A proteome analysis of the cadmium response in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Cadmium is very toxic at low concentrations, but the basis for its toxicity is not clearly understood. We analyzed the proteomic response of yeast cells to acute cadmium stress and identified 54 induced and 43 repressed proteins. A striking result is the strong induction of 9 enzymes of the sulfur amino acid biosynthetic pathway. Accordingly, we observed that glutathione synthesis is strongly increased in response to cadmium treatment. Several proteins with antioxidant properties were also induced. The induction of nine proteins is dependent upon the transactivator Yap1p, consistent with the cadmium hypersensitive phenotype of the YAP1-disrupted strain. Most of these proteins are also overexpressed in a strain overexpressing Yap1p, a result that correlates with the cadmium hyper-resistant phenotype of this strain. Two of these Yap1p-dependent proteins, thioredoxin and thioredoxin reductase, play an important role in cadmium tolerance because strains lacking the corresponding genes are hypersensitive to this metal. Altogether, our data indicate that the two cellular thiol redox systems, glutathione and thioredoxin, are essential for cellular defense against cadmium.     

Hydrogen peroxide-induced carbonylation of key metabolic enzymes in Saccharomyces cerevisiae: the involvement of the oxidative stress response regulators Yap1 and Skn7

H(2)O(2) induces a specific protein oxidation in yeast cells, and the glycolytic enzyme glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (Tdh) is a major target. Using a 2D-gel system to study protein carbonylation, it is shown in this work that both Tdh2p and Tdh3p isozymes were oxidized during exposure to H(2)O(2). In addition, we identified two other proteins carbonylated and inactivated: Cu,Zn-superoxide dismutase and phosphoglycerate mutase. The oxidative inactivation of Cu,Zn-superoxide dismutase decreases the antioxidant capacity of yeast cells and probably contributes to H(2)O(2)-induced cell death. Cyclophilin 1 was also carbonylated, but CPH1 gene disruption did not affect peroxide stress sensitivity. The correlation between H(2)O(2) sensitivity and the accumulation of oxidized proteins was evaluated by assaying protein carbonyls in mutants deficient in the stress response regulators Yap1p and Skn7p. The results show that the high sensitivity of yap1delta and skn7delta mutants to H(2)O(2) was correlated with an increased induction of protein carbonylation. In wild-type cells, the acquisition of stress resistance by pre-exposure to a sublethal H(2)O(2) stress was associated with a lower accumulation of oxidized proteins. However, pre-exposure of yap1delta and skn7delta cells to 0.4 mM H(2)O(2) decreased protein carbonylation induced by 1.5 mM H(2)O(2), indicating that the adaptive mechanism involved in the protection of proteins from carbonylation is Yap1p- and Skn7p-independent.     

Catalase modifies yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae response towards S-nitrosoglutathione-induced stress

Abstract

Nitric oxide is known to be a messenger in animals and plants. Catalase may regulate the concentration of intracellular ^?NO. In this study, yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells were treated with 1–20 mM S-nitrosoglutathione (GSNO), a nitric oxide donor, which decreased yeast survival in a concentration-dependent manner. In the wild-type strain (YPH250), 20 mM GSNO reduced survival by 32%. The strain defective in peroxisomal catalase behaved like the wild-type strain, while a mutant defective in cytosolic catalase showed 10% lower survival. Surprisingly, survival of the double catalase mutant was significantly higher than that of the other strains used. Incubation of yeast with GSNO increased the activities of both superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase. Pre-incubation with cycloheximide prevented the activation of catalase, but not SOD. The concentrations of oxidized glutathione increased in the wild-type strain, as well as in the mutants defective in peroxisomal catalase and an acatalasaemic strain; it failed to do this in the mutant defective in cytosolic catalase. The activity of aconitase was reduced after GSNO treatment in all strains studied, except for the mutant defective in peroxisomal catalase. The content of protein carbonyls and activities of glutathione reductase and S-nitrosoglutathione reductase were unchanged following GSNO treatment. The increase in catalase activity due to incubation with GSNO was not found in a strain defective in Yap1p, a master regulator of yeast adaptive response to oxidative stress. The obtained data demonstrate that exposure of yeast cells to the ^?NO-donor S-nitrosoglutathione induced mild oxidative/nitrosative stress and Yap1p may co-ordinate the up-regulation of antioxidant enzymes under these conditions.     

Acetobacter aceti possesses a proton motive force-dependent efflux system for acetic acid

Acetic acid bacteria are obligate aerobes able to oxidize ethanol, sugar alcohols, and sugars into their corresponding acids. Among them, Acetobacter and Gluconacetobacter species have very high ethanol oxidation capacity, leading to accumulation of vast amounts of acetic acid outside the cell. Since these bacteria are able to grow in media with high concentrations of acetic acid, they must possess a specific mechanism such as an efflux pump by which they can resist the toxic effects of acetic acid. In this study, the efflux pump of Acetobacter aceti IFO 3283 was examined using intact cells and membrane vesicles. The accumulation of acetic acid/acetate in intact cells was increased by the addition of a proton uncoupler and/or cyanide, suggesting the presence of an energy-dependent efflux system. To confirm this, right-side-out and inside-out membrane vesicles were prepared from A. aceti IFO 3283, and the accumulation of acetic acid/acetate in the vesicles was examined. Upon the addition of a respiratory substrate, the accumulation of acetic acid/acetate in the right-side-out vesicles was largely decreased, while its accumulation was very much increased in the inside-out vesicles. These respiration-dependent phenomena observed in both types of membrane vesicles were all sensitive to a proton uncoupler. Acetic acid/acetate uptake in the inside-out membrane vesicles was dependent not on ATP but on the proton motive force. Furthermore, uptake was shown to be rather specific for acetic acid and to be pH dependent, because higher uptake was observed at lower pH. Thus, A. aceti IFO 3283 possesses a proton motive force-dependent efflux pump for acetic acid.     

