Fructose 2,6-bisphosphate and trehalose metabolism in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

1. A regulatory mutant of Saccharomyces (fdp) unable to activate fructose 1,6-bisphosphatase presented a normal response to the glucose and fructose signals as measured by trehalase activation, indicating that the inability of the strain to grow on these sugars is caused by a defect located beyond membrane interactions. 2. In vivo experiments with a mutant strain bearing a phosphoglucoisomerase gene (pgil-delta) deletion showed that activation of trehalase and deactivation of the tehalose-6-phosphate synthase complex occurred to the same extent whether glucose or fructose was used as signal. 3. These results suggest that fructose-2,6-bisphosphate is not involved in the interconversion of forms of the enzymes of trehalose metabolism. Furthermore, when fructose-2,6-bisphosphate was assayed on trehalose synthesizing activity using cell-free extracts and partially purified preparations of the complex, no effect was observed. 4. We conclude that regulation by cAMP fulfills the requirements for control of trehalose levels in Saccharomyces.