The Effect of Deuterium on the Growth of Yeast

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Abstract
The growth of a pure strain of Saccharomyces cerevisiae in Williams'' medium made with heavy water (sp. gr. 1.000061) showed no significant differences in the number of cells per unit volume of medium, in the % of buds or of injured cells from its growth in the same medium made with distilled water. The centrifuged bulk of yeast, the dry weight, the glycogen content and nephelometric readings were all greater for the yeast grown in the heavy water, but the N content of the yeast was less than that of the yeast grown in distilled water. The greatest differences were observed at times of rapid cell proliferation when the surface of the average cell was greater in proportion to its volume. The usual cellular reorganization brought about by the increasingly unfavorable environment occurs earlier when the yeast is grown in the heavier water. Deuterium oxide in low concs. evidently affects the enzyme complex within the yeast cell.

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