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Biochemistry. Biokhimiia Dec 2016Saccharomyces yeasts have been used for millennia for the production of beer, wine, bread, and other fermented products. Long-term "unconscious" selection and... (Review)
Review
Saccharomyces yeasts have been used for millennia for the production of beer, wine, bread, and other fermented products. Long-term "unconscious" selection and domestication led to the selection of hundreds of strains with desired production traits having significant phenotypic and genetic differences from their wild ancestors. This review summarizes the results of recent research in deciphering the genomes of wine Saccharomyces strains, the use of comparative genomics methods to study the mechanisms of yeast genome evolution under conditions of artificial selection, and the use of genomic and postgenomic approaches to identify the molecular nature of the important characteristics of commercial wine strains of Saccharomyces. Succinctly, data concerning metagenomics of microbial communities of grapes and wine and the dynamics of yeast and bacterial flora in the course of winemaking is provided. A separate section is devoted to an overview of the physiological, genetic, and biochemical features of sherry yeast strains used to produce biologically aged wines. The goal of the review is to convince the reader of the efficacy of new genomic and postgenomic technologies as tools for developing strategies for targeted selection and creation of new strains using "classical" and modern techniques for improving winemaking technology.
Topics: Genetic Variation; Metabolomics; Phylogeny; Proteomics; Saccharomyces cerevisiae; Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins; Wine
PubMed: 28260488
DOI: 10.1134/S0006297916130046 -
FEMS Yeast Research Sep 2014The origin of modern fruits brought to microbial communities an abundant source of rich food based on simple sugars. Yeasts, especially Saccharomyces cerevisiae, usually... (Review)
Review
The origin of modern fruits brought to microbial communities an abundant source of rich food based on simple sugars. Yeasts, especially Saccharomyces cerevisiae, usually become the predominant group in these niches. One of the most prominent and unique features and likely a winning trait of these yeasts is their ability to rapidly convert sugars to ethanol at both anaerobic and aerobic conditions. Why, when, and how did yeasts remodel their carbon metabolism to be able to accumulate ethanol under aerobic conditions and at the expense of decreasing biomass production? We hereby review the recent data on the carbon metabolism in Saccharomycetaceae species and attempt to reconstruct the ancient environment, which could promote the evolution of alcoholic fermentation. We speculate that the first step toward the so-called fermentative lifestyle was the exploration of anaerobic niches resulting in an increased metabolic capacity to degrade sugar to ethanol. The strengthened glycolytic flow had in parallel a beneficial effect on the microbial competition outcome and later evolved as a "new" tool promoting the yeast competition ability under aerobic conditions. The basic aerobic alcoholic fermentation ability was subsequently "upgraded" in several lineages by evolving additional regulatory steps, such as glucose repression in the S. cerevisiae clade, to achieve a more precise metabolic control.
Topics: Biological Evolution; Ethanol; Fermentation; Glycolysis; Saccharomyces cerevisiae; Yeasts
PubMed: 24824836
DOI: 10.1111/1567-1364.12161 -
Biochemistry. Biokhimiia Jul 2012The current view on phenoptosis and apoptosis as genetic programs aimed at eliminating potentially dangerous organisms and cells, respectively, is given. Special... (Review)
Review
The current view on phenoptosis and apoptosis as genetic programs aimed at eliminating potentially dangerous organisms and cells, respectively, is given. Special emphasis is placed on apoptosis (phenoptosis) in yeasts: intracellular defects and a plethora of external stimuli inducing apoptosis in yeasts; distinctive morphological and biochemical hallmarks accompanying apoptosis in yeasts; pro- and antiapoptotic factors involved in yeast apoptosis signaling; consecutive stages of apoptosis from external stimulus to the cell death; a prominent role of mitochondria and other organelles in yeast apoptosis; possible pathways for release of apoptotic factors from the intermembrane mitochondrial space into the cytosol are described. Using some concrete examples, the obvious physiological importance and expediency of altruistic death of yeast cells is shown. Poorly known aspects of yeast apoptosis and prospects for yeast apoptosis study are defined.
