Morphologically intact structures have been isolated from anaerobically grown yeast cells which have many of the properties of yeast mitochondria. The structures are about 0.5 µ in diameter and contain malate dehydrogenase, succinate dehydrogenase, oligomycin-sensitive ATPase, and DNA of buoyant density 1.683 g/cc, characteristic of yeast mitochondria. The morphology of the structures is critically dependent on their lipid composition. When isolated from cells grown anaerobically in the presence of supplements of unsaturated fatty acid and ergosterol, their unsaturated fatty acid content is similar to that of mitochondria from aerobically grown cells. These lipid-complete structures consist pre-dominantly of double-membrane vesicles enclosing a dense matrix which contains a folded inner membrane system bordering electron-transparent regions which are somewhat different from the cristae of functional mitochondria. In contrast, the structures from cells grown without lipid supplements are much simpler in morphology; they have a dense granular matrix surrounded by a double membrane but have no obvious folded inner membrane system within the matrix. The lipid-depleted structures are very fragile and are only isolated in intact form from protoplasts that have been prefixed with glutaraldehyde

Growth under conditions of oxygen restriction results in a generalized decrease in the definition of the mitochondrial membranes, a decrease in the mitochondrial cytochromes, and a decrease in citric acid cycle enzymes of the obligate aerobic yeast Candida parapsilosis . Addition of unsaturated fatty acids and ergosterol to cultures exposed to limited oxygen results in improved definition of the mitochondrial membranes and an increase in the total mitochondrial cytochrome content of the cells. Euflavine completely inhibits mitochondrial protein synthesis in vitro. Its in vivo effect is to cause the formation of giant mitochondrial profiles with apparently intact outer membranes and modified internal membranes; the cristae (in-folds) appear only as apparently disorganized remnants while the remainder of the inner membrane seems intact. Cytochromes a , a 3 , b , and c 1 are not synthesized by the cells in the presence of euflavine. Ethidium appears to have effects identical to those of euflavine, whereas chloramphenicol, lincomycin, and erythromycin have similar effects in principle but they are less marked. The effects of all the inhibitors are freely reversible after removal of the drugs. The results are discussed in terms of a functionally three-membrane model of the mitochondrion. In addition, the phylogenetic implications of the observed differences between this organism and the facultative anaerobic yeasts are considered.

Yeast cells grown anaerobically have been shown to vary in their ultrastructure and absorption spectrum depending upon the composition of the growth medium. The changes observed in the anaerobically grown cells are governed by the availability of unsaturated fatty acids and ergosterol and a catabolite or glucose repression. All the cells contain nuclear and plasma membranes, but the extent of the occurrence of vacuolar and mitochondrial membranes varies greatly with the growth conditions. Cells grown anaerobically on the least nutritive medium, composed of 0.5% Difco yeast extract-5% glucose-inorganic salts (YE-G), appear to contain little vacuolar membrane and no clearly recognizable mitochondrial profiles. Cells grown anaerobically on the YE-G medium supplemented with Tween 80 and ergosterol contain clearly recognizable vacuolar membrane and some mitochondrial profiles, albeit rather poorly defined. Cells grown on YE-G medium supplemented only with Tween 80 are characterized by the presence of large amounts of cytoplasmic membrane in addition to vacuolar membrane and perhaps some primitive mitochondrial profiles. When galactose replaces glucose as the major carbon source in the medium, the mitochondrial profiles within the cytoplasm become more clearly recognizable and their number increases. In aerobically grown cells, the catabolite repression also operates to reduce the total number of mitochondrial profiles. The possibility is discussed that cells grown anaerobically on the YE-G medium may not contain mitochondrial membrane and, therefore, that such cells, on aeration, form mitochondrial membrane from nonmitochondrial sources. A wide variety of absorption compounds is observed in anaerobically grown cells which do not correspond to any of the classical aerobic yeast cytochromes. The number and relative proportions of these anaerobic compounds depend upon the composition of the growth medium, the most complex spectrum being found in cells grown in the absence of lipid supplements.

