Folic acid is a very important vitamin in human nutrition and its deficiency in pregnant women’s diets results in a serious neurological damage to the foetus. Within the human body this vitamin regulates different metabolic processes (e.g. as a coenzyme it plays a role in transferring monocarbon residues), participates in the synthesis of purines, pyrimidines and some amino acids, takes part in the cell division processes, and works with the vitamin B12 in the regulation of formation and maturation of red blood cells. The symptoms of folic acid deficiency are following: megaloblastic anaemia (a decrease in the total number of red blood cells), inhibition of DNA synthesis and cell replication (division), suppression of absorption of nutrients from the alimentary tract (tropical diarrhoea), and suppression of nervous system functions (irritability and problems falling asleep). Moreover, it has been demonstrated that folic acid prevents atherosclerosis of the arteries and resulting ischaemic heart disease, and with vitamin B12 it can alleviate the course of spinal muscular atrophy (SMA). Folic acid plays a role in the synthesis of neurostimulators such as serotonin and noradrenaline (norepinephrine). Daily folic acid requirement depends on age, sex and physical activity, and for an adult it is about 200 mg. The average diet of an adult person covers up to 50% of daily folic acid requirement. Saccharomyces cerevisiae (brewers’, bakers’ or budding yeast) is one of the main producers of folic acid, apart from leafy plants.

The aim of the work is to examine whether differences in a nucleotide sequence in the genes of folic acid biosynthesis pathway may be correlated with differences regarding folic acid production in strains of bakers’ and brewers’ yeast.

20 strains of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae have been chosen, including 10 strains of brewers’ yeast and 10 strains of bakers’ yeast. Starters were designed and conditions of the MSSCP analysis of the dihydrofolate synthase (FOL3) gene with a length of 1284 bp were planned. For the needs of the SSCP analysis, the coding sequence of the gene was divided into four fragments, each was about 350 nt long. The analysis included not only the coding sequence, but also the gene promotor sequence.

The achieved results allow demonstration that there are differences regarding the nucleotide sequence between enzymes taking part in the folic acid biosynthesis pathway in brewers’ and bakers’ yeasts.

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