Mechanisms underlying the acquisition of resistance to octanoic-acid-induced-death following exposure of Saccharomyces cerevisiae to mild stress imposed by octanoic acid or ethanol

Acquisition of resistance to lethal concentrations of octanoic acid was induced in cells of Saccharomyces cerevisiae grown in the presence of sublethal concentrations of this lipophilic acid or following rapid exposure (1 h) of unadapted yeast cells to mild stress imposed by the same acid. Experimental evidence indicated that the referred adaptation involved de novo protein synthesis, presumably due to the rapid induction of a plasma membrane transporter which mediates the active efflux of octanoate out of the cell. Rapid exposure of cells to mild ethanol stress also led to increased resistance to lethal concentrations of octanoic acid. This cross-resistance to octanoic-acid-induced death was below the level of resistance induced by mild octanoic acid stress and did not involve induction of the active expulsion of octanoate out of the cell. However, the rapid exposure of yeast cells to octanoic acid or ethanol led to the activation of plasma membrane H+-ATPase. The physiological role of the two stress responses examined during the present study, namely, the active efflux of octanoate specifically induced by octanoic acid and the stimulation of plasma membrane H+-ATPase activity, is discussed.     

The pdr12 ABC transporter is required for the development of weak organic acid resistance in yeast.

Exposure of Saccharomyces cerevisiae to sorbic acid strongly induces two plasma membrane proteins, one of which is identified in this study as the ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporter Pdr12. In the absence of weak acid stress, yeast cells grown at pH 7.0 express extremely low Pdr12 levels. However, sorbate treatment causes a dramatic induction of Pdr12 in the plasma membrane. Pdr12 is essential for the adaptation of yeast to growth under weak acid stress, since Deltapdr12 mutants are hypersensitive at low pH to the food preservatives sorbic, benzoic and propionic acids, as well as high acetate levels. Moreover, active benzoate efflux is severely impaired in Deltapdr12 cells. Hence, Pdr12 confers weak acid resistance by mediating energy-dependent extrusion of water-soluble carboxylate anions. The normal physiological function of Pdr12 is perhaps to protect against the potential toxicity of weak organic acids secreted by competitor organisms, acids that will accumulate to inhibitory levels in cells at low pH. This is the first demonstration that regulated expression of a eukaryotic ABC transporter mediates weak organic acid resistance development, the cause of widespread food spoilage by yeasts. The data also have important biotechnological implications, as they suggest that the inhibition of this transporter could be a strategy for preventing food spoilage.     

Transcriptional activation of metalloid tolerance genes in Saccharomyces cerevisiae requires the AP-1-like proteins Yap1p and Yap8p

All organisms are equipped with systems for detoxification of the metalloids arsenic and antimony. Here, we show that two parallel pathways involving the AP-1-like proteins Yap1p and Yap8p are required for acquisition of metalloid tolerance in the budding yeast S. cerevisiae. Yap8p is demonstrated to reside in the nucleus where it mediates enhanced expression of the arsenic detoxification genes ACR2 and ACR3. Using chromatin immunoprecipitation assays, we show that Yap8p is associated with the ACR3 promoter in untreated as well as arsenic-exposed cells. Like for Yap1p, specific cysteine residues are critical for Yap8p function. We further show that metalloid exposure triggers nuclear accumulation of Yap1p and stimulates expression of antioxidant genes. Yap1p mutants that are unable to accumulate in the nucleus during H(2)O(2) treatment showed nearly normal nuclear retention in response to metalloid exposure. Thus, our data are the first to demonstrate that Yap1p is being regulated by metalloid stress and to indicate that this activation of Yap1p operates in a manner distinct from stress caused by chemical oxidants. We conclude that Yap1p and Yap8p mediate tolerance by controlling separate subsets of detoxification genes and propose that the two AP-1-like proteins respond to metalloids through distinct mechanisms.     

Involvement of Yeast HSP90 Isoforms in Response to Stress and Cell Death Induced by Acetic Acid

Acetic acid-induced apoptosis in yeast is accompanied by an impairment of the general protein synthesis machinery, yet paradoxically also by the up-regulation of the two isoforms of the heat shock protein 90 (HSP90) chaperone family, Hsc82p and Hsp82p. Herein, we show that impairment of cap-dependent translation initiation induced by acetic acid is caused by the phosphorylation and inactivation of eIF2α by Gcn2p kinase. A microarray analysis of polysome-associated mRNAs engaged in translation in acetic acid challenged cells further revealed that HSP90 mRNAs are over-represented in this polysome fraction suggesting preferential translation of HSP90 upon acetic acid treatment. The relevance of HSP90 isoform translation during programmed cell death (PCD) was unveiled using genetic and pharmacological abrogation of HSP90, which suggests opposing roles for HSP90 isoforms in cell survival and death. Hsc82p appears to promote survival and its deletion leads to necrotic cell death, while Hsp82p is a pro-death molecule involved in acetic acid-induced apoptosis. Therefore, HSP90 isoforms have distinct roles in the control of cell fate during PCD and their selective translation regulates cellular response to acetic acid stress.