Polygenic analysis and targeted improvement of the complex trait of high acetic acid tolerance in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Adaptive Response and Tolerance to Acetic Acid in Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Zygosaccharomyces bailii: A Physiological Genomics Perspective

Acetic acid is an important microbial growth inhibitor in the food industry; it is used as a preservative in foods and beverages and is produced during normal yeast metabolism in biotechnological processes. Acetic acid is also a major inhibitory compound present in lignocellulosic hydrolysates affecting the use of this promising carbon source for sustainable bioprocesses. Although the molecular mechanisms underlying Saccharomyces cerevisiae response and adaptation to acetic acid have been studied for years, only recently they have been examined in more detail in Zygosaccharomyces bailii. However, due to its remarkable tolerance to acetic acid and other weak acids this yeast species is a major threat in the spoilage of acidic foods and beverages and considered as an interesting alternative cell factory in Biotechnology. This review paper emphasizes genome-wide strategies that are providing global insights into the molecular targets, signaling pathways and mechanisms behind S. cerevisiae and Z. bailii tolerance to acetic acid, and extends this information to other weak acids whenever relevant. Such comprehensive perspective and the knowledge gathered in these two yeast species allowed the identification of candidate molecular targets, either for the design of effective strategies to overcome yeast spoilage in acidic foods and beverages, or for the rational genome engineering to construct more robust industrial strains. Examples of successful applications are provided.

Deletion of acetate transporter gene ADY2 improved tolerance of Saccharomyces cerevisiae against multiple stresses and enhanced ethanol production in the presence of acetic acid

The aim of this work was to study the effects of deleting acetate transporter gene ADY2 on growth and fermentation of Saccharomyces cerevisiae in the presence of inhibitors. Comparative transcriptome analysis revealed that three genes encoding plasma membrane carboxylic acid transporters, especially ADY2, were significantly downregulated under the zinc sulfate addition condition in the presence of acetic acid stress, and the deletion of ADY2 improved growth of S. cerevisiae under acetic acid, ethanol and hydrogen peroxide stresses. Consistently, a concomitant increase in ethanol production by 14.7% in the presence of 3.6g/L acetic acid was observed in the ADY2 deletion mutant of S. cerevisiae BY4741. Decreased intracellular acetic acid, ROS accumulation, and plasma membrane permeability were observed in the ADY2 deletion mutant. These findings would be useful for developing robust yeast strains for efficient ethanol production.

Advances in cellulosic conversion to fuels: engineering yeasts for cellulosic bioethanol and biodiesel production

Cellulosic fuels are expected to have great potential industrial applications in the near future, but they still face technical challenges to become cost-competitive fuels, thus presenting many opportunities for improvement. The economical production of viable biofuels requires metabolic engineering of microbial platforms to convert cellulosic biomass into biofuels with high titers and yields. Fortunately, integrating traditional and novel engineering strategies with advanced engineering toolboxes has allowed the development of more robust microbial platforms, thus expanding substrate ranges. This review highlights recent trends in the metabolic engineering of microbial platforms, such as the industrial yeasts Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Yarrowia lipolytica, for the production of renewable fuels.

Identification of Novel Alleles Conferring Superior Production of Rose Flavor Phenylethyl Acetate Using Polygenic Analysis in Yeast

