Characterization of plasma membrane proton-ATPase from salt-tolerant yeast Zygosaccharomyces rouxii cells

Plasma membrane was isolated from the salt-tolerant yeast Zygosaccharomyces rouxii and from Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The ATPase in the plasma membrane of Z. rouxii cells was a typical proton-ATPase as judged by testing with various ATPase inhibitors. There were slight differences in the pH optima of activities and in the sensitivity to sodium chloride (NaCl) and potassium chloride (KCl) of the ATPase from Z. rouxii and S. cerevisiae. The specific ATPase activity from Z. rouxii was higher in cells grown in a medium containing 2 _M-NaCl than in those not containing NaCl. No in vivo activation by incubation with glucose was observed in Z. rouxii cells and the specific ATPase activity was independent of the growth phase, unlike S. cerevisiae cells.     

Osmoresistant yeast Zygosaccharomyces rouxii: the two most studied wild-type strains (ATCC 2623 and ATCC 42981) differ in osmotolerance and glycerol metabolism

The yeast Zygosaccharomyces rouxii is known for its high tolerance to osmotic stress, which is thought to be caused by sets of specific genes. Relatively few Z. rouxii genes have been identified so far, all of them having homologues in Saccharomyces cerevisiae; none of them was Z. rouxii-specific. Most of the known Z. rouxii genes were isolated from two wild-type strains, ATCC 2623 and ATCC 42981. In this study, we compared these two strains with regard to some of their morphological, physiological and genomic properties. Important differences were found in their salt tolerance and assimilation of glycerol and karyotype; slight differences were also present in their cell morphology. The ATCC 42981 strain showed a higher resistance to salts, higher glycerol production and, unlike ATCC 2623, was able to assimilate glycerol. Under conditions of osmotic stress, the glycerol production in both Z. rouxii strains was much lower than in a S. cerevisiae S288c culture, which suggested the presence of a system that efficiently retains glycerol inside Z. rouxii cells. The karyotype analysis revealed that ATCC 42981 cells contain more chromosomes and have a bigger genome size than those of ATCC 2623.     

Isolation of a GPD gene from Debaryomyces hansenii encoding a glycerol 3-phosphate dehydrogenase (NAD+)

A gene homologous to GPD1, coding for glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (sn-glycerol 3-phosphate: NAD(+) oxidoreductase, EC 1.1.1.8), has been isolated from the halophilic yeast Debaryomyces hansenii by complementation of a Saccharomyces cerevisiae gpd1 Delta mutant. DNA sequencing of the complementing genomic clone indicated the existence of an open reading frame encoding a protein with 369 amino acids. Comparative analysis of the deduced amino acid sequence showed high similarity to homologous genes described for other eukaryotic GPD enzymes. The sequence has been submitted to the GenBank database under Accession No. AY333427.     

鲁氏酵母脱除水溶液中Cd~(2+)的研究

研究了鲁氏酵母(Zygosaccharomyces rouxii)CICC1379作为吸附剂对水溶液中镉的脱除作用。结果表明:温度和振荡频率对Cd2+脱除率影响不大,初始pH和菌体浓度则影响很大。初始pH3-5,脱除率均随pH增大而增大。pH5-7是鲁氏酵母对低、高2组溶液的脱除Cd2+的最适pH。Cd2+脱除率随时间变化的曲线表明,酵母在10.22mg/L和53.39mg/LCd2+溶液中,在5min内完成大部分吸附并在30min内达到吸附平衡。     

Fermentation properties of a wine yeast over-expressing the Saccharomyces cerevisiae glycerol 3-phosphate dehydrogenase gene (GPD2)

Wine yeasts efficiently convert sugar into ethanol. The possibility of diverting some of the sugar into compounds other than ethanol by using molecular genetic methods was tested. Over-expression of the yeast glycerol 3-phosphate dehydrogenase gene ( GPD2 ) in a laboratory strain of Saccharomyces cerevisiae led to an approximate two-fold increase in the extracellular glycerol concentration. In the medium fermented with the modified strain, acetic acid concentration also increased approximately two-fold when respiration was blocked. A strain deleted for the GPD2 gene had the opposite phenotype, producing lower amounts of glycerol and acetic acid, with the latter compound only reduced during non-respiratory growth. A commercial wine yeast over-expressing GPD2 produced 16.5 g/L glycerol in a wine fermentation, compared to 7.9 g/L obtained with the parent strain. As seen for the laboratory strain, acetic acid concentrations were also increased when using the genetically modified wine yeast. A panel of wine judges confirmed the increase in volatile acidity of these wines. The altered glycerol biosynthetic pathway sequestered carbon from glycolysis and reduced the production of ethanol by 6 g/L.     

