Engineering trehalose synthesis in Lactococcus lactis for improved stress tolerance

Trehalose accumulation is a common cell defense strategy against a variety of stressful conditions. In particular, our team detected high levels of trehalose in Propionibacterium freudenreichii in response to acid stress, a result that led to the idea that endowing Lactococcus lactis with the capacity to synthesize trehalose could improve the acid tolerance of this organism. To this end, we took advantage of the endogenous genes involved in the trehalose catabolic pathway of L. lactis, i.e., trePP and pgmB, encoding trehalose 6-phosphate phosphorylase and β-phosphoglucomutase, respectively, which enabled the synthesis of trehalose 6-phosphate. Given that L. lactis lacks trehalose 6-phosphate phosphatase, the respective gene, otsB, from the food-grade organism P. freudenreichii was used to provide the required activity. The trehalose yield was approximately 15% in resting cells and in mid-exponential-phase cells grown without pH control. The intracellular concentration of trehalose reached maximal values of approximately 170 mM, but at least 67% of the trehalose produced was found in the growth medium. The viability of mutant and control strains was examined after exposure to heat, cold or acid shock, and freeze-drying. The trehalose-producing strains showed improved tolerance (5- to 10-fold-higher survivability) to acid (pH 3) and cold shock (4°C); there was also a strong improvement in cell survival in response to heat shock (45°C), and no protection was rendered against dehydration. The insight provided by this work may help the design of food-grade strains optimized for the dairy industry as well as for oral drug delivery.     

Stress tolerance in a yeast lipid mutant: membrane lipids influence tolerance to heat and ethanol independently of heat shock proteins and trehalose.

The response of a yeast unsaturated fatty acid auxotroph, defective in delta 9-desaturase activity, to heat and ethanol stresses was examined. The most heat- and ethanol-tolerant cells had membranes enriched with oleic acid (C18:1), followed in order by cells enriched with linoleic (C18:2) and linolenic (C18:3) acids. Cells subjected to a heat shock (25-37 degrees C for 30 min) accumulated trehalose and synthesized typical heat shock proteins. Although there were no obvious differences in protein profiles attributable to lipid supplementation of the mutant, relative protein synthesis as determined by densitometric analysis of autoradiograms suggested that hsp expression was different. However, there was no consistent relationship between the synthesis of heat shock proteins and the acquisition of thermotolerance in the lipid supplemented auxotroph or related wild type. Furthermore, trehalose accumulation was also not closely related to stress tolerance. On the other hand, the data presented indicated a more consistent role for membrane lipid composition in stress tolerance than trehalose, heat shock proteins, or ergosterol. We suggest that the sensitivity of C18:3-enriched cells to heat and ethanol may be attributable to membrane damage associated with increases in membrane fluidity and oxygen-derived free radical attack of membrane lipids.     

Stress tolerance in a yeast sterol auxotroph: role of ergosterol, heat shock proteins and trehalose

The role of ergosterol in yeast stress tolerance, together with heat shock proteins (hsps) and trehalose, was examined in a sterol auxotrophic mutant of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Ergosterol levels paralleled viability data, with cells containing higher levels of the sterol exhibiting greater tolerances to heat and ethanol. Although the mutant synthesised hsps and accumulated trehalose upon heat shock to the same levels as the wild-type cells, these parameters did not relate to stress tolerance. These results indicate that the role of ergosterol in stress tolerance is independent of hsps or trehalose.     

Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains from traditional fermentations of Brazilian cachaça: trehalose metabolism, heat and ethanol resistance

Nine indigenous cachaça Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains and one wine strain were compared for their trehalose metabolism characteristics under non-lethal (40°C) and lethal (52°C) heat shock, ethanol shock and combined heat and ethanol stresses. The yeast protection mechanism was studied through trehalose concentration, neutral trehalase activity and expression of heat shock proteins Hsp70 and Hsp104. All isolates were able to accumulate trehalose and activate neutral trehalase under stress conditions. No correlation was found between trehalose levels and neutral trehalase activity under heat or ethanol shock. However, when these stresses were combined, a positive relationship was found. After pre-treatment at 40°C for 60 min, and heat shock at 52°C for 8 min, eight strains maintained their trehalose levels and nine strains improved their resistance against lethal heat shock. Among the investigated stresses, heat treatment induced the highest level of trehalose and combined heat and ethanol stresses activated the neutral trehalase most effectively. Hsp70 and Hsp104 were expressed by all strains at 40°C and all of them survived this temperature although a decrease in cell viability was observed at 52°C. The stress imposed by more than 5% ethanol (v/v) represented the best condition to differentiate strains based on trehalose levels and neutral trehalase activity. The investigated S. cerevisiae strains exhibited different characteristics of trehalose metabolism, which could be an important tool to select strains for the cachaça fermentation process.     