Flavor compound metabolism is one of the last areas in metabolism where multiple genes encoding biosynthetic enzymes are still unknown. A major challenge is the involvement of side activities of enzymes having their main function in other areas of metabolism. We have applied pooled-segregant whole-genome sequence analysis to identify novel Saccharomyces cerevisiae genes affecting production of phenylethyl acetate (2-PEAc). This is a desirable flavor compound of major importance in alcoholic beverages imparting rose- and honey-like aromas, with production of high 2-PEAc levels considered a superior trait. Four quantitative trait loci (QTLs) responsible for high 2-PEAc production were identified, with two loci each showing linkage to the genomes of the BTC.1D and ER18 parents. The first two loci were investigated further. The causative genes were identified by reciprocal allele swapping into both parents using clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat (CRISPR)/Cas9. The superior allele of the first major causative gene, FAS2, was dominant and contained two unique single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) responsible for high 2-PEAc production that were not present in other sequenced yeast strains. FAS2 encodes the alpha subunit of the fatty acid synthetase complex. Surprisingly, the second causative gene was a mutant allele of TOR1, a gene involved in nitrogen regulation. Exchange of both superior alleles in the ER18 parent strain increased 2-PEAc production 70%, nearly to the same level as in the best superior segregant. Our results show that polygenic analysis combined with CRISPR/Cas9-mediated allele exchange is a powerful tool for identification of genes encoding missing metabolic enzymes and for development of industrial yeast strains generating novel flavor profiles in alcoholic beverages.IMPORTANCE Multiple reactions in flavor metabolism appear to be catalyzed by side activities of other enzymes that have been difficult to identify. We have applied genetic mapping of quantitative trait loci in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae to identify mutant alleles of genes determining the production of phenylethyl acetate, an important flavor compound imparting rose- and honey-like aromas to alcoholic beverages. We identified a unique, dominant allele of FAS2 that supports high production of phenylethyl acetate. FAS2 encodes a subunit of the fatty acid synthetase complex and apparently exerts an important side activity on one or more alternative substrates in flavor compound synthesis. The second mutant allele contained a nonsense mutation in TOR1, a gene involved in nitrogen regulation of growth. Together the two alleles strongly increased the level of phenylethyl acetate. Our work highlights the potential of genetic mapping of quantitative phenotypic traits to identify novel enzymes and regulatory components in yeast metabolism, including regular metabolic enzymes with unknown side activities responsible for biosynthesis of specific flavor compounds. The superior alleles identified can be used to develop industrial yeast strains generating novel flavor profiles in alcoholic beverages.

Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains for second-generation ethanol production: from academic exploration to industrial implementation

The recent start-up of several full-scale 'second generation' ethanol plants marks a major milestone in the development of Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains for fermentation of lignocellulosic hydrolysates of agricultural residues and energy crops. After a discussion of the challenges that these novel industrial contexts impose on yeast strains, this minireview describes key metabolic engineering strategies that have been developed to address these challenges. Additionally, it outlines how proof-of-concept studies, often developed in academic settings, can be used for the development of robust strain platforms that meet the requirements for industrial application. Fermentation performance of current engineered industrial S. cerevisiae strains is no longer a bottleneck in efforts to achieve the projected outputs of the first large-scale second-generation ethanol plants. Academic and industrial yeast research will continue to strengthen the economic value position of second-generation ethanol production by further improving fermentation kinetics, product yield and cellular robustness under process conditions.

Engineering tolerance to industrially relevant stress factors in yeast cell factories

The main focus in development of yeast cell factories has generally been on establishing optimal activity of heterologous pathways and further metabolic engineering of the host strain to maximize product yield and titer. Adequate stress tolerance of the host strain has turned out to be another major challenge for obtaining economically viable performance in industrial production. Although general robustness is a universal requirement for industrial microorganisms, production of novel compounds using artificial metabolic pathways presents additional challenges. Many of the bio-based compounds desirable for production by cell factories are highly toxic to the host cells in the titers required for economic viability. Artificial metabolic pathways also turn out to be much more sensitive to stress factors than endogenous pathways, likely because regulation of the latter has been optimized in evolution in myriads of environmental conditions. We discuss different environmental and metabolic stress factors with high relevance for industrial utilization of yeast cell factories and the experimental approaches used to engineer higher stress tolerance. Improving stress tolerance in a predictable manner in yeast cell factories should facilitate their widespread utilization in the bio-based economy and extend the range of products successfully produced in large scale in a sustainable and economically profitable way.

Technological Microbiology: Development and Applications

Over thousands of years, modernization could be predicted for the use of microorganisms in the production of foods and beverages. However, the current accelerated pace of new food production is due to the rapid incorporation of biotechnological techniques that allow the rapid identification of new molecules and microorganisms or even the genetic improvement of known species. At no other time in history have microorganisms been so present in areas such as agriculture and medicine, except as recognized villains. Currently, however, beneficial microorganisms such as plant growth promoters and phytopathogen controllers are required by various agricultural crops, and many species are being used as biofactories of important pharmacological molecules. The use of biofactories does not end there: microorganisms have been explored for the synthesis of diverse chemicals, fuel molecules, and industrial polymers, and strains environmentally important due to their biodecomposing or biosorption capacity have gained interest in research laboratories and in industrial activities. We call this new microbiology Technological Microbiology, and we believe that complex techniques, such as heterologous expression and metabolic engineering, can be increasingly incorporated into this applied science, allowing the generation of new and improved products and services.

