General and specific controls of lysine biosynthesis in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Six of the eight enzymes of the alpha-aminoadipate pathway for the biosynthesis of lysine in Saccharomyces cerevisiae were examined for repressibility to lysine and for susceptibility to the general control of amino acid biosynthesis. All of the enzymes exhibited a 2 to 4 fold lower level of specific activity in the wildtype strain X2180 when grown in lysine supplemented medium as compared to minimal medium. However, levels of only three of the enzymes, alpha-aminoadipate reductase, saccharopine reductase, and saccharopine dehydrogenase, were derepressed in the leaky lysine mutant 7305d and leaky arginine mutant 7853-6c when grown in minimal medium. These observations are characteristic of enzymes under general control of amino acid biosynthesis. The remaining three enzymes, homocitrate synthetase, homoaconitase and homoisocitrate dehydrogenase were repressed in 7305d cells grown in minimal or lysine supplemented medium.