Production of Food and Fodder Yeasts

Abstract

A decade or so ago, there was considerable interest in developing single cell protein production from raw materials. Many factors have influenced the development of fodder yeast technology, notably the biochemistry and physiology of the yeast.

It is shown that those considerations have led to the choice of a continuous fermentation technology.     

Yeast proteomics and protein microarrays

Our understanding of biological processes as well as human diseases has improved greatly thanks to studies on model organisms such as yeast. The power of scientific approaches with yeast lies in its relatively simple genome, its facile classical and molecular genetics, as well as the evolutionary conservation of many basic biological mechanisms. However, even in this simple model organism, systems biology studies, especially proteomic studies had been an intimidating task. During the past decade, powerful high-throughput technologies in proteomic research have been developed for yeast including protein microarray technology. The protein microarray technology allows the interrogation of protein–protein, protein–DNA, protein–small molecule interaction networks as well as post-translational modification networks in a large-scale, high-throughput manner. With this technology, many groundbreaking findings have been established in studies with the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, most of which could have been unachievable with traditional approaches. Discovery of these networks has profound impact on explicating biological processes with a proteomic point of view, which may lead to a better understanding of normal biological phenomena as well as various human diseases.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">CAR1</Emphasis> deletion by CRISPR/Cas9 reduces formation of ethyl carbamate from ethanol fermentation by <Emphasis Type="Italic">Saccharomyces cerevisiae</Emphasis>

Enormous advances in genome editing technology have been achieved in recent decades. Among newly born genome editing technologies, CRISPR/Cas9 is considered revolutionary because it is easy to use and highly precise for editing genes in target organisms. CRISPR/Cas9 technology has also been applied for removing unfavorable target genes. In this study, we used CRISPR/Cas9 technology to reduce ethyl carbamate (EC), a potential carcinogen, which was formed during the ethanol fermentation process by yeast. Because the yeast CAR1 gene encoding arginase is the key gene to form ethyl carbamate, we inactivated the yeast CAR1 gene by the complete deletion of the gene or the introduction of a nonsense mutation in the CAR1 locus using CRISPR/Cas9 technology. The engineered yeast strain showed a 98 % decrease in specific activity of arginase while displaying a comparable ethanol fermentation performance. In addition, the CAR1-inactivated mutants showed reduced formation of EC and urea, as compared to the parental yeast strain. Importantly, CRISPR/Cas9 technology enabled generation of a CAR1-inactivated yeast strains without leaving remnants of heterologous genes from a vector, suggesting that the engineered yeast by CRISPR/Cas9 technology might sidestep GMO regulation.     

特殊酵母工业应用专利发展态势分析

特殊酵母作为区别于传统酵母之外的一类生物资源,具有广泛的工业应用前景.基于incoPat数据库收录的专利数据,以特殊酵母工业应用领域的专利为研究对象,从专利分析的角度,揭示了全球特殊酵母工业应用领域技术创新的发展态势、技术分布、主要申请机构、研究热点以及各类特殊酵母的应用优势等.结果表明:全球特殊酵母工业应用领域的专利...     

Determination of yeast glycogen content by individual cell spectroscopy using image analysis

A rapid technique has been developed to determine the glycogen content of yeast on an individual cell basis using a combination of image analysis technology and staining of yeast cells with an I(2):KI solution. Changes in mean cellular glycogen content during alcoholic fermentation have been reported using this technique. The glycogen content of stored brewer's yeast is heterogeneous compared to freshly propagated yeast which have a more uniform distribution of glycogen. Analysis of the distribution of yeast glycogen during fermentation indicates that a fraction of yeast cells do not dissimilate glycogen. Therefore, conventional analysis of the mean glycogen content of yeast used to inoculate fermentations is of limited use, unless information regarding the proportion of cells which utilize glycogen is known. Analysis of the distribution of glycogen within a yeast population can serve as a useful indicator of yeast quality.     

Development of yeast molecular display systems focused on therapeutic proteins, enzymes, and foods: functional analysis of proteins and its application to bioconversion

Molecular display systems using yeast have been developed for industrial, medical, pharmaceutical, and biological studies. Although several host cells are available to construct a molecular display system, the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae is a well-established and convenient organism in eukaryotes. A wide variety of prokaryotic and eukaryotic proteins have been displayed on yeast cell surfaces. In addition, functional analyses and applications to bioconversion have been performed on the cell surface, and cells are conveniently engineered by molecular display systems. In this review, we focus on the yeast molecular display system with regard to therapeutic proteins, several enzymes, and food ingredients. In addition, recent patents on molecular display using yeast cell for production of those compounds, screening technology and related techniques are introduced. Development of devices for functional analysis of created and modified proteins in the yeast display system is also described.     