Omics analysis of acetic acid tolerance in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Acetic acid is an inhibitor in industrial processes such as wine making and bioethanol production from cellulosic hydrolysate. It causes energy depletion, inhibition of metabolic enzyme activity, growth arrest and ethanol productivity losses in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Therefore, understanding the mechanisms of the yeast responses to acetic acid stress is essential for improving acetic acid tolerance and ethanol production. Although 329 genes associated with acetic acid tolerance have been identified in the Saccharomyces genome and included in the database ( http://www.yeastgenome.org/observable/resistance_to_acetic_acid/overview ), the cellular mechanistic responses to acetic acid remain unclear in this organism. Post-genomic approaches such as transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics and chemogenomics are being applied to yeast and are providing insight into the mechanisms and interactions of genes, proteins and other components that together determine complex quantitative phenotypic traits such as acetic acid tolerance. This review focuses on these omics approaches in the response to acetic acid in S. cerevisiae. Additionally, several novel strains with improved acetic acid tolerance have been engineered by modifying key genes, and the application of these strains and recently acquired knowledge to industrial processes is also discussed.

Quantitative Trait Loci (QTL)-Guided Metabolic Engineering of a Complex Trait

Engineering complex phenotypes for industrial and synthetic biology applications is difficult and often confounds rational design. Bioethanol production from lignocellulosic feedstocks is a complex trait that requires multiple host systems to utilize, detoxify, and metabolize a mixture of sugars and inhibitors present in plant hydrolysates. Here, we demonstrate an integrated approach to discovering and optimizing host factors that impact fitness of Saccharomyces cerevisiae during fermentation of a Miscanthus x giganteus plant hydrolysate. We first used high-resolution Quantitative Trait Loci (QTL) mapping and systematic bulk Reciprocal Hemizygosity Analysis (bRHA) to discover 17 loci that differentiate hydrolysate tolerance between an industrially related (JAY291) and a laboratory (S288C) strain. We then used this data to identify a subset of favorable allelic loci that were most amenable for strain engineering. Guided by this "genetic blueprint", and using a dual-guide Cas9-based method to efficiently perform multikilobase locus replacements, we engineered an S288C-derived strain with superior hydrolysate tolerance than JAY291. Our methods should be generalizable to engineering any complex trait in S. cerevisiae, as well as other organisms.

The Zygosaccharomyces bailii transcription factor Haa1 is required for acetic acid and copper stress responses suggesting subfunctionalization of the ancestral bifunctional protein Haa1/Cup2

Background

The food spoilage yeast species Zygosaccharomyces bailii exhibits an extraordinary capacity to tolerate weak acids, in particular acetic acid. In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the transcription factor Haa1 (ScHaa1) is considered the main player in genomic expression reprogramming in response to acetic acid stress, but the role of its homologue in Z. bailii (ZbHaa1) is unknown.

Results

In this study it is demonstrated that ZbHaa1 is a ScHaa1 functional homologue by rescuing the acetic acid susceptibility phenotype of S. cerevisiae haa1Δ. The disruption of ZbHAA1 in Z. bailii IST302 and the expression of an extra ZbHAA1 copy confirmed ZbHAA1 as a determinant of acetic acid tolerance. ZbHaa1 was found to be required for acetic acid stress-induced transcriptional activation of Z. bailii genes homologous to ScHaa1-target genes. An evolutionary analysis of the Haa1 homologues identified in 28 Saccharomycetaceae species genome sequences, including Z bailii, was carried out using phylogenetic and gene neighbourhood approaches. Consistent with previous studies, this analysis revealed a group containing pre-whole genome duplication species Haa1/Cup2 single orthologues, including ZbHaa1, and two groups containing either Haa1 or Cup2 orthologues from post-whole genome duplication species. S. cerevisiae Cup2 (alias Ace1) is a transcription factor involved in response and tolerance to copper stress. Taken together, these observations led us to hypothesize and demonstrate that ZbHaa1 is also involved in copper-induced transcriptional regulation and copper tolerance.

Conclusions

The transcription factor ZbHaa1 is required for adaptive response and tolerance to both acetic acid and copper stresses. The subfunctionalization of the single ancestral Haa1/Cup2 orthologue that originated Haa1 and Cup2 paralogues after whole genome duplication is proposed.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12864-016-3443-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Improvement of yeast tolerance to acetic acid through Haa1 transcription factor engineering: towards the underlying mechanisms

Background

Besides being a major regulator of the response to acetic acid in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the transcription factor Haa1 is an important determinant of the tolerance to this acid. The engineering of Haa1 either by overexpression or mutagenesis has therefore been considered to be a promising avenue towards the construction of more robust strains with improved acetic acid tolerance.

