by intact yeast cells. Some ions (e.g. Hg(++)) penetrate into the cytoplasm and cause an irreversible inhibition of fermentation. Other ions (e.g. UO(2) (++), Ni(++), and Co(++)) are reversibly bound to a substance at the outside of the yeast cell identified as polyphosphate. Although the cations are bound to exactly the same extent, their influences on fermentation differ greatly. Thorium ions are bound not only to the polyphosphates, but in addition, to phosphatides in the cell membrane. Under circumstances in which glucose is transported into the cell, the amount of polyphosphate in the outer face of the membrane decreases considerably. If yeast is poisoned with monoiodoacetate, the number of glucose molecules that can still be taken up equals the original number of cation-binding sites at the outer surface of the membrane. These data suggest that one molecule of glucose is taken up in connection with the disappearance of one polyphosphate monomer. The hypothesis is framed that the uptake of glucose into the yeast cell is associated with an enzymic phosphorylation (possibly of the carrier), with polyphosphate as phosphate donor. The inhibition of glucose uptake caused by certain metal ions may be the consequence of induced changes in the spatial arrangement of polyphosphate chains; the greater the change in configuration, the larger is the inhibition.