Lipid composition of subcellular membranes of an FY1679-derived haploid yeast wild-type strain grown on different carbon sources.

The aim of the project EUROFAN (European Functional Analysis Network) is to elucidate the function of unknown genes of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae at a large scale. Functional analysis is based on general and specific tests with yeast deletion strains. A prerequisite for these studies is a profound knowledge of the biochemistry and cell biology of the corresponding wild-type strain FY1679. As a contribution from our laboratory we present here a systematic lipid analysis of the major organelles isolated from FY1679 grown in the presence of different carbon sources. Phospholipid, sterol and fatty acid composition are characteristic for each organelle. Moreover, growth of the yeast on glucose, ethanol or lactate causes in some cases marked changes of the organelle lipid pattern. As the most prominent example, cultivation of the yeast on non-fermentable carbon sources results in an increase of mitochondrial cardiolipin. As another example, the ratio of unsaturated to saturated fatty acids is enhanced in cells grown on ethanol or lactate as compared to glucose. Thus, the lipid composition of yeast subcellular membranes reflects in a significant way the nutrient conditions caused by variation of the carbon source.