The inactivation of hexokinase activity does not prevent glucose repression in Candida utilis.

ABSTRACT

High hexokinase activity was not related to glucose repression in Candida utilis IGC 3092. The addition of Cibacron Blue 3G-A to growing cells in batch culture led to a permanent in vivo hexokinase inactivation, decreased growth rate and inhibited alcohol dehydrogenase. Hexokinase inactivation up to 90% did not alleviate glucose repression of alpha-glucosidase, as has been described for Saccharomyces cerevisiae and other yeasts. Moreover, when cells were physiologically derepressed by growing them in a chemostat at low glucose concentrations, the highest hexokinase activity was shown by the derepressed cells, and decreased as repression increased. Thus, in our strain of C. utilis, hexokinase activity was inversely proportional to glucose repression.