Excretion of anthranilate and 3-hydroxyanthranilate by Saccharomyces cerevisiae: relationship to iron metabolism.

Resting suspensions of cells of Saccharomyces cerevisiae grown in iron-rich or iron-deficient conditions were studied by following the fluorescence emission changes (lambda em. 400-460 nm, lambda exc. 300-340 nm) occurring in these suspensions upon addition of glucose and ferric iron. The results show that, in addition to NAD(P)H, metabolites of the aromatic amino acid pathway interfere with the fluorescence measurements, and that they could be involved in ferric iron reduction. Wild-type strains of S. cerevisiae are known to excreted anthranilic acid and 3-hydroxyanthranilic acid in response to glucose. The major fluorescing compound excreted by a chorismate-mutase-deficient mutant strain of S. cerevisiae was identified as anthranilic acid. The excretion of anthranilic and 3-hydroxyanthranilic acids was correlated with the ferric-reducing capacity of the extracellular medium. Excretion during growth was much greater by cells cultured in iron-rich medium than by cells grown in iron-deficient medium. The possibility was examined that a link could exist between the biosynthesis of aromatics and the ferri-reductase activity of the cells, via chorismate synthase and its putative diaphorase-associated activity. Two ferri-reductase-deficient mutants excreted much less 3-hydroxyanthranilate than did the parental wild-type strains. However, the ferri-reductase activity of a chorismate-synthase-deficient mutant was comparable to that of the parental strain.