The use of yeast two-hybrid screens in studies of protein:protein interactions involved in trafficking

The yeast two-hybrid system has provided a convenient means to both screen for proteins that interact with a protein of interest and to characterise the known interaction between two proteins. Several groups with an interest in the molecular mechanisms that underlie discrete steps along trafficking pathways have exploited the yeast two-hybrid system. Here, we provide a brief background to the technology, attempt to point out some of the pitfalls and benefits of the different systems that can be employed, and mention some of the areas (within the trafficking field) where yeast two-hybrid interaction assays have been particularly informative.     

Practical reactor systems for yeast cell immobilization using biomass support particles

The technique of cell immobilization using porous support particles (biomass support particles) has been successfully applied to yeast cells. Two reactor configurations exploiting the use of these particles have been developed and assessed for use in aseptic yeast fermentations. A liquid-fluidized bed fermenter has been devised for use with particles denser than the fermentation liquor whilst a gas-stirred circulating bed fermenter proved suitable for particles of essentially neutral buoyancy. Both systems have been operated successfully for extended periods of continuous operation. The utilization of biomass support particle technology in such reactors provides a practical and robust system for immobilized cell reactors. This technology offers significant opportunities for further development.     

ABC Transporters in Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Their Interactors: New Technology Advances the Biology of the ABCC (MRP) Subfamily

Summary: Members of the ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporter superfamily exist in bacteria, fungi, plants, and animals and play key roles in the efflux of xenobiotic compounds, physiological substrates, and toxic intracellular metabolites. Based on sequence relatedness, mammalian ABC proteins have been divided into seven subfamilies, ABC subfamily A (ABCA) to ABCG. This review focuses on recent advances in our understanding of ABC transporters in the model organism Saccharomyces cerevisiae. We propose a revised unified nomenclature for the six yeast ABC subfamilies to reflect the current mammalian designations ABCA to ABCG. In addition, we specifically review the well-studied yeast ABCC subfamily (formerly designated the MRP/CFTR subfamily), which includes six members (Ycf1p, Bpt1p, Ybt1p/Bat1p, Nft1p, Vmr1p, and Yor1p). We focus on Ycf1p, the best-characterized yeast ABCC transporter. Ycf1p is located in the vacuolar membrane in yeast and functions in a manner analogous to that of the human multidrug resistance-related protein (MRP1, also called ABCC1), mediating the transport of glutathione-conjugated toxic compounds. We review what is known about Ycf1p substrates, trafficking, processing, posttranslational modifications, regulation, and interactors. Finally, we discuss a powerful new yeast two-hybrid technology called integrated membrane yeast two-hybrid (iMYTH) technology, which was designed to identify interactors of membrane proteins. iMYTH technology has successfully identified novel interactors of Ycf1p and promises to be an invaluable tool in future efforts to comprehensively define the yeast ABC interactome.     

Engineering antibodies by yeast display

Since its first application to antibody engineering 15years ago, yeast display technology has been developed into a highly potent tool for both affinity maturing lead molecules and isolating novel antibodies and antibody-like species. Robust approaches to the creation of diversity, construction of yeast libraries, and library screening or selection have been elaborated, improving the quality of engineered molecules and certainty of success in an antibody engineering campaign and positioning yeast display as one of the premier antibody engineering technologies currently in use. Here, we summarize the history of antibody engineering by yeast surface display, approaches used in its application, and a number of examples highlighting the utility of this method for antibody engineering.     

Cell wall trapping of autocrine peptides for human G-protein-coupled receptors on the yeast cell surface

G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) regulate a wide variety of physiological processes and are important pharmaceutical targets for drug discovery. Here, we describe a unique concept based on yeast cell-surface display technology to selectively track eligible peptides with agonistic activity for human GPCRs (Cell Wall Trapping of Autocrine Peptides (CWTrAP) strategy). In our strategy, individual recombinant yeast cells are able to report autocrine-positive activity for human GPCRs by expressing a candidate peptide fused to an anchoring motif. Following expression and activation, yeast cells trap autocrine peptides onto their cell walls. Because captured peptides are incapable of diffusion, they have no impact on surrounding yeast cells that express the target human GPCR and non-signaling peptides. Therefore, individual yeast cells can assemble the autonomous signaling complex and allow single-cell screening of a yeast population. Our strategy may be applied to identify eligible peptides with agonistic activity for target human GPCRs.     

Trapping parasite secretory proteins in baker's yeast

Because the function of signal sequences has been conserved during evolution it has been possible to develop both bioinformatics resources to identify them and techniques to clone genes that encode secretory proteins. The latter entail insertion of heterologous signals upstream of signal peptide deleted reporter genes. We discuss the advantages of using Saccharomyces cerevisiae for signal sequence trap technology. The yeast protein-translocation system appears to be less discriminating than that of higher eukaryotes - for example, a Theileria parva cysteine protease gene containing a recessed, nonclassical signal allows access to the secretory pathway--and yeast technology could have general application in studying elements of parasite protein trafficking.     