Functional analysis of the Zygosaccharomyces rouxii Fps1p homologue

The osmotolerant yeast Zygosaccharomyces rouxii accumulates the polyols glycerol and D-arabitol intracellularly in response to hyperosmotic stress, but the membrane transport proteins regulating polyol accumulation have not been studied. We have cloned and characterized a FPS1 homologue in Z. rouxii NRRL Y2547, and its sequence revealed a 2709 bp open reading frame encoding a peptide of 692 deduced amino acids with 56.9% identity to the Saccharomyces cerevisiae Fps1p. The role of this putative membrane channel protein in polyol accumulation and release during osmoregulation was investigated. The Z. rouxii FPS1 (ZrFPS1) complemented the S. cerevisiae fps1Delta growth defect and glycerol release upon hypo-osmotic shock. Deletion of ZrFPS1 did not affect growth on glycerol as sole carbon source, suggesting that other transport proteins are involved in the uptake of glycerol. However, mutants lacking ZrFPS1 exhibited a significant decrease in glycerol and D-arabitol efflux and poor growth during hypo-osmotic conditions, suggesting that ZrFPS1 might be involved in D-arabitol transport in addition to glycerol. This is the first demonstration of a yeast gene that affects D-arabitol transport. The full-length ZrFPS1 gene sequence including upstream promoter has been deposited in the public database under Accession No. AY488133.     

一株耐盐产香鲁氏接合酵母FA-1的鉴定及其在酱油酿造中的应用

为提高酱油风味与品质,从酱油醪液中筛选耐盐产香酵母菌株并应用于酱油酿造。对筛选菌株进行鉴定,并采用顶空固相微萃取-气质联用法（HS-SPME-GC-MS）分别检测其在不同NaCl浓度的发酵液及酱油成品中的挥发性香气成分。结果表明,筛选出1株耐盐产香菌株FA-1,经鉴定为鲁氏接合酵母（Zygosaccharomyces rouxii）,可耐受22%的食盐浓度。在不同NaCl浓度的酱油发酵液中共检出56种挥发性风味物质,且当NaCl质量分数为18%时,更有利于醇类化合物的富集。在酱油生产试验中,添加鲁氏接合酵母FA-1的实验组中醇类化合物占比最大（72.03%）,其中苯乙醇、3-甲基-1-丁醇、乙醇的含量较高,且醇类和酯类化合物的含量分别较添加酵母As 1.039的对照组提高131.05%和189.65%。因此,菌株FA-1具有良好的耐盐产香性能,可作为潜在的酱油发酵菌株。     

Molecular cloning and sequence analysis of the Zygosaccharomyces rouxiiLEU2 gene encoding a beta-isopropylmalate dehydrogenase.

A DNA fragment carrying the LEU2 gene of osmotolerant yeast Zygosaccharomyces rouxii was isolated. The sequenced DNA fragment (2630 bp) contained two ORFs; one of them (1086 bp long, predicting a protein of 362 amino acids) shared a high degree of similarity with LEU2 genes of other yeast species. The cloned DNA fragment fully complemented the leu2 mutations of Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Z. rouxii.     

Glycerol accumulation in the dimorphic yeast Saccharomycopsis fibuligera: cloning of two glycerol 3-phosphate dehydrogenase genes, one of which is markedly induced by osmotic stress

Glycerol plays an important role in the osmoadaptation responses of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. However, there is no detailed investigation about the role of glycerol in the osmoadaptation responses of Saccharomycopsis fibuligera. Here we show that both intra- and extracellular glycerol concentrations in Sm. fibuligera cells responded very quickly when they were subjected to osmotic stress. We then cloned two isogenes encoding putative NAD(+)-dependent glycerol 3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GPD) from Sm. fibuligera PD70 by degenerate PCR and subsequent chromosome walking methods. Those two genes, designated SfGPD1 and SfGPD2, respectively, exhibited 86.6% pairwise identity in their encoding regions, while there was no obvious homology in their non-coding regions. Either SfGPD1 or SfGPD2 could complement the salt tolerance characteristics of the gpd1gpd2 double mutant strain of S. cerevisiae, further demonstrating that both of those genes are functional homologues of S. cerevisiae GPD1 and GPD2. Northern blot analysis revealed that SfGPD1 was induced markedly by osmotic stress, while SfGPD2 was not. In consistency with the observation that there was no obvious glycerol content change when the cells were transferred to anoxic conditions, neither SfGPD1 nor SfGPD2 was induced when the cells were transferred to anoxic conditions, thus suggesting a functional splitting of glycerol 3-phosphate dehydrogenase between S. cerevisiae and Sm. fibuligera.     

Characterization of Na+/H+-antiporter gene closely related to the salt-tolerance of yeast Zygosaccharomyces rouxii

In order to clarify the relationship between salt-tolerance of Zygosaccharomyces rouxii and the function of Na⁺/H⁺-antiporter, a gene was isolated from Z. rouxii which exhibited homology to the Na⁺/H⁺-antiporter gene (sod2) from Schizosaccharomyces pombe. This newly isolated gene (Z-SOD2) encoded a product of 791 amino acids, which was larger than the product encoded by its Sz. pombe homologue. The predicted amino-acid sequence of Z-Sod2p was highly homologous to that of the Sz. pombe protein, but included an extra-hydrophilic stretch in the C-terminal region. The expression of Z-SOD2 was constitutive and independent of NaCl-shock. Z-SOD2-disruptants of Z. rouxii did not grow in media supplemented with 3 M -NaCl, but grew well in the presence of 50% sorbitol, indicating that the function of Z-SOD2 was closely related to the salt-tolerance of Z. rouxii. Several genes are also compared and discussed in relation to the salt-tolerance of Z. rouxii. The nucleotide sequence data reported in this paper will appear in the GSDB, DDBJ, EMBL and NCBI nucleotide sequence databases with the following accession number: D43629.     

GUT2, a gene for mitochondrial glycerol 3-phosphate dehydrogenase of Saccharomyces cerevisiae

A gut2 mutant of Saccharomyces cerevisiae is deficient in the mitochondrial glycerol 3-phosphate dehydrogenase and hence cannot utilize glycerol. Upon transformation of a gut2 mutant strain with a low-copy yeast genomic library, hybrid plasmids were isolated which complemented the gut2 mutation. The nucleotide sequence of a 3·2 kb PstI-XhoI fragment complementing a gut2 mutant strain is presented. The fragment reveals an open reading frame (ORF) encoding a polypeptide with a predicted molecular weight of 68·8 kDa. Disruption of the ORF leads to a glycerol non-utilizing phenotype. A putative flavin-binding domain, located at the amino terminus, was identified by comparison with the amino acid sequences of other flavoproteins. The cloned gene has been mapped both physically and genetically to the left arm of chromosome IX, where the original gut2 mutation also maps. We conclude that the presented ORF is the GUT2 gene and propose that it is the structural gene for the mitochondrial glycerol 3-phosphate dehydrogenase.     

酱醪中耐盐酵母菌的分离鉴定及其耐盐性研究

为了改善酱油及鱼露发酵过程及风哧物质的产生,本文拟从自制高盐稀态酱醪发酵酱醪中分离纯化耐盐酵母,可作为产香酵母添加到酱醪或鱼露发酵过程。结果获得6株耐盐酵母菌,通过含3．0mol／LNaCl的固体培养基筛选出5#和6撑两株耐盐性较好、活力旺盛的菌株;经形态学、生理生化和18SrDNA鉴定,为鲁氏结合酵母。两株菌均耐盐性能强,且6#菌耐盐性能更优。     

A set of plasmids carrying antibiotic resistance markers and Cre recombinase for genetic engineering of nonconventional yeast Zygosaccharomyces rouxii

The so-called nonconventional yeasts are becoming increasingly attractive in food and industrial biotechnology. Among them, Zygosaccharomyces rouxii is known to be halotolerant, osmotolerant, petite negative, and poorly Crabtree positive. These traits and the high fermentative vigour make this species very appealing for industrial and food applications. Nevertheless, the biotechnological exploitation of Z. rouxii has been biased by the low availability of genetic engineering tools and the recalcitrance of this yeast towards the most conventional transformation procedures. Centromeric and episomal Z. rouxii plasmids have been successfully constructed with prototrophic markers, which limited their usage to auxotrophic strains, mainly derived from the Z. rouxii haploid type strain Centraalbureau voor Schimmelcultures (CBS) 732^T. By contrast, the majority of industrially promising Z. rouxii yeasts are prototrophic and allodiploid/aneuploid strains. In order to expand the genetic tools for manipulating these strains, we developed two centromeric and two episomal vectors harbouring KanMX^R and ClonNAT^R as dominant drug resistance markers, respectively. We also constructed the plasmid pGRCRE that allows the Cre recombinase-mediated marker recycling during multiple gene deletions. As proof of concept, pGRCRE was successfully used to rescue the kanMX–loxP module in Z. rouxii ATCC 42981 G418-resistant mutants previously constructed by replacing the MATα^P expression locus with the loxP–kanMX–loxP cassette.     

Cloning,sequencing and characterization of a gene encoding dihydroxyacetone kinase from Zygosaccharomyces rouxii NRRL2547

The dihydroxyacetone pathway, an alternative pathway for the dissimilation of glycerol via reduction by glycerol dehydrogenase and subsequent phosphorylation by dihydroxyacetone (DHA) kinase, is activated in the yeasts Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Zygosaccharomyces rouxii during osmotic stress. In experiments aimed at investigating the physiological function of the DHA pathway in Z. rouxii, a typical osmotolerant yeast, we cloned and characterized a DAK gene encoding dihydroxyacetone kinase from Z. rouxii NRRL 2547. Sequence analysis revealed a 1761 bp open reading frame, encoding a peptide composed of 587 deduced amino acids with the predicted molecular weight of 61 664 Da. As the amino acid sequence was most closely homologous (68% identity) to the S. cerevisiae Dak1p, we named the gene and protein ZrDAK1 and ZrDak1p, respectively. A putative ATP binding site was also found but no consensus element associated with osmoregulation was found in the upstream region of the ZrDAK1 gene. The ZrDAK1 gene complemented a S. cerevisiae W303-1A dak1delta dak2 delta strain by improving the growth of the mutant on 50 mmol/l dihydroxyacetone and by increasing the tolerance to dihydroxyacetone in a medium containing 5% sodium chloride, suggesting that it is a functional homologue of the S. cerevisiae DAK1. However, expression of the ZrDAK1 gene in the S. cerevisiae dak1delta dak2 delta strain had no significant effect on glycerol levels during osmotic stress. The ZrDAK1 sequence has been deposited in the public data bases under Accession No. AJ294719; regions upstream and downstream of ZrDAK1are deposited as Accession Nos AJ294739 and AJ294720, respectively.     

Reduced pyruvate decarboxylase and increased glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase [NAD+] levels enhance glycerol production in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

This investigation deals with factors affecting the production of glycerol in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. In particular, the impact of reduced pyruvate-decarboxylase (PDC) and increased NAD-dependent glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GPD) levels was studied. The glycerol yield was 4·7 times (a pdc mutant exhibiting 19% of normal PDC activity) and 6·5 times (a strain exhibiting 20-fold increased GPD activity resulting from overexpression of GPD1 gene) that of the wild type. In the strain carrying both enzyme activity alterations, the glycerol yield was 8·1 times higher than that of the wild type. In all cases, the substantial increase in glycerol yield was associated with a reduction in ethanol yield and a higher by-product formation. The rate of glycerol formation in the pdc mutant was, due to a slower rate of glucose catabolism, only twice that of the wild type, and was increased by GPD1 overexpression to three times that of the wild-type level. Overexpression of GPD1 in the wild-type background, however, led to a six- to seven-fold increase in the rate of glycerol formation. The experimental work clearly demonstrates the rate-limiting role of GPD in glycerol formation in S. cerevisiae.