Effects of α-Glycerophosphate and of Palmityl-Coenzyme A on Lipid Synthesis in Yeast Extracts

Abstract

White, David (Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif.), and Harold P. Klein . Effects of α-glycerophosphate and of palmityl-coenzyme A on lipid synthesis in yeast extracts. J. Bacteriol. 91: 1218–1223. 1966.—The incorporation of acetate into fatty acids, but not into nonsaponifiable lipids, was stimulated by α-glycerophosphate in a supernatant fraction of Saccharomyces cerevisiae , obtained after centrifugation at 86,000 × g for 60 min. There was a pronounced effect at concentrations below 2 m m , but at concentrations above 5 m m α-glycerophosphate was relatively less stimulatory. α-Glycerophosphate markedly increased the percentage of esterified fatty acids among the products, and the formation of both saturated and unsaturated fatty acids was stimulated. Palmityl-coenzyme A inhibited fatty acid synthesis, affecting the formation of unsaturated acids more severely than saturated acids. In the presence of sufficient α-glycerophosphate to alleviate these inhibitions, palmityl-coenzyme A still reduced the formation of certain unsaturated fatty acids.