Abstract
A striking increase in permeability of cell membranes of Sacchromyces rouxii, a typical salt-tolerant yeast, occurred when they were cultivated in the saline medium. This change in permeability, however, did not occur in the concentrated sugar solution. It appeared that this increase in permeability should be attributed to the effect of sodium chloride itself, rather than to the osmotic effect. Therefore, this increase in permeability must be one of the most important points that serve to elucidate the mechanism of salt-tolerant property of yeast cells. The cells which had been changed in permeability by the effect of sodium chloride, could not maintain their viability in the saline medium unless an active metabolic process was allowed to proceed with the aid of the external substrates.
