Inhibition of Growth, Synthesis, and Permeability in Neurospora crassa by Phenethyl Alcohol

Abstract

Inhibition of the growth of Neurospora crassa in still culture was detected at 0.05% and was complete at a level of 0.2% phenethyl alcohol (PEA). Benzyl alcohol was less inhibitory, and 3-phenyl-1-propanol and phenol were more inhibitory, than PEA; benzylamine and phenethylamine were less inhibitory than the analogous hydroxylated compounds. Inhibition by PEA was not reversed by synthetic mixtures of purines and pyrimidines or vitamins, or by casein digests, yeast extract, or nutrient broth. The germination of conidia was inhibited by PEA, but after an exposure of 8.5 hr no loss of viability was observed. The addition of PEA to growing shake cultures caused a simultaneous inhibition of growth and of the syntheses of ribonucleic and deoxyribonucleic acids and protein; the relationships of these compounds to mycelial dry weight and to one another were constant in growing mycelia, and PEA did not significantly affect these relationships. PEA partially inhibited the uptake of glucose, but severely restricted the accumulation of L-leucine, L-tryptophan, or a-aminoisobutyric acid in germinated conidia. The efflux of a-aminoisobutyric acid from germinated conidia was somewhat enhanced by PEA, but this effect was not so pronounced as the (complete) inhibition of a-aminoisobutyric acid accumulation by PEA. It is suggested that PEA affects primarily the initial influx of a-aminoisobutyric acid rather than the subsequent retention of a-aminoisobutyric acid.

Genetic Determination of Resistance to Acriflavine, Phenethyl Alcohol, and Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate in Escherichia coli

“…Lester (14) showed that PEA alters the permeability to some amino acids in Neurospora crassa, and Silver and Wendt (27) also observed that PEA, like toluene (8), causes a breakdown of the permeability barrier to AF and potassium in E.…”

Production of 2-phenylethanol from L-phenylalanine by a stress tolerantSaccharomyces cerevisiaestrain

“…Both aliphatic and aromatic alcohols are known inhibitors of yeast growth and reduce viability, moreover, they have a synergistic effect when combined (Ingram and Buttke 1984;Seward et al 1996). Damage to cell membranes (Ingram and Buttke 1984), reduced uptake of glucose and amino acids (Lester 1965), and reduction in respiratory capacity are some mechanisms involved in this inhibition phenomena. In situ product removal (ISPR) has been proven to be a useful approach for circumventing the problem of product inhibition .…”

One‐Pot Production of Natural 2‐Phenylethanol from L‐Phenylalanine via Cascade Biotransformations

“…The deprivation of the cell activity was possibly caused by the damages to cell membrane since aromatic alcohol tends to raise the membrane fluidity as its target site. [23] To further investigate the product inhibition, the kinetic study for biotransformation of L-Phe 1 to 2-PE 6 with E. coli (RE) cells (5 g cdw/L) was conducted in the presence of 0-3 mM 2-PE 6. The reaction was performed in KP buffer (100 mM, pH 8.0) and n-hexadecane (1 : 1; v/v) at 30°C for 15 mins.…”