Inhibition of sterol biosynthesis by ergosterol and cholesterol in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

When accumulation of squalene was used as a measure of the flow of carbon into the sterol pathway in whole cells of semi-anaerobic Saccharomyces cerevisiae, both ergosterol and cholesterol were found to be inhibitory. However, at equivalent concentrations in the medium ergosterol was substantially the more potent inhibitor. Marked differences found in the absorption and esterification of the two sterols failed to account for the observed difference in their capacities to act as feedback agents. Cholesterol was much more effectively absorbed as well as esterified, but, when the abilities of the two sterols to lower the squalene level were calculated on the basis of free sterol in the cells, ergosterol remained more effective by a factor of four.     

Sterol level in Saccharomyces cerevisiae mutants with altered ergosterol biosynthesis

The sterol content in Saccharomyces cerevisiae mutants defective in the synthesis of cyclic ergosterol precursors has been studied. It was found that strains with mutational blocks involving the stages of zymosterol side chain methylation at C24 and delta 8----delta 7 isomerization accumulated twice more sterols as compared to parent strains. Regulation of the ergosterol biosynthesis is discussed.     

Regulation of early enzymes of ergosterol biosynthesis in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

In order to determine the regulation mechanisms of ergosterol biosynthesis in yeast, we developed growth conditions leading to high or limiting ergosterol levels in wild type and sterol-auxotrophic mutant strains. An excess of sterol is obtained in anaerobic sterol-supplemented cultures of mutant and wild type strains. A low sterol level is obtained in aerobic growth conditions in mutant strains cultured with optimal sterol supplementation and in wild type strain deprived of pantothenic acid, as well as in anaerobic cultures without sterol supplementation. Measurements of the specific activities of acetoacetyl-CoA thiolase, HMG-CoA (3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA) synthase and HMG-CoA reductase (the first three enzymes of the pathway), show that in cells deprived of ergosterol, acetoacetyl-CoA thiolase and HMG-CoA synthase are generally increased. In an excess of ergosterol, in anaerobiosis, the same enzymes are strongly decreased. A 5-10-fold decrease is observed for acetoacetyl-CoA thiolase and HMG-CoA synthase. In contrast, HMG-CoA reductase is only slightly affected by these conditions. These results show that ergosterol could regulate its own synthesis, at least partially, by repression of the first two enzymes of the pathway. Our results also show that exogenous sterols, even if strongly incorporated by auxotrophic mutant cells, cannot suppress enzyme activities in aerobic growth conditions. Measurement of specific enzyme activities in mutant cells also revealed that farnesyl pyrophosphate thwarts the enhancement of the activities of the two first enzymes.     

Effect of nitrogen limitation on the ergosterol production by fed-batch culture of Saccharomyces cerevisiae

The diversity and content of available nitrogen sources in the growth medium both are very important in the accumulation of ergosterol in the yeast cell membrane. Growth on the good nitrogen sources such as ammonia can harvest more yeast cells than on poor ones, but ergosterol content in those yeast cells is relatively lower. Ergosterol content, one of the most variable parameters in ergosterol production by yeast cultivation, is greatly influenced by nitrogen limitation. The aim of our work was to study how the nitrogen sources affected the membrane ergosterol content and increase the total ergosterol yield. On the premise of keeping high ergosterol content in yeast cell, the ergosterol yield was enhanced by increasing the yeast biomass. Direct feed back control of glucose using an on-line ethanol concentration monitor was introduced to achieve high cell density. Ammonia, which acted as nitrogen source, was added to adjust pH during fermentation process, but its addition needed careful control. Cultivation in 5 L bioreactor was carried out under following conditions: culture temperature 30+/-1 degrees C, pH 5.5+/-0.1, agitation speed 600 rpm, controlling ethanol concentration below 1% and controlling ammonium ion concentration below 0.1 mol/L. Under these conditions the yeast dry weight reached 95.0+/-2.6 g/L and the ergosterol yield reached 1981+/-34 mg/L.     

Characteristics of the final stages of ergosterol biosynthesis in Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeasts

A scheme of ergosterol cyclic intermediate transformations in S. cerevisiae has been proposed. It is based on the analysis of sterol composition in strains with mutant blocks of one or two reactions of enzymatic synthesis. Biochemical reactions of modification of cyclic part and side branch of sterol molecule are supposed to be carried out independently.     

酿酒酵母生物合成胞磷胆碱的条件优化

通过优化胞磷胆碱底物浓度的发酵条件,提高酿酒酵母发酵菌浓及胞磷胆碱转化率.分别以胞苷酸、磷酸胆碱、硫酸镁和乙醇等底物和反应关联物质诱导酿酒酵母,采用单因素变量实验优化发酵条件.优化后,酿酒酵母C401菌株摇瓶培养的菌浓为70 g/L,胞磷胆碱转化率为53.3％,比诱导前提高了33.5％.30 L发酵中菌浓可达90.5 g/L,胞磷胆碱转化率为59％.     

