The total intracellular concentration of solutes in yeast and other plant cells and the distensibility of the plant-cell wall

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
By means of a cryoscopic method the intracellular molarities of baker''s yeast, potato, carrot, and sugar-beet were found to be 0.59 (rising on fermentation to over 0.80), 0.41, 0.62 and 1.42M respectively. The total intracellular molarity of resting yeast from the analysis of its various constituents was of the same order as that determined cryoscopically. A "coefficient of distensibility" for plant cells has been defined as the volume of intracellular fluid removed from the cells per unit concentration of an external non-penetrating solute and per unit volume of intracellular fluid. It is expressed as Vec/CeVio, the symbols being defined in the text. The "coefficient of distensibility" or "d" value is relatively easy to determine, as a linear relation has been found between Vec and Ce up to high values of Ce, the external concentration. The values of the "coefficient" for the potato, carrot, resting baker''s yeast and sugar-beet were found to be 0.74, 0.55, 0.44 and 0.33 respectively. The distension of the resting yeast cell, expressed as the volume of the intracellular fluid, gives a linear relation when plotted against the value of (Ci - Ce). Here Ci and Ce are the total intracellular molarities and that of an external non-penetrating solute respectively. Extrapolating the line to zero value of (Ci - Ce) it cuts the ordinate at 0.295 1 of intracellular fluid/kg of centrifufed yeast.