酵母甾醇转运蛋白研究进展

甾醇是一类广泛存在于生物体内的环戊烷骈多氢菲衍生物,其不仅是细胞膜的重要组成成分,还具有重要的生理和药理活性。随着合成生物学和代谢工程技术的发展,近些年来应用酵母细胞异源合成甾醇的研究不断深入。但由于甾醇是疏水性大分子,倾向于积累在酵母的膜结构中而引发细胞毒性,一定程度上限制了甾醇产量的进一步提升。因此,揭示酵母中甾醇转运机制,特别是与甾醇转运相关的转运蛋白的工作原理,有助于设计新的策略,解除酵母细胞工厂中的甾醇积累毒性、实现甾醇增产。酵母中甾醇转运主要通过蛋白质介导的非囊泡运输机制来完成,本文归纳了酵母中已报道的5类甾醇转运相关蛋白,即OSBP/ORPs家族蛋白、LAM家族蛋白、NPC样甾醇转运蛋白、ABC转运家族蛋白和CAP超家族蛋白,汇总了这些蛋白对细胞内甾醇梯度分布和稳态维持所起的重要作用。此外,本文还综述了甾醇转运蛋白在酵母细胞工厂中的应用现状。     

Application of in situ PCR to yeast cells for screening YAC libraries.

We have used in situ PCR technology in yeast cells with the ultimate goal of cloning and screening genomic yeast artificial chromosome (YAC) libraries. The target sequences in YAC clones were amplified "in situ" in yeast cells by the same set of microsatellite primers used in solution-based PCR screening. The method is fast and sensitive and obviates the steps required for individual isolation of DNAs from hundreds to thousands of YAC clones and thus has an advantage over conventional solution-based PCR screening. This approach can conceivably be applied to the products of automated robotic workstations.     

转新疆雪莲去饱和酶基因sikSAD重组酵母低温和酒精耐受性分析

根据GenBank收录的sikSAD基因序列, 采用反转录PCR技术从新疆雪莲(Sasussured involucrata Kar. et Kir)中克隆了sikSAD基因, 并构建了pYES2-sikSAD大肠杆菌/酵母穿梭表达载体, 通过电击法转化酿酒酵母288C菌株, 并利用PCR和SDS-PAGE对转化酿酒酵母进行鉴定, 最后通过低温胁迫和酒精胁迫进行抗性初步分析及方差分析。结果表明: 低温胁迫实验中, 转sikSAD基因酿酒酵母在低温条件下仍能存活, 并且在温度恢复到28 °C时能迅速生长, 生长状态良好, 不饱和脂肪酸油酸的含量有明显的变化。酒精胁迫实验中, 其能耐受一定浓度的酒精, 并且耐受能力比非转基因酿酒酵母提高了十几个百分点。可见, 在低温胁迫和高浓度酒精条件下, 转新疆雪莲sikSAD基因酿酒酵母表现出了优良的活性和生长优势, 显示出较强的抗性特征, 用分子手段改造酿酒酵母, 为工业生产提供高质量的酿酒酵母奠定实验基础。     

低乙醛Lager型啤酒酵母研究进展

啤酒酵母是啤酒酿造的核心,对啤酒风味及风味稳定性具有重要影响。乙醛是影响啤酒风味和风味稳定性最重要的醛类化合物,是酒精饮料中引起人类致癌的物质之一,主要通过啤酒酵母的生物代谢产生,存在于啤酒发酵过程及成品啤酒中。因此,筛选或选育优良的低产乙醛啤酒酵母菌株将成为有效解决啤酒风味稳定性的途径之一。近年来,随着基因工程技术的发展及啤酒酵母基因组的不断阐明,人们对啤酒酵母菌种改良展开了大量的研究,以期解决啤酒酿造问题,改善啤酒质量。本文对采用传统方式及基因工程手段选育低产乙醛啤酒酵母的最新研究进展进行了综述。其中,对低乙醛啤酒酵母选育的手段及策略进行了讨论并对低乙醛啤酒酵母选育的研究热点及发展趋势进行了展望。     

Engineering of protein secretion in yeast: strategies and impact on protein production

Yeasts combine the ease of genetic manipulation and fermentation of a microorganism with the capability to secrete and modify foreign proteins according to a general eukaryotic scheme. Their rapid growth, microbiological safety, and high-density fermentation in simplified medium have a high impact particularly in the large-scale industrial production of foreign proteins, where secretory expression is important for simplifying the downstream protein purification process. However, secretory expression of heterologous proteins in yeast is often subject to several bottlenecks that limit yield. Thus, many studies on yeast secretion systems have focused on the engineering of the fermentation process, vector systems, and host strains. Recently, strain engineering by genetic modification has been the most useful and effective method for overcoming the drawbacks in yeast secretion pathways. Such an approach is now being promoted strongly by current post-genomic technology and system biology tools. However, engineering of the yeast secretion system is complicated by the involvement of many cross-reacting factors. Tight interdependence of each of these factors makes genetic modification difficult. This indicates the necessity of developing a novel systematic modification strategy for genetic engineering of the yeast secretion system. This mini-review focuses on recent strategies and their advantages for systematic engineering of yeast strains for effective protein secretion.