Results

By applying the concept of global transcription machinery engineering to the regulon-specific transcription factor Haa1, a mutant allele containing two point mutations could be selected that resulted in a significantly higher acetic acid tolerance as compared to the wild-type allele. The level of improvement obtained was comparable to the level obtained by overexpression of HAA1, which was achieved by introduction of a second copy of the native HAA1 gene. Dissection of the contribution of the two point mutations to the phenotype showed that the major improvement was caused by an amino acid exchange at position 135 (serine to phenylalanine). In order to further study the mechanisms underlying the tolerance phenotype, Haa1 translocation and transcriptional activation of Haa1 target genes was compared between Haa1 mutant, overproduction and wild-type strains. While the rapid Haa1 translocation from the cytosol to the nucleus in response to acetic acid was not affected in the Haa1^S135F mutant strain, the levels of transcriptional activation of four selected Haa1-target genes by acetic acid were significantly higher in cells of the mutant strain as compared to cells of the wild-type strain. Interestingly, the time-course of transcriptional activation in response to acetic acid was comparable for the mutant and wild-type strain whereas the maximum mRNA levels obtained correlate with each strain’s tolerance level.

Conclusion

Our data confirms that engineering of the regulon-specific transcription factor Haa1 allows the improvement of acetic acid tolerance in S. cerevisiae. It was also shown that the beneficial S135F mutation identified in the current work did not lead to an increase of HAA1 transcript level, suggesting that an altered protein structure of the Haa1^S135F mutant protein led to an increased recruitment of the transcription machinery to Haa1 target genes.

Identification of Zygosaccharomyces mellis strains in stored honey and their stress tolerance

To screen yeast with high sugar tolerance and evaluate their stress tolerance, six yeast strains were selected from 17 stored honey samples. The species were identified through 26S rRNA sequencing. Their stress tolerance was determined via the Durham fermentation method and ethanol production ability was determined via flask fermentation. The results demonstrated that all the six strains were Zygosaccharomyces mellis. Their sugar, ethanol, and acid tolerance ranges were 500-700 g/L, 10-12% (v/v), and pH 2.5-4.5, respectively. The SO₂ tolerance was 250 mg/L. Among the six strains, 6-7431 had the best stress tolerance with sugar tolerance of 700 g/L, ethanol tolerance of 12% (v/v), and acid tolerance of pH 2.5. Furthermore, the strain of 6-7431 had the highest percentage of ethanol production at the same initial sugar content as the other strains. Therefore, the selected six yeast strains would be promising fermentation yeasts for wine-making, ethanol production, or other fermentation purposes.

Adaptation to low pH and lignocellulosic inhibitors resulting in ethanolic fermentation and growth of Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Lignocellulosic bioethanol from renewable feedstocks using Saccharomyces cerevisiae is a promising alternative to fossil fuels owing to environmental challenges. S. cerevisiae is frequently challenged by bacterial contamination and a combination of lignocellulosic inhibitors formed during the pre-treatment, in terms of growth, ethanol yield and productivity. We investigated the phenotypic robustness of a brewing yeast strain TMB3500 and its ability to adapt to low pH thereby preventing bacterial contamination along with lignocellulosic inhibitors by short-term adaptation and adaptive lab evolution (ALE). The short-term adaptation strategy was used to investigate the inherent ability of strain TMB3500 to activate a robust phenotype involving pre-culturing yeast cells in defined medium with lignocellulosic inhibitors at pH 5.0 until late exponential phase prior to inoculating them in defined media with the same inhibitor cocktail at pH 3.7. Adapted cells were able to grow aerobically, ferment anaerobically (glucose exhaustion by 19 ± 5 h to yield 0.45 ± 0.01 g ethanol g glucose(-1)) and portray significant detoxification of inhibitors at pH 3.7, when compared to non-adapted cells. ALE was performed to investigate whether a stable strain could be developed to grow and ferment at low pH with lignocellulosic inhibitors in a continuous suspension culture. Though a robust population was obtained after 3600 h with an ability to grow and ferment at pH 3.7 with inhibitors, inhibitor robustness was not stable as indicated by the characterisation of the evolved culture possibly due to phenotypic plasticity. With further research, this short-term adaptation and low pH strategy could be successfully applied in lignocellulosic ethanol plants to prevent bacterial contamination.