Topics: Apoptosis; Microbial Viability; Saccharomyces cerevisiae; Signal Transduction; Time Factors
PubMed: 22817540
DOI: 10.1134/S0006297912070097 -
FEMS Yeast Research Feb 2022Yeasts have been widely used for production of bread, beer and wine, as well as for production of bioethanol, but they have also been designed as cell factories to... (Review)
Review
Yeasts have been widely used for production of bread, beer and wine, as well as for production of bioethanol, but they have also been designed as cell factories to produce various chemicals, advanced biofuels and recombinant proteins. To systematically understand and rationally engineer yeast metabolism, genome-scale metabolic models (GEMs) have been reconstructed for the model yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae and nonconventional yeasts. Here, we review the historical development of yeast GEMs together with their recent applications, including metabolic flux prediction, cell factory design, culture condition optimization and multi-yeast comparative analysis. Furthermore, we present an emerging effort, namely the integration of proteome constraints into yeast GEMs, resulting in models with improved performance. At last, we discuss challenges and perspectives on the development of yeast GEMs and the integration of proteome constraints.
Topics: Biofuels; Metabolic Engineering; Proteome; Retrospective Studies; Saccharomyces cerevisiae
PubMed: 35094064
DOI: 10.1093/femsyr/foac003 -
Biocontrol Science 2020Aluminum ions are toxic to bacteria and are thus frequently used for preservation in the food industry. However, at higher concentrations, aluminum is toxic to animals....
Aluminum ions are toxic to bacteria and are thus frequently used for preservation in the food industry. However, at higher concentrations, aluminum is toxic to animals. The extraction of aluminum from aluminum-contaminated foods would therefore be beneficial. Based on the discovery of yeast strains that can tolerate and absorb toxic metals, we aimed to identify strains that could tolerate and absorb aluminum. In this study, yeast were isolated from soil samples and cultured in medium containing the toxic concentration of aluminum chloride (5 mM) for Saccharomyces cerevisiae BY4741. Among aluminum-tolerant strains, two strains, Alt-OF2 and Alt-OF5, were identified as aluminum-absorbing. D1/D2 sequencing revealed that both strains belonged to the genus Schizoblastosporion (syn. Nadsonia).
Topics: Adaptation, Biological; Aluminum; Environmental Microbiology; Ions; Saccharomyces cerevisiae; Soil Microbiology; Yeasts
PubMed: 33281181
DOI: 10.4265/bio.25.231 -
World Journal of Microbiology &... Aug 2020In natural environments, microorganisms form microbial aggregates called biofilms able to adhere to a multitude of different surfaces. Yeasts make no exception to this... (Review)
Review
In natural environments, microorganisms form microbial aggregates called biofilms able to adhere to a multitude of different surfaces. Yeasts make no exception to this rule, being able to form biofilms in a plethora of environmental niches. In food realms, yeast biofilms may cause major problems due to their alterative activities. In addition, yeast biofilms are tenacious structures difficult to eradicate or treat with the current arsenal of antifungal agents. Thus, much effort is being made to develop novel approaches to prevent and disrupt yeast biofilms, for example through the use of natural antimicrobials or small molecules with both inhibiting and dispersing properties. The aim of this review is to provide a synopsis of the most recent literature on yeast biofilms regarding: (i) biofilm formation mechanisms; (ii) occurrence in food and in food-related environments; and (iii) inhibition and dispersal using natural compounds, in particular.
Topics: Antifungal Agents; Biofilms; Food; Food Microbiology; Saccharomyces cerevisiae; Yeasts
PubMed: 32776210
DOI: 10.1007/s11274-020-02911-5 -
Biosensors May 2020Biosensors are regarded as a powerful tool to detect and monitor environmental contaminants, toxins, and, more generally, organic or chemical markers of potential... (Review)
Review
Biosensors are regarded as a powerful tool to detect and monitor environmental contaminants, toxins, and, more generally, organic or chemical markers of potential threats to human health. They are basically composed of a sensor part made up of either live cells or biological active molecules coupled to a transducer/reporter technological element. Whole-cells biosensors may be based on animal tissues, bacteria, or eukaryotic microorganisms such as yeasts and microalgae. Although very resistant to adverse environmental conditions, yeasts can sense and respond to a wide variety of stimuli. As eukaryotes, they also constitute excellent cellular models to detect chemicals and organic contaminants that are harmful to animals. For these reasons, combined with their ease of culture and genetic modification, yeasts have been commonly used as biological elements of biosensors since the 1970s. This review aims first at giving a survey on the different types of yeast-based biosensors developed for the environmental and medical domains. We then present the technological developments currently undertaken by academic and corporate scientists to further drive yeasts biosensors into a new era where the biological element is optimized in a tailor-made fashion by in silico design and where the output signals can be recorded or followed on a smartphone.