Accumulation of trehalose by overexpression of tps1, coding for trehalose-6-phosphate synthase, causes increased resistance to multiple stresses in the fission yeast schizosaccharomyces pombe

Recent studies have shown that heat shock proteins and trehalose synthesis are important factors in the thermotolerance of the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe. We examined the effects of trehalose-6-phosphate (trehalose-6P) synthase overexpression on resistance to several stresses in cells of S. pombe transformed with a plasmid bearing the tps1 gene, which codes for trehalose-6P synthase, under the control of the strong thiamine-repressible promoter. Upon induction of trehalose-6P synthase, the elevated levels of intracellular trehalose correlated not only with increased tolerance to heat shock but also with resistance to freezing and thawing, dehydration, osmostress, and toxic levels of ethanol, indicating that trehalose may be the stress metabolite underlying the overlap in induced tolerance to these stresses. Among the isogenic strains transformed with this construct, one in which the gene coding for the trehalose-hydrolyzing enzyme, neutral trehalase, was disrupted accumulated trehalose to a greater extent and was more resistant to the above stresses. Increased trehalose concentration is thus a major determinant of the general stress protection response in S. pombe.     

Intracellular trehalose is neither necessary nor sufficient for desiccation tolerance in yeast

Trehalose is thought to be important for desiccation tolerance in a number of organisms, including Saccharomyces cerevisiae, but there is limited in vivo evidence to support this hypothesis. In wild-type yeast, the degree of desiccation tolerance has been shown previously to increase in cultures after diauxic shift and also in exponential-phase cultures after exposure to heat stress. Under both these conditions, increased survival of desiccation correlates with elevated intracellular trehalose concentrations. Our data confirm these findings, but we have tested the apparent importance of trehalose using mutant strains with a deleted trehalose-6-phosphate synthase gene (tps1Delta). Although tps1Delta strains do not produce trehalose, they are nevertheless capable of desiccation tolerance, and the degree of tolerance also increases after diauxic shift or heat stress, albeit slightly less than in the wild type. Conversely, when wild-type yeast is subjected to osmotic stress, mid-exponential-phase cultures produce high concentrations of intracellular trehalose but show little improvement in desiccation tolerance. These results show that there is no consistent relationship between intracellular trehalose levels and desiccation tolerance in S. cerevisiae. Trehalose seems to be neither necessary nor sufficient for, although in some strains might quantitatively improve, survival of desiccation, suggesting that other adaptations are more important.     

Accumulation of Trehalose by Overexpression of tps1, Coding for Trehalose-6-Phosphate Synthase, Causes Increased Resistance to Multiple Stresses in the Fission Yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe

Recent studies have shown that heat shock proteins and trehalose synthesis are important factors in the thermotolerance of the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe. We examined the effects of trehalose-6-phosphate (trehalose-6P) synthase overexpression on resistance to several stresses in cells of S. pombe transformed with a plasmid bearing the tps1 gene, which codes for trehalose-6P synthase, under the control of the strong thiamine-repressible promoter. Upon induction of trehalose-6P synthase, the elevated levels of intracellular trehalose correlated not only with increased tolerance to heat shock but also with resistance to freezing and thawing, dehydration, osmostress, and toxic levels of ethanol, indicating that trehalose may be the stress metabolite underlying the overlap in induced tolerance to these stresses. Among the isogenic strains transformed with this construct, one in which the gene coding for the trehalose-hydrolyzing enzyme, neutral trehalase, was disrupted accumulated trehalose to a greater extent and was more resistant to the above stresses. Increased trehalose concentration is thus a major determinant of the general stress protection response in S. pombe.     

Physiological diversity and trehalose accumulation in Schizosaccharomyces pombe strains isolated from spontaneous fermentations during the production of the artisanal Brazilian cachaça

Twenty-seven Schizosaccharomyces pombe isolates from seven cacha?a distilleries were tested for maximum temperature of growth and fermentation, osmotolerance, ethanol resistance, invertase production, and trehalose accumulation. Two isolates were selected for studies of trehalose accumulation under heat shock and ethanol stress. The S. pombe isolates were also characterized by RAPD-PCR. The isolates were able to grow and ferment at 41 degrees C, resisted concentrations of 10% ethanol, and grew on 50% glucose medium. Four isolates yielded invertase activity of more than 100 micromol of reducing sugar x mg(-1) x min(-1). The S. pombe isolates were able to accumulate trehalose during stationary phase. Two isolates, strains UFMG-A533 and UFMG-A1000, submitted to a 15 min heat shock, were able to accumulate high trehalose levels. Strain UFMG-A533 had a marked reduction in viability during heat shock, but strain UFMG-A1000 preserved a viability rate of almost 20% after 15 min at 48 degrees C. No clear correlation was observed between trehalose accumulation and cell survival during ethanol stress. Strain UFMG-A1000 had higher trehalose accumulation levels than strain UFMG-A533 under conditions of combined heat treatment and ethanol stress. Molecular analysis showed that some strains are maintained during the whole cacha?a production period; using the RAPD-PCR profiles, it was possible to group the isolates according to their isolation sites.     

