[Metabolism of the methylotrophic yeasts Candida methylica]

The activity of the following enzymes was investigated in cell extracts of Candida methylica cultivated in media with methanol or glucose: the enzymes of glycolysis, the pentose phosphate pathway, the citric acid cycle and the glyoxylate shunt; pyruvate and phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylases; dehydrogenases of amino acids. Different activities of the enzymes suggest that metabolic pathways for these substrates are alternative and that methanol is assimilated by the yeast via the dihydroxyacetone pathway. A scheme for methanol metabolism in Candida methylica is proposed and discussed.