酵母菌利用糖蜜发酵产麦角甾醇的工艺条件优化

麦角甾醇是由酵母菌产生的具有重要经济价值的代谢产物。为了提高酵母菌利用糖蜜发酵生产麦角甾醇的产量,通过响应面分析法优化了发酵培养基配方,并在5 L发酵罐对发酵过程pH控制和底物流加补料方式进行了优化。结果表明,利用优化后的发酵培养基,即糖蜜总糖40 g/L,KH2PO4 1 g/L,K2HPO4 1.86 g/L,CuSO4·5H2O 17.5 mg/L,FeSO4·7H2O 13.9 mg/L,MgSO4·5H2O 12.3 mg/L,玉米浆10 mL/L,麦角甾醇产量比优化前提高了29.5%;利用恒定pH控制策略,在5 L发酵罐进行分批发酵,使麦角甾醇产量提高了62.1%;进一步采用底物流加补料策略,使麦角甾醇产量达到1 953.85 mg/L,是分批发酵的3.2倍,而且麦角甾醇产率比分批发酵提高了42.7%。为酵母菌发酵糖蜜产麦角甾醇的产业化应用奠定了基础。     

酵母生产谷胱甘肽的培养条件研究

应用Plackett-Burman实验设计、响应面分析方法研究了酵母生产谷胱甘肽的培养条件,结果表明:最佳培养条件为初始pH 5.0,培养温度28℃,接种量10%,摇床转速200 r/min,种子液种龄22~23 h。葡萄糖1.95%,糖蜜1.95%,蛋白胨3%,Cys.HCl 0.10%,MgSO4.7H2O 0.5%,甲硫氨酸0.05%,在此优化的条件下培养,谷胱甘肽的产量达235.7 mg/L,比优化前提高45.4%。     

Role of ergosterol in growth inhibition of Saccharomyces cerevisiae by syringomycin E

The antifungal activity of the lipodepsipeptide syringomycin E from Pseudomonas syringae pv. syringae is modulated by sterols. To study the requirement of the predominant fungal sterol, ergosterol, in syringomycin E action, the sterol composition of Saccharomyces cerevisiae sterol auxotroph strain FY-14 was modified and sensitivity to syringomycin E examined. Cells containing solely ergosterol, cholesterol, β-sitosterol or stigmasterol were sensitive to syringomycin E with the latter two being the most sensitive. Cells containing growth-promoting cholesterol were the most sensitive and those with growth-promoting ergosterol the least sensitive. It is concluded that sensitivity to syringomycin E is modulated by growth-promoting sterols and does not necessarily require ergosterol.     

Monoterpenoid biosynthesis in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Plant monoterpenoids belong to a large family of plant secondary metabolites with valuable applications in cosmetics and medicine. Their usual low levels and difficult purification justify the need for alternative fermentative processes for large-scale production. Geranyl diphosphate is the universal precursor of monoterpenoids. In yeast it occurs exclusively as an intermediate of farnesyl diphosphate synthesis. In the present study we investigated the potential use of Saccharomyces cerevisiae as an alternative engineering tool. The expression of geraniol synthase of Ocimum basilicum in yeast allowed a strong and specific excretion of geraniol to the growth medium, in contrast to mutants defective in farnesyl diphosphate synthase which excreted geraniol and linalool in similar amounts. A further increase of geraniol synthesis was obtained using yeast mutants defective in farnesyl diphosphate synthase. We also showed that geraniol synthase expression affects the general ergosterol pathway, but in a manner dependent on the genetic background of the strain.     

Optimization of conditions for cadmium selenide quantum dot biosynthesis in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

The biosynthesis of quantum dots has been explored as an alternative to traditional physicochemical methods; however, relatively few studies have determined optimal synthesis parameters. Saccharomyces cerevisiae sequentially treated with sodium selenite and cadmium chloride synthesized CdSe quantum dots in the cytoplasm. These nanoparticles displayed a prominent yellow fluorescence, with an emission maximum of approximately 540 nm. The requirement for glutathione in the biosynthetic mechanism was explored by depleting its intracellular content through cellular treatments with 1-chloro-2,4-dinitrobenzene and buthionine sulfoximine. Synthesis was significantly inhibited by both of these reagents when they were applied after selenite treatment prior to the addition of cadmium, thereby indicating that glutathione contributes to the biosynthetic process. Determining the optimum conditions for biosynthesis revealed that quantum dots were produced most efficiently at entry into stationary phase followed by direct addition of 1 mM selenite for only 6 h and then immediately incubating these cells in fresh growth medium containing 3 mM Cd (II). Synthesis of quantum dots reached a maximum at 84 h of reaction time. Biosynthesis of 800-μg g⁻¹ fresh weight cells was achieved. For the first time, significant efforts have been undertaken to optimize each aspect of the CdSe biosynthetic procedure in S. cerevisiae, resulting in a 70% increased production.