Natural gene expression variation studies in yeast

The rise of sequence information across different yeast species and strains is driving an increasing number of studies in the emerging field of genomics to associate polymorphic variants, mRNA abundance and phenotypic differences between individuals. Here, we gathered evidence from recent studies covering several layers that define the genotype-phenotype gap, such as mRNA abundance, allele-specific expression and translation efficiency to demonstrate how genetic variants co-evolve and define an individual's genome. Moreover, we exposed several antecedents where inter- and intra-specific studies led to opposite conclusions, probably owing to genetic divergence. Future studies in this area will benefit from the access to a massive array of well-annotated genomes and new sequencing technologies, which will allow the fine breakdown of the complex layers that delineate the genotype-phenotype map. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Sphingolipid biosynthesis upregulation by TOR complex 2-Ypk1 signaling during yeast adaptive response to acetic acid stress

Acetic acid-induced inhibition of yeast growth and metabolism limits the productivity of industrial fermentation processes, especially when lignocellulosic hydrolysates are used as feedstock in industrial biotechnology. Tolerance to acetic acid of food spoilage yeasts is also a problem in the preservation of acidic foods and beverages. Thus understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying adaptation and tolerance to acetic acid stress is increasingly important in industrial biotechnology and the food industry. Prior genetic screens for Saccharomyces cerevisiae mutants with increased sensitivity to acetic acid identified loss-of-function mutations in the YPK1 gene, which encodes a protein kinase activated by the target of rapamycin (TOR) complex 2 (TORC2). We show in the present study by several independent criteria that TORC2-Ypk1 signaling is stimulated in response to acetic acid stress. Moreover, we demonstrate that TORC2-mediated Ypk1 phosphorylation and activation is necessary for acetic acid tolerance, and occurs independently of Hrk1, a protein kinase previously implicated in the cellular response to acetic acid. In addition, we show that TORC2-Ypk1-mediated activation of l-serine:palmitoyl-CoA acyltransferase, the enzyme complex that catalyzes the first committed step of sphingolipid biosynthesis, is required for acetic acid tolerance. Furthermore, analysis of the sphingolipid pathway using inhibitors and mutants indicates that it is production of certain complex sphingolipids that contributes to conferring acetic acid tolerance. Consistent with that conclusion, promoting sphingolipid synthesis by adding exogenous long-chain base precursor phytosphingosine to the growth medium enhanced acetic acid tolerance. Thus appropriate modulation of the TORC2-Ypk1-sphingolipid axis in industrial yeast strains may have utility in improving fermentations of acetic acid-containing feedstocks.

Towards efficient bioethanol production from agricultural and forestry residues: Exploration of unique natural microorganisms in combination with advanced strain engineering

Production of fuel ethanol from lignocellulosic feedstocks such as agricultural and forestry residues is receiving increasing attention due to the unsustainable supply of fossil fuels. Three key challenges include high cellulase production cost, toxicity of the cellulosic hydrolysate to microbial strains, and poor ability of fermenting microorganisms to utilize certain fermentable sugars in the hydrolysate. In this article, studies on searching of natural microbial strains for production of unique cellulase for biorefinery of agricultural and forestry wastes, as well as development of strains for improved cellulase production were reviewed. In addition, progress in the construction of yeast strains with improved stress tolerance and the capability to fully utilize xylose and glucose in the cellulosic hydrolysate was also summarized. With the superior microbial strains for high titer cellulase production and efficient utilization of all fermentable sugars in the hydrolysate, economic biofuels production from agricultural residues and forestry wastes can be realized.

Development of stress tolerant Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains by metabolic engineering: New aspects from cell flocculation and zinc supplementation

Budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae is widely studied for the production of biofuels from lignocellulosic biomass. However, economic production is currently challenged by the repression of cell growth and compromised fermentation performance of S. cerevisiae strains in the presence of various environmental stresses, including toxic level of final products, inhibitory compounds released from the pretreatment of cellulosic feedstocks, high temperature, and so on. Therefore, it is important to improve stress tolerance of S. cerevisiae to these stressful conditions to achieve efficient and economic production. In this review, the latest advances on development of stress tolerant S. cerevisiae strains are summarized, with the emphasis on the impact of cell flocculation and zinc addition. It was found that cell flocculation affected ethanol tolerance and acetic acid tolerance of S. cerevisiae, and addition of zinc to a suitable level improved stress tolerance of yeast cells to ethanol, high temperature and acetic acid. Further studies on the underlying mechanisms by which cell flocculation and zinc status affect stress tolerance will not only enrich our knowledge on stress response and tolerance mechanisms of S. cerevisiae, but also provide novel metabolic engineering strategies to develop robust yeast strains for biofuels production.