Topics: Animals; Biosensing Techniques; Humans; Saccharomyces cerevisiae; Smartphone
PubMed: 32413968
DOI: 10.3390/bios10050051 -
FEMS Microbiology Reviews Mar 2014Polarization is a fundamental cellular property, which is essential for the function of numerous cell types. Over the past three to four decades, research using the... (Review)
Review
Polarization is a fundamental cellular property, which is essential for the function of numerous cell types. Over the past three to four decades, research using the best-established yeast systems in cell biological research, Saccharomyces cerevisiae (or budding yeast) and Schizosaccharomyces pombe (or fission yeast), has brought to light fundamental principles governing the establishment and maintenance of a polarized, asymmetric state. These two organisms, though both ascomycetes, are evolutionarily very distant and exhibit distinct shapes and modes of growth. In this review, we compare and contrast the two systems. We first highlight common cell polarization pathways, detailing the contribution of Rho GTPases, the cytoskeleton, membrane trafficking, lipids, and protein scaffolds. We then contrast the major differences between the two organisms, describing their distinct strategies in growth site selection and growth zone dimensions and compartmentalization, which may be the basis for their distinct shapes.
Topics: Cell Polarity; Cell Shape; Saccharomyces cerevisiae; Schizosaccharomyces
PubMed: 24354645
DOI: 10.1111/1574-6976.12055 -
PLoS Biology Nov 2022Cellular adaptation to stressful environments such as starvation is essential to the survival of microbial communities, but the uniform response of the cell community...
Cellular adaptation to stressful environments such as starvation is essential to the survival of microbial communities, but the uniform response of the cell community may lead to entire cell death or severe damage to their fitness. Here, we demonstrate an elaborate response of the yeast community against glucose depletion, in which the first adapted cells kill the latecomer cells. During glucose depletion, yeast cells release autotoxins, such as leucic acid and L-2keto-3methylvalerate, which can even kill the clonal cells of the ones producing them. Although these autotoxins were likely to induce mass suicide, some cells differentiated to adapt to the autotoxins without genetic changes. If nondifferentiated latecomers tried to invade the habitat, autotoxins damaged or killed the latecomers, but the differentiated cells could selectively survive. Phylogenetically distant fission and budding yeast shared this behavior using the same autotoxins, suggesting that latecomer killing may be the universal system of intercellular communication, which may be relevant to the evolutional transition from unicellular to multicellular organisms.
Topics: Humans; Saccharomyces cerevisiae; Yeast, Dried; Cell Death; Germ Cells; Glucose
PubMed: 36342925
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3001844 -
ACS Synthetic Biology May 2019Engineered systems that control cellular differentiation and pattern formation are essential for applications like tissue engineering, biomaterial fabrication, and...
Engineered systems that control cellular differentiation and pattern formation are essential for applications like tissue engineering, biomaterial fabrication, and synthetic ecosystems. Synthetic circuits that can take on multiple states have been made to engineer multicellular systems. However, how to use these states to drive interesting cellular behavior remains challenging. Here, we present a cellular differentiation program involving a novel synthetic bistable switch coupled to an antibiotic resistance gene that affects growth in yeast ( S. cerevisiae). The switch is composed of a positive feedback loop involving a novel transcription factor and can be switched ON and OFF via two different transient inducer inputs. By further coupling the bistable switch with an antibiotic resistance gene, we obtained a growth differentiation circuit, where yeast cells can be switched to stable HIGH or LOW growth rate states via transient inducer inputs. This work demonstrates a rationally designed and experimentally validated cellular differentiation behavior in yeast.
Topics: Drug Resistance, Microbial; Indoleacetic Acids; Models, Biological; Saccharomyces cerevisiae; Synthetic Biology; Transcription Factors
PubMed: 31021593
DOI: 10.1021/acssynbio.8b00524