Acetate-nonutilizing mutants of Neurospora rassa. II. Biochemical deficiencies and the roles of certain enzymes.

The levels of Krebs cycle, glyoxylate cycle, and certain other enzymes were measured in a wild-type strain and in seven groups of acetate-nonutilizing (acu) mutants of Neurospora crassa, both after growth on a medium containing sucrose and after a subsequent 6-hr incubation in a similar medium, containing acetate as the sole source of carbon. In the wild strain, incubation in acetate medium caused a rise in the levels of isocitrate lyase, malate synthase, phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase, acetyl-coenzyme A synthetase, nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate-linked isocitrate dehydrogenase, citrate synthase, and fumarate hydratase. Isocitrate lyase activity was absent in acu-3 mutants; acu-5 mutants lacked acetyl-coenzyme A synthetase activity; and no oxoglutarate dehydrogenase activity (or only low levels) could be detected in acu-2 and acu-7 mutants. In acu-6 mutants, phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase activity was either very low or absent. No specific biochemical deficiencies could be attributed to the acu-1 and acu-4 mutations. The role of several of these enzymes during growth on acetate is discussed.