Genetic dissection of acetic acid tolerance in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Dissection of the hereditary architecture underlying Saccharomyces cerevisiae tolerance to acetic acid is essential for ethanol fermentation. In this work, a genomics approach was used to dissect hereditary variations in acetic acid tolerance between two phenotypically different strains. A total of 160 segregants derived from these two strains were obtained. Phenotypic analysis indicated that the acetic acid tolerance displayed a normal distribution in these segregants, and suggested that the acetic acid tolerant traits were controlled by multiple quantitative trait loci (QTLs). Thus, 220 SSR markers covering the whole genome were used to detect QTLs of acetic acid tolerant traits. As a result, three QTLs were located on chromosomes 9, 12, and 16, respectively, which explained 38.8-65.9 % of the range of phenotypic variation. Furthermore, twelve genes of the candidates fell into the three QTL regions by integrating the QTL analysis with candidates of acetic acid tolerant genes. These results provided a novel avenue to obtain more robust strains.

EXPLoRA-web: linkage analysis of quantitative trait loci using bulk segregant analysis

Identification of genomic regions associated with a phenotype of interest is a fundamental step toward solving questions in biology and improving industrial research. Bulk segregant analysis (BSA) combined with high-throughput sequencing is a technique to efficiently identify these genomic regions associated with a trait of interest. However, distinguishing true from spuriously linked genomic regions and accurately delineating the genomic positions of these truly linked regions requires the use of complex statistical models currently implemented in software tools that are generally difficult to operate for non-expert users. To facilitate the exploration and analysis of data generated by bulked segregant analysis, we present EXPLoRA-web, a web service wrapped around our previously published algorithm EXPLoRA, which exploits linkage disequilibrium to increase the power and accuracy of quantitative trait loci identification in BSA analysis. EXPLoRA-web provides a user friendly interface that enables easy data upload and parallel processing of different parameter configurations. Results are provided graphically and as BED file and/or text file and the input is expected in widely used formats, enabling straightforward BSA data analysis. The web server is available at http://bioinformatics.intec.ugent.be/explora-web/.

A new laboratory evolution approach to select for constitutive acetic acid tolerance in Saccharomyces cerevisiae and identification of causal mutations

BACKGROUND

Acetic acid, released during hydrolysis of lignocellulosic feedstocks for second generation bioethanol production, inhibits yeast growth and alcoholic fermentation. Yeast biomass generated in a propagation step that precedes ethanol production should therefore express a high and constitutive level of acetic acid tolerance before introduction into lignocellulosic hydrolysates. However, earlier laboratory evolution strategies for increasing acetic acid tolerance of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, based on prolonged cultivation in the presence of acetic acid, selected for inducible rather than constitutive tolerance to this inhibitor.

RESULTS

Preadaptation in the presence of acetic acid was shown to strongly increase the fraction of yeast cells that could initiate growth in the presence of this inhibitor. Serial microaerobic batch cultivation, with alternating transfers to fresh medium with and without acetic acid, yielded evolved S. cerevisiae cultures with constitutive acetic acid tolerance. Single-cell lines isolated from five such evolution experiments after 50-55 transfers were selected for further study. An additional constitutively acetic acid tolerant mutant was selected after UV-mutagenesis. All six mutants showed an increased fraction of growing cells upon a transfer from a non-stressed condition to a medium containing acetic acid. Whole-genome sequencing identified six genes that contained (different) mutations in multiple acetic acid-tolerant mutants. Haploid segregation studies and expression of the mutant alleles in the unevolved ancestor strain identified causal mutations for the acquired acetic acid tolerance in four genes (ASG1, ADH3, SKS1 and GIS4). Effects of the mutations in ASG1, ADH3 and SKS1 on acetic acid tolerance were additive.

CONCLUSIONS

A novel laboratory evolution strategy based on alternating cultivation cycles in the presence and absence of acetic acid conferred a selective advantage to constitutively acetic acid-tolerant mutants and may be applicable for selection of constitutive tolerance to other stressors. Mutations in four genes (ASG1, ADH3, SKS1 and GIS4) were identified as causative for acetic acid tolerance. The laboratory evolution strategy as well as the identified mutations can contribute to improving acetic acid tolerance in industrial yeast strains.