The growth conditions known to influence the occurrence of mitochondrial profiles and other cell membrane systems in anaerobic cells of S. cerevisiae have been examined, and the effect of the several growth media on the lipid composition of the organism has been determined. The anaerobic cell type containing neither detectable mitochondrial profiles nor the large cell vacuole may be obtained by the culture of the organism on growth-limiting levels of the lipids, ergosterol, and unsaturated fatty acids. Under these conditions, the organism has a high content of short-chain saturated fatty acids (10:0, 12:0), phosphatidyl choline, and squalene, compared with aerobically grown cells, and it is especially low in phosphatidyl ethanolamine and the glycerol phosphatides (phosphatidyl glycerol + cardiolipin). The high levels of unsaturated fatty acids normally found in the phospholipids of the aerobic cells are largely replaced by the short-chain saturated acids, even though the phospholipid fraction contains virtually all of the small amounts of unsaturated fatty acid present in the anaerobic cells. Such anaerobic cells may contain as little as 0.12 mg of ergosterol per g dry weight of cells while the aerobic cells contain about 6 mg of ergosterol per g dry weight. Anaerobic cell types containing mitochondrial profiles can be obtained by the culture of the organism in the presence of excess quantities of ergosterol and unsaturated fatty acids. Such cells have increased levels of total phospholipid, ergosterol, and unsaturated fatty acids, although these compounds do not reach the levels found in aerobic cells. The level of ergosterol in anaerobic cells is markedly influenced by the nature of the carbohydrate in the medium; those cells grown on galactose media supplemented with ergosterol and unsaturated fatty acids have well defined mitochondrial profiles and an ergosterol content (2 mg per g dry weight of cells) three times that of equivalent glucose-grown cells which have poorly defined organelle profiles. Anaerobic cells which are low in ergosterol synthesize increased amounts of squalene.

The effects of chloramphenicol on S. cerevisiae and on a cytoplasmic respiratory-deficient mutant derived from the same strain are compared. In the normal yeast, high concentrations of chloramphenicol in the growth medium completely inhibit the formation of cytochromes a, a 3 , b , and c 1 and partially inhibit succinate dehydrogenase formation, whereas they do not affect cytochrome c synthesis. This has been correlated with the marked reduction of mitochondrial cristae formation in the presence of the drug. In glucose-repressed normal yeast, chloramphenicol has little effect on the formation of outer mitochondrial membrane, or on the synthesis of malate dehydrogenase and fumarase. However, both these enzymes, as well as the number of mitochondrial profiles, are markedly decreased when glucose de-repressed yeast is grown in the presence of chloramphenicol. The antibiotic did not appear to affect the cytoplasmic respiratory-deficient mutant. The results have been interpreted to indicate that chloramphenicol inhibits the protein-synthesizing system characteristic of the mitochondria. Since the drug does not prevent the formation of cytochrome c , of several readily solubilized mitochondrial enzymes, or of outer mitochondrial membrane, it is suggested that these are synthesized by nonmitochondrial systems.

A specially designed high-speed blendor and glass beads have been used to disintegrate yeast cells. The method enables large quantities of cells to be fragmented quickly at low temperature, and cell-free mitochondrial particles to be prepared in high yield. The particles are isolated in a sucrose-Tris-EDTA medium and extensively refractionated in the same medium. The success of the fractionation is dependent upon the presence of the Tris buffer, as the latter prevents the aggregation of the particulate material. Two morphologically and enzymatically different particle types have been obtained: a heavy fraction corresponding to mitochondria in size and internal organization, and a light fraction consisting of vesicular, single-membrane particles of a smaller size. The light particles oxidize DPNH and succinate, but do not oxidize pyruvate-malate, and lack the capacity for phosphorylation. The heavy particles oxidize pyruvate-malate as well as the citric acid cycle intermediates, although their α-ketoglutaric dehydrogenase activity is low. Oxidation by the heavy particles is coupled to phosphorylation, and P/O ratios of about 1.5 have been obtained. Lactic acid dehydrogenase is also present in the heavy fraction, and lactate is oxidized with a P/O ratio of about 0.7.

Vegetative cells of Saccharomyces cerevisiae were fixed with potassium permanganate followed by uranyl nitrate, embedded in methacrylate, and studied in electron micrographs of thin sections. Details of the structure of the cell wall, cytoplasmic membrane, nucleus, vacuole, and mitochondria are described. Cell membranes, about 70 to 80 A thick, have been resolved into two dense layers, 20 to 25 A thick, separated by a light layer of the same dimensions, which correspond in thickness and appearance to the components of the "unit membrane" as described by Robertson (15). The cell wall is made up of zones of different electron opacity. Underlying the cell wall is the cytoplasmic membrane, a sinuous structure with numerous invaginations. The nucleoplasm, often of uneven electron opacity, is enclosed in a pair of unit membranes in which nuclear pores are apparent. The vacuole, limited by a single unit membrane, is usually irregular in outline and contains some dense material. Rod-shaped mitochondria, 0.4 to 0.6 µ in length and 0.2 to 0.3 µ in diameter, are smaller in size, but similar in structure to some of those described in plant and animal cells. Attempts to use osmium tetroxide as fixative were unsuccessful, a result similar to that obtained by other workers. It is suggested that yeast cells are impermeable to osmium tetroxide, except when grown under specific conditions.