A Nematode Growth Factor from Baker's Yeast

An extract prepared from commercially available yeast supported maturation of the free-living nematode Caenorhabditis briggsae. The extract can be used to supplement a chemically defined medium or, after a limited dialysis, as a complete medium. Several biologically active fractions were prepared; those containing larger amounts of ribonucleic acid (RNA) had greater biological activity, the most active being a pellet resuspended after centrifugation at 30,000 x g for 30 min. This fraction could be substituted for serum in a medium which supports the maturation of the animal parasites Trichinella spiralis and Hymenolepis nana. Addition of protamine sulfate decreased the RNA content, leaving inactive protein fractions which could be reactivated by specific treatments that caused protein precipitation. It is postulated that biological activity is associated with protein sedimented with ribosomes.