[Flavinogenesis in methylotrophic yeasts]

Methylotrophic yeasts Candida boidinii and Hansenula polymorpha requiring thiamine and biotin accumulate more flavins in the cells during growth on media containing methanol than during oxidation of ethanol and glucose, at the account of increased production of FAD whose percentage in the total flavin content of the cell rises sharply. The level of flavin production depends on growth conditions: the intracellular content of flavins and FAD during utilization of methanol by the yeast cells is higher under conditions of continuous cultivation than in periodic cultures. The content of NAD, another coenzyme of the respiration chain, in the cells during their growth on media containing methanol almost does not differ from its concentration in the cells cultivated on media containing glucose and ethanol. Elevated production of flavins and FAD by the yeast cells on media containing methanol may be caused by an increased requirement in FAD and its specific participation in the first stage of methanol oxidation.