     

Evidence for dual physiological formsof ergosterol in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Data obtained from acid hydrolysis and extraction of yeast have demonstrated that routine saponification does not recover total sterol from the cells. This suggests the existence of a form of ergosterol resistant to saponification. Time course analyses of sterol synthesis by resting cell suspensions reveal an inverse relationship between the amounts of base labile and acid labile forms of sterol. These data give strong presumptive evidence for dual forms of ergosterol which are interconvertible according to the respiratory state of the cell.     

Statistical optimization of culture media and conditions for production of mannan by Saccharomyces cerevisiae

In view of the increase in Saccharomyces cerevisiae mannan content, the culture medium and condition for S. cerevisiae were optimized in this study. The influence of culture medium ingredients such as carbon and nitrogen sources, inorganic ion, and enzyme activator on mannan production were evaluated using factional design. The mathematical model was established by the quadratic rotary combination design through response surface analysis. The optimized concentrations of culture medium were determined as follows: 4.98 g/100 mL, sucrose; 4.39 g/100 mL, soybean peptone; 3.10 g/100 mL, yeast extract; and 2.21 g/100 mL, glycerol. The optimized culture medium increased mannan production from 82.7 ± 3.4 mg/100 mL to 162.53 ± 3.47 mg/100 mL. The influence of original pH, inoculum size, temperature, and media volume on mannan production was evaluated and confirmed by orthogonale experimental design, with the order of effect as follows: media volume > temperature > initial pH > inoculation size. The optimized culture condition was pH, 5; inoculum size, 5 ml; temperature, 32°C; and media volume, 40 mL. The maximum mannan production increased to 258.5 ± 9.1 mg/100 mL at the optimum culture condition. It was evident that the mannan production was affected significantly by culture medium and condition optimization (p < 0.01).     

The regulation of ubiquinone-6 biosynthesis by Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Increasing concentrations of glucose (1-5%) in the growth medium depressed ubiquinone-6 biosynthesis in continuously cultured wild type Saccharomyces cerevisiae. In addition, an early intermediate in the pathway of ubiquinone-6 biosynthesis, i.e. 3,4-dihydroxy-5-hexaprenylbenzoate (3,4-DHHB), was found to accumulate. The increase in 3,4-DHHB levels varied inversely with the diminished levels of ubiquinone-6, suggesting that O-methylation of 3,4-DHHB is a regulated step in catabolite repression. Experiments using protoplasts demonstrated that the effect of catabolite repression on this pathway was reversible by 1.2 mM cAMP but not by other nucleotides and cyclic nucleotides. This response to cAMP was unaltered by the protein synthesis inhibitor cycloheximide, indicating that the regulatory control for this reaction must occur at the enzymatic level. Additional experiments demonstrated the presence of a heat-labile component of the cytoplasm, which was essential for this effect of cAMP. This observation suggests that this cytosolic effector may be translocated to the inner membrane of the mitochondria, the intracellular site for ubiquinone-6 biosynthesis.     

Redox interactions between Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Saccharomyces uvarum in mixed culture under enological conditions

Wine yeast starters that contain a mixture of different industrial yeasts with various properties may soon be introduced to the market. The mechanisms underlying the interactions between the different strains in the starter during alcoholic fermentation have never been investigated. We identified and investigated some of these interactions in a mixed culture containing two yeast strains grown under enological conditions. The inoculum contained the same amount (each) of a strain of Saccharomyces cerevisiae and a natural hybrid strain of S. cerevisiae and Saccharomyces uvarum. We identified interactions that affected biomass, by-product formation, and fermentation kinetics, and compared the redox ratios of monocultures of each strain with that of the mixed culture. The redox status of the mixed culture differed from that of the two monocultures, showing that the interactions between the yeast strains involved the diffusion of metabolite(s) within the mixed culture. Since acetaldehyde is a potential effector of fermentation, we investigated the kinetics of acetaldehyde production by the different cultures. The S. cerevisiae-S. uvarum hybrid strain produced large amounts of acetaldehyde for which the S. cerevisiae strain acted as a receiving strain in the mixed culture. Since yeast response to acetaldehyde involves the same mechanisms that participate in the response to other forms of stress, the acetaldehyde exchange between the two strains could play an important role in inhibiting some yeast strains and allowing the growth of others. Such interactions could be of particular importance in understanding the ecology of the colonization of complex fermentation media by S. cerevisiae.