Studies on the Action of Nalidixic Acid in the Yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae

The effect of the antibiotic nalidixic acid on macromolecular metabolism in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae has been studied. It was found that, upon the addition of nalidixic acid to a logarithmically growing culture, there is a transient inhibition of total cell ribonucleic acid, deoxyribonucleic acid, and protein synthesis, after which the cells show an almost complete recovery. In addition, there is no preferential inhibition of yeast mitochondrial deoxyribonucleic acid synthesis.