ON THE ROLE OF THE INDUCER IN THE SYNTHESIS OF MALTASE IN YEAST

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Abstract
[alpha] -Methyl glucoside, an analogue of maltase, can induce the synthesis of maltase in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Experiments were performed designed to see whether [alpha]-methyl glucoside combined with maltase in the course of stimulating its synthesis. The dissociation constant of [alpha] -methyl glucoside as an inducer was measured and found to be 0.0016 [image] [plus or minus] 0.0002 aerobically and 0.0020 [image] [plus or minus] 0.0002 anaerobically. Measurement of the dissociation constant between [alpha]-methyl glucoside and the maltase utilizing enzyme gave a value of 0.46 [image]. The marked discrepancy between these values indicates that [alpha]-methyl glucoside does not combine with maltase in the process of stimulating the synthesis of this enzyme. These results, along with others on the synthesis of [beta] -galactosidase, suggest the necessity of abandoning the complexing concept to explain the role and specificity of inducers in enzyme synthesis.