Nystatin Induced Changes in Growth, Viability and Amino acid Influx of Yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Polyene antibiotics are antifungal agents. They interact with cell membrane sterols and formpores in the membrane. All the cell constituents will leak through the pores and finally cell death occurs.Results of this paper have demonstrated that the specific phospholipids mutants of Saccharomycescerevisiae which have been used to find out the the mechanism of action of antibiotic nystatin, by using thetechniques of growth, viability and amino acid influx altered the sensitivity. The acquired resistance ofphospholipids enriched cells as judged from (i) growth and viability could be dissociated (ii) the effect ofantibiotics on the transport of amino acids was different from that of growth, viability and binding, which maydue to the fact that membrane permeability changes could be dissociated. Further, the mutants, whichaccumulate PC (phosphatidyl choline) or PE (phosphatidyl ethanolamine) or PS (phospholipids serine) in thecell membrane, altered the sensitivity of antibiotic nystatin by non-specific binding of antibiotic tophospholipids. Further, these results would help for the pathogenesis control of Candida albicans, which ispathogenic yeast.