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Updated: May 8, 2026

Assaying for Inorganic Polyphosphate in Bacteria
Published on: January 21, 2019
Extracellular phosphomannan as a phosphate reserve in the yeast Kuraishia capsulata
L P Lichko1, T V Kulakovskaya, I S Kulaev
1Skryabin Institute of Biochemistry and Physiology of Microorganisms, Russian Academy of Sciences, 142290 Pushchino, Moscow Region, Russia.
Abstract:
We have found that extracellular phosphomannan is the main phosphate reserve in the yeast Kuraishia capsulata, in contrast to other yeast species effectively absorbing Pi. Under nitrogen starvation, K. capsulata absorbed essentially all Pi from the medium containing 240 mM glucose, 2.5 mM MgSO4, and 11 mM KH2PO4. Inorganic polyphosphate level in the cells was about 14% of the Pi absorbed. Most of the Pi (~60%) was found in the fraction of extracellular phosphomannan that can be used as a carbon and phosphorus source by this yeast in deficient media.
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