Energetics of the effect of acetic acid on growth of Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

In batch cultures of a respiratory deficient mutant of Saccharomyces cerevisiae the maximum specific growth rate and the yield coefficient decreased, but the specific glucose consumption rate increased, in the presence of acetic acid. The ATP yield decreased from approximately 14 to 4 g biomass (mol ATP)(-1) when the concentration of acetic acid increased from 0 to 170 mM. Intracellular acidification was much weaker than previously reported for non-adapted cells. A linear relation was obtained between the ATP specific production rate and the uptake rate of acetic acid, suggesting that about 1 mol ATP is consumed per mol of acetic acid diffusing into the cells.