海藻糖与热激蛋白在酿酒酵母耐受乙醇胁迫中的作用

在燃料乙醇发酵生产过程中,酿酒酵母经常会受到高浓度乙醇的胁迫,导致乙醇转化率和产量降低。面对高浓度乙醇的胁迫,酿酒酵母也具有应对胁迫的应激机制。在对这种应激机制进行了解的基础上,如能提高酿酒酵母对乙醇的耐受性,对于燃料乙醇生产具有重要意义。在高浓度乙醇胁迫下,酿酒酵母细胞会产生一系列保护性物质,如海藻糖、热激蛋白、脯氨酸等,这些物质能够提高酿酒酵母细胞对乙醇的耐受性。海藻糖作为一种重要的碳源、能量贮藏物质,不仅能稳定细胞膜、蛋白质和核酸等大分子物质,还可增强酿酒酵母对高浓度乙醇的耐受性。此外,酿酒酵母还可以产生大量的热激蛋白,增强酿酒酵母的抗逆性。从海藻糖和热激蛋白在乙醇胁迫下对酿酒酵母细胞保护作用的研究方面进行了综述,并对存在的问题进行了讨论与展望。     

Acclimation of entomopathogenic nematodes to novel temperatures: trehalose accumulation and the acquisition of thermotolerance

The effect of thermal acclimation on trehalose accumulation and the acquisition of thermotolerance was studied in three species of entomopathogenic nematodes adapted to either cold or warm temperatures. All three Steinernema species accumulated trehalose when acclimated at either 5 or 35 degrees C, but the amount of trehalose accumulation differed by species and temperature. The trehalose content of the cold adapted Steinernema feltiae increased by 350 and 182%, of intermediate Steinernema carpocapsae by 146 and 122% and of warm adapted Steinernema riobrave by 30 and 87% over the initial level (18.25, 27.24 and 23.97 microg trehalose/mg dry weight, respectively) during acclimation at 5 and 35 degrees C, respectively. Warm and cold acclimation enhanced heat (40 degrees C for 8h) and freezing (-20 degrees C for 4h) tolerance of S. carpocapsae and the enhanced tolerance was positively correlated with the increased trehalose levels. Warm and cold acclimation also enhanced heat but not freezing tolerance of S. feltiae and the enhanced heat tolerance was positively correlated with the increased trehalose levels. In contrast, warm and cold acclimation enhanced the freezing but not heat tolerance of S. riobrave, and increased freezing tolerance of only warm acclimated S. riobrave was positively correlated with the increased trehalose levels. The effect of acclimation on maintenance of original virulence by either heat or freeze stressed nematodes against the wax moth Galleria mellonella larvae was temperature dependent and differed among species. During freezing stress, both cold and warm acclimated S. carpocapsae (84%) and during heat stress, only warm acclimated S. carpocapsae (95%) maintained significantly higher original virulence than the non-acclimated (36 and 47%, respectively) nematodes. Both cold and warm acclimated S. feltiae maintained significantly higher original virulence (69%) than the non-acclimated S. feltiae (0%) during heat but not freezing stress. In contrast, both warm and cold acclimated S. riobrave maintained significantly higher virulence (41%) than the non-acclimated (14%) nematodes during freezing, but not during heat stress. Our data indicate that trehalose accumulation is not only a cold associated phenomenon but is a general response of nematodes to thermal stress. However, the extent of enhanced thermal stress tolerance conferred by the accumulated trehalose differs with nematode species.     

Trehalose accumulation by tropical yeast strains submitted to stress conditions

Trehalose, a non-reducing disaccharide that accumulates in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, has been implicated in survival under various stress conditions by acting as membrane protectant, as a supplementary compatible solute or as a reserve carbohydrate which may be mobilized during stress. However, most of these studies have been done with strains isolated from European or Asian habitats of temperate climate. In this study, yeasts living in tropical environments, isolated from different microhabitats in Southeastern Brazil, were used to evaluate whether trehalose contributes to survival under osmotic, ethanol and heat stress. The survival under severe stress was compared to a well-characterized laboratorial wild-type strain (D273-10B). Most of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains isolated from Drosophila in Tropical Rain Forest were able to accumulate trehalose after a preconditioning treatment at 40 °C for 1 h. The amount of intracellular trehalose levels was better correlated with survival during a challenging heat shock at 50.5 °C for 8 min. Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Candida guilliermondii were observed to be thermotolerant as well as osmotolerant. No clear correlation between intracellular trehalose levels and survival could be derived during ethanol stress. In some cases, the amount of trehalose accumulated before the ethanol stress seemed to play an important role for the survival of these strains.     

Stress tolerance of pressure-shocked Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Pressure shock treatment induced synthesis of heat shock protein (hsp104) and tolerance against various stresses such as high temperature, high pressure and high concentration of ethanol in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The optimum pressures that induced maximal tolerance against these stresses were in the range of 50–75 MPa and depended on the type of stress. However, pressure shock did not stimulate trehalose production in the cells. © Rapid Science Ltd. 1998     

Acquisition of thermotolerance in Saccharomyces cerevisiae without heat shock protein hsp 104 and in the absence of protein synthesis.

Acquisition of thermotolerance in response to a preconditioning heat treatment at 40 degrees C was studied in mutants of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae lacking a specific heat shock protein or the ability to synthesize proteins at 40 degrees C. A mutant carrying a deletion of heat shock protein hsp 104 and the corresponding wildtype strain were both highly sensitive to heat stress at 50.4 degrees C without preconditioning but both acquired almost the same level of thermotolerance after 60 min of preconditioning. Both strains showed equal induction of trehalose-6-phosphate synthase and accumulated equal levels of trehalose during the treatment. The conditional mutant ts--187 synthesized no proteins during the preconditioning heat treatment but nevertheless acquired thermotolerance, albeit to a lesser degree than the corresponding wildtype strain. Induction of trehalose-6-phosphate synthase and accumulation of trehalose were reduced to a similar extent. These results show that acquisition of thermotolerance and accumulation of trehalose are closely correlated during heat preconditioning and are modulated by protein synthesis but do not require it.     

Role of trehalose phosphate synthase in anoxia tolerance and development in Drosophila melanogaster.

Recent studies have shown that trehalose plays a protective role in yeast in a variety of stresses, including heat, freezing and thawing, dehydration, hyperosmotic shock, and oxidant injury. Because (a) heat shock and anoxia share mechanisms that allow organisms to survive, (b) Drosophila melanogaster is tolerant to anoxia, and (c) trehalose is present in flies and is metabolically active, we asked whether trehalose can protect against anoxic stress. Here we report on a new role of trehalose in anoxia resistance in Drosophila. We first cloned the gene trehalose-6-phosphate synthase (tps1), which synthesizes trehalose, and examined the effect of tps1 overexpression as well as mutation on the resistance of Drosophila to anoxia. Upon induction of tps1, trehalose increased, and this was associated with increased tolerance to anoxia. Furthermore, in vitro experiments showed that trehalose reduced protein aggregation caused by anoxia. Homozygous tps1 mutant (P-element insertion into the third intron of the gene) leads to lethality at an early larval stage, and excision of the P-element rescues totally the phenotype. We conclude that trehalose contributes to anoxia tolerance in flies; this protection is likely to be due to a reduction of protein aggregation.     

Analysis of the heat-shock response displayed by two Chaetomium species originating from different thermal environments.

Three features of the heat shock response, reorganization of protein expression, intracellular accumulation of trehalose, and alteration in unsaturation degree of fatty acids were investigated in the thermophilic fungus Chaetomium thermophile and compared to the response displayed by a closely related mesophilic species, C. brasiliense. Thermophilic heat shock response paralleled the mesophilic response in many respects like (i) the temperature difference observed between normothermia and the upper limit of translational activity, (ii) the transient nature of the heat shock response at the level of protein expression including both the induction of heat shock proteins (HSPs) as well as the repression of housekeeping proteins, (iii) the presence of representatives of high-molecular-weight HSPs families, (iv) intracellular accumulation of trehalose, and finally (v) modifications in fatty acid composition. On the other hand, a great variability between the two organisms was observed for the proteins expressed during stress, in particular a protein of the HSP60 family that was only observed in C. thermophile. This peptide was also present constitutively at normal temperature and may thus fulfil thermophilic functions. It is shown that accumulation of trehalose does not play a part in thermophily but is only a stress response. C. thermophile contains less polyunsaturated fatty acids at normal temperature than C. brasiliense, a fact that can be directly related to thermophily. When subjected to heat stress, both organisms tended to accumulate shorter and less unsaturated fatty acids.