Sensitivity of Saccharomyces cerevisiae to tannic acid is due to iron deprivation.

Tannic acid inhibited the growth of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Growth medium supplementation with more nitrogen or metal ions showed that only iron ions could restore the maximal growth rate of S. cerevisiae. Tannic acid resistant mutants were previously isolated by screening for tannic acid resistance and were all cytoplasmic petite mutants. While the wild type was very sensitive to iron deprivation conditions when grown in aerobic conditions, the mutants, whether grown aerobically or anaerobically, showed the same growth rate under iron-limited conditions as under iron-repleted conditions. Also, the wild type grown anaerobically was not affected by iron-limited conditions. Cytoplasmic petite mutants obtained by ethidium bromide mutagenesis behaved like the other mutants. During iron limitation, the wild type showed a reduced oxygen uptake rate. Maximal growth rate of the wild type in iron-limited conditions could be restored by the addition to the media of unsaturated fatty acids and sterol. Iron deprivation caused by tannic acid may thus affect the synthesis of a functional respiratory chain as well as the synthesis of unsaturated fatty acids and (or) sterol.