Pentose phosphate pathway mutants of yeast.

A glucose-negative mutant of Saccharomyces cerevisiae lacking 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase, the second enzyme of the pentose phosphate pathway, has been obtained by inositol starvation. Suppression of this mutant for growth on glucose takes place by the loss of glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase. A lesion in the latter enzyme alone leaves growth practically unaffected. The mutations define the respective structural genes.