Inhibition of amino acid transport by ammonium ion in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

The rate of transport of L amino acids by S. cerevisiae ε1278b increased with time in response to nitrogen starvation. This increase could be prevented by the addition of ammonium sulfate or cycloheximide. A slow time dependent loss of transport activity was observed when ammonium sulfate (or ammonium sulfate plus cycloheximide) was added to cells after 3 h of nitrogen starvation. This loss of activity was not observed in the presence of cycloheximide alone. In a mutant yeast strain which lacks the nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate dependent (anabolic) glutamate dehydrogenase, no significant decrease in amino acid transport was observed when ammonium sulfate was added to nitrogen starved cells. A double mutant, which lacks the nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate dependent enzyme and in addition has a derepressed level of the nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide dependent (catabolic) glutamate dehydrogenase, shows the same sensitivity to ammonium ion as the wild type strain. These data suggest that the inhibition of amino acid transport by ammonium ion results from the uptake of this metabolite into the cell and its subsequent incorporation into the α amino groups of glutamate and other amino acids.