Efficient selection of hybrids by protoplast fusion using drug resistance markers and reporter genes in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Fast method for identifying inter- and intra-species Saccharomyces hybrids in extensive genetic improvement programs based on yeast breeding

AIMS

The present work proposes a two-step molecular strategy to select inter- and intra-species Saccharomyces hybrids obtained by spore-to-spore mating, one of the most used methods for generating improved hybrids from homothallic wine yeasts.

METHODS AND RESULTS

As low spore viability and haplo-selfing are the main causes of failed mating, at first, we used colony screening PCR (csPCR) of discriminative gene markers to select hybrids directly on dissection plate and discard homozygous diploid colonies arisen from one auto-diploidized progenitor. Then, pre-selected candidates were submitted to recursive streaking and conventional PCR in order to discriminate between the hybrids with stable genomic background and the false-positive admixtures of progenitor cells both undergone haplo-selfing. csPCRs of internal transcribed spacer (ITS) 1 or 2, and the subsequent digestion with diagnostic endonucleases HaeIII and RsaI, respectively, were efficient to select six new Saccharomyces cerevisiae × Saccharomyces uvarum hybrids from 64 crosses. Intragenic minisatellite regions in PIR3, HSP150, and DAN4 genes showed high inter-strain size variation detectable by cost-effective agarose gel electrophoresis and were successful to validate six new intra-species S. cerevisiae hybrids from 34 crosses.

CONCLUSIONS

Both protocols reduce significantly the number of massive DNA extractions, prevent misinterpretations caused by one or both progenitors undergone haplo-selfing, and can be easily implemented in yeast labs without any specific instrumentation.

SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY

The study provides a method for the marker-assisted selection of several inter- and intra-species yeast hybrids in a cost-effective, rapid and reproducible manner.

Construction and analysis of high-ethanol-producing fusants with co-fermentation ability through protoplast fusion and double labeling technology

Double labeling of resistance markers and report genes can be used to breed engineered Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains that can assimilate xylose and glucose as a mixed carbon source for ethanol fermentation and increased ethanol production. In this study Saccharomyces cerevisiae W5 and Candida shehatae 20335 were used as parent strains to conduct protoplast fusion and the resulting fusants were screened by double labeling. High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was used to assess the ethanol yield following the fermentation of xylose and glucose, as both single and mixed carbon sources, by the fusants. Interestingly, one fusant (ZLYRHZ7) was demonstrated to have an excellent fermentation performance, with an ethanol yield using the mixed carbon source of 0.424 g g⁻¹, which compares with 0.240 g g⁻¹ (W5) and 0.353 g g⁻¹ (20335) for the parent strains. This indicates an improvement in the ethanol yield of 43.4% and 16.7%, respectively.

Constructing synthetic microbial communities to explore the ecology and evolution of symbiosis

Synthetically engineered microbial communities based on model organisms provide a simplified model of their naturally occurring counterparts while still retaining essential features of living organisms. The degree of control afforded by this approach has been critical in understanding how similar types of natural communities might have persisted and evolved. Here, we first discuss important considerations when designing a synthetically engineered system. Then, we describe the steps required to create a two-partner cooperative system based on the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

The novel role of fungal intracellular laccase: used to screen hybrids between Hypsizigus marmoreus and Clitocybe maxima by protoplasmic fusion

Laccase has been proved important in decolorization of Remazol Brilliant Blue R (RBBR), oxidation of 2, 2'-Azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) diammonium salt, lignin degradation and fruiting-body formation. The decolorization of RBBR by laccase was firstly used to screen protoplast fusants. Fusants were obtained by protoplast fusion between the strains of Hypsizigus marmoreus and Clitocybe maxima, and two fusants (IM1 and IIIM5) were screened on PDA medium containing RBBR. These fusants were significant higher in laccase activity than H. marmoreus, nearly 413 and 395 times, respectively. Their hyphal growth rates were also remarkable higher than H. marmoreus, nearly 1.5 and 1.4 times, respectively. Sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis analysis showed these fusants contained the laccase, and the molecular mass of the laccase was consistent with the laccase of C. maxima, nearly 62 kDa. The pileus color of the IM1 and IIIM5 also showed partial recombined characteristics comparing to the parental strains, while biological efficiency ratios were prominent higher than that of H. marmoreus, up to 14.58 and 10.87 %, respectively. Randomly amplified polymorphic DNA bands of fusants not only were similar to parental bands, but presented new non-parental bands. Using the Unweighted pair-group method together with mathematic averages method to gain a dendrogram, in which the fusants showed intra-cluster variations. Significantly, H. marmoreus was the dominant parent, while C. maxima were distant from the fusants. The differences among IM1, IIIM5 and H. marmoreus, and the similarities among IM1, IIIM5 and C. maxima indicated IM1 and IIIM5 were somatic hybrids of H. marmoreus and C. maxima. Accordingly, it is feasible to use laccase to screen fusants of H. marmoreus and C. maxima.

Development and characterization of hybrids from native wine yeasts

For commercial purposes, the winemaking industry is constantly searching for new yeast strains. Historically, this has been achieved by collecting wild strains and selecting the best for industrial use through an enological evaluation. Furthermore, the increasing consumer demands have forced the industry to incorporate new strategies such as genetic engineering to obtain improved strains. In response to the lack of public acceptance of this methodology, alternative strategies based on breeding have gained acceptance in recent years. Through the use of conjugation of individual spores without the support of genetic engineering methods we generated intraspecific hybrids from wild strains with outstanding enological characteristics and interdelta fingerprinting was used to confirm the hybrid condition. A detailed enological characterization of the hybrids in synthetic and natural must indicates that physiological parameters such as sporulation, residual sugar, ethanol yield and total nitrogen uptake are within the levels determined for the parental strains, however, other parameters such as growth rate, lag phase and ethanol production show statistical differences with some parental or commercial strains. These findings allow us to propose these hybrids as new wine-making strains.

Drug resistance marker-aided genome shuffling to improve acetic acid tolerance in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Acetic acid existing in a culture medium is one of the most limiting constraints in yeast growth and viability during ethanol fermentation. To improve acetic acid tolerance in Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains, a drug resistance marker-aided genome shuffling approach with higher screen efficiency of shuffled mutants was developed in this work. Through two rounds of genome shuffling of ultraviolet mutants derived from the original strain 308, we obtained a shuffled strain YZ2, which shows significantly faster growth and higher cell viability under acetic acid stress. Ethanol production of YZ2 (within 60 h) was 21.6% higher than that of 308 when 0.5% (v/v) acetic acid was added to fermentation medium. Membrane integrity, higher in vivo activity of the H+-ATPase, and lower oxidative damage after acetic acid treatment are the possible reasons for the acetic acid-tolerance phenotype of YZ2. These results indicated that this novel genome shuffling