Electronmicroscopic observation on protoplastization of Saccharomyces cerevisiae (uvarum) and Candida albicans under calcium deficiency.

Abstract

Summary:  Cells of Saccharomyces cerevisiae 21 (S. uvarum) and Candida albicans which were grown in a chemically defined medium with and without additional calcium ions for 12 h and treated with zymolyase turned into protoplasts. But when grown under calcium deficiency for 24 h only C. albicans formed protoplasts, whereas S. cerevisiae 21 failed to do so. In this specific strain other physiological and ultrastructural changes are observed too. The results may lead to the conclusion that calcium deficiency specifically induces marked changes of the cell wall surface in certain yeast strains thereby masking the lytic sites or making them unaccessible for the enzyme.