A novel mechanism regulates H(2) S and SO(2) production in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Sulfite (SO(2) ) plays an important role in flavour stability in alcoholic beverages, whereas hydrogen sulfide (H(2) S) has an undesirable aroma. To discover the cellular processes that control SO(2) and H(2) S production, we screened a library of Saccharomyces cerevisiae deletion mutants. Deletion of 12 genes led to increased H(2) S productivity. Ten of these genes are known to be involved in sulfur-containing amino acid metabolism, whereas UBI4 functions in the ubiquitin-proteasome system and SKP2 encodes an F-box-containing protein whose function is unknown. We found that the skp2 mutant accumulated H(2) S and SO(2) , because the adenosylphophosulfate kinase Met14p is a substrate of SCF(Skp2) and more stable in the skp2 mutant than in the wild-type strain. Furthermore, the skp2 mutant grew more slowly than the wild-type strain under nutrient-limited conditions. Metabolome analysis showed that the concentration of intracellular cysteine is lower in the skp2 mutant than in the wild-type strain. The slow growth of the skp2 mutant was due to a lower concentration of intracellular cysteine, because the addition of cysteine suppressed the slow growth. In the skp2 mutant, the cysteine biosynthesis proteins Str2p, Str3p and Str4p are more stable than in the wild-type strain. Moreover, supplementation with methionine, S-adenosylmethionine, S-adenosylhomocysteine and homocysteine also suppressed the slow growth. Overexpression of STR1 or STR4 caused a more severe defect in the skp2 mutant. These results suggest that the balance of methionine and cysteine biosynthesis is important for yeast cell growth. Thus, Skp2p is one of the key components regulating this balance and H(2) S/SO(2) production.

Expression profiling of the bottom fermenting yeast Saccharomyces pastorianus orthologous genes using oligonucleotide microarrays.

The bottom fermenting yeast Saccharomyces pastorianus is reported to have arisen as a natural hybrid of two yeast strains, S. cerevisiae and S. bayanus. The S. pastorianus genome includes S. cerevisiae-type (Sc-type) genes and orthologous lager-fermenting-yeast specific-type (Lg-type) genes derived from S. cerevisiae and S. bayanus, respectively. To gain insights into the physiological properties of S. pastorianus, we developed an in situ synthesized 60-mer oligonucleotide microarray for gene expression monitoring of these orthologous genes, consisting of approximately 6600 Sc-type genes and 3200 Lg-type genes. A comparison of the transcriptional profile of orthologous genes (e.g. Sc-type and Lg-type genes) in S. cerevisiae or S. bayanus demonstrated the feasibility of performing gene expression studies with this microarray. Genome-wide analysis of S. pastorianus with this microarray could clearly distinguish more than 67% of the expressed orthologous genes. Furthermore, it was shown that the gene expression of particular Lg-type genes differed from that of the orthologous Sc-type genes, suggesting that some Lg-type and Sc-type genes may have different functional roles. We conclude that the oligonucleotide microarray that we constructed is a powerful tool for the monitoring of gene expression of the orthologous genes of S. pastorianus.

Identification and application of novel autonomously replicating sequences (ARSs) for promoter-cloning and co-transformation in Candida utilis.

In order to develop practical recombinant DNA techniques in the industrially important yeast Candida utilis, at least six plasmids harboring autonomously replicating sequences (ARSs) were isolated from a C. utilis genomic library. Two ARSs were subjected to detailed analysis. Sequences of 1.9 and 1.8 kb were found to be necessary to exert ARS activity in a plasmid as assessed by transformation efficiency and mitotic stability. Both fragments were found to be rich in AT content (69.5% and 70.8% respectively), and to contain an 11-bp ARS consensus sequences (10 and 13 motifs with one base difference respectively). Using the ARS-containing plasmid as a promoter-cloning vector, several DNA fragments having promoter activities were cloned and characterized. Co-transformation of C. utilis with an integrating DNA fragment and a replicating plasmid yielded plasmid-free transformants harboring the fragment integrated into the C. utilis genome.

Development of bottom-fermenting saccharomyces strains that produce high SO2 levels, using integrated metabolome and transcriptome analysis.

Sulfite plays an important role in beer flavor stability. Although breeding of bottom-fermenting Saccharomyces strains that produce high levels of SO(2) is desirable, it is complicated by the fact that undesirable H(2)S is produced as an intermediate in the same pathway. Here, we report the development of a high-level SO(2)-producing bottom-fermenting yeast strain by integrated metabolome and transcriptome analysis. This analysis revealed that O-acetylhomoserine (OAH) is the rate-limiting factor for the production of SO(2) and H(2)S. Appropriate genetic modifications were then introduced into a prototype strain to increase metabolic fluxes from aspartate to OAH and from sulfate to SO(2), resulting in high SO(2) and low H(2)S production. Spontaneous mutants of an industrial strain that were resistant to both methionine and threonine analogs were then analyzed for similar metabolic fluxes. One promising mutant produced much higher levels of SO(2) than the parent but produced parental levels of H(2)S.

Isohumulones modulate blood lipid status through the activation of PPAR alpha.

Isohumulones derived from hops are the major bitter compounds in beer. It was recently reported that isohumulones activated peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs) alpha and gamma in vitro and modulated glucose and lipid metabolism in vivo. In this study, we examined the effects of isomerized hop extract (IHE) primarily containing isohumulones in C57BL/6N male mice and found that such treatment increased their liver weight and reduced their plasma triglyceride and free fatty acid levels. Microarray analysis and quantitative real time PCR (QPCR) showed that IHE dose-dependently upregulated the expression of a battery of hepatic genes that are involved in microsomal omega-oxidation and peroxisomal and mitochondrial beta-oxidation. These effects were common in both genders and very similar to those found with the PPARalpha agonist, fenofibrate (FF). Moreover, these effects were not found in PPARalpha-deficient mice. Thus, our results strongly suggest that IHE intake upregulates the expression of key genes that are involved in hepatic fatty acid oxidation, and that it ameliorates the blood lipid profile by activating PPARalpha.

Sugar induces death of the bottom fermenting yeast Saccharomyces pastorianus.

We confirmed that sugar-induced cell death (SICD) occurs in the bottom fermenting yeast Saccharomyces pastorianus under anaerobic conditions and that mitochondrial DNA is only partly required for SICD. Fermentation tests using different ratios of glucose and non-glucose nutrients demonstrated that SICD is influenced by the balance between these nutrients.

Identification of bottom-fermenting yeast genes expressed during lager beer fermentation.

It has been proposed that bottom-fermenting yeast strains of Saccharomyces pastorianus possess at least two types of genomes. Sequences of genes of one genome [S. cerevisiae (Sc)-type] have been found to be highly homologous (more than 90% identity) to S. cerevisiae S288C sequences, while those of the other [Lager (Lg)-type] are less so. To identify and discriminate Lg-type from Sc-type genes expressed during lager beer fermentation, normalized cDNA libraries were constructed and analysed. From approximately 22 000 ESTs, 3892 Sc-type and 2695 Lg-type ORFs were identified. Expression patterns of Sc- and Lg-type genes did not correlate with particular cell functions in KEGG classification system. Moreover, 405 independent clones were isolated that have no significant homology with sequences in the S288C database, suggesting that they include the bottom-fermenting yeast-specific (BFY) genes. Most of BFY genes have significant homology with the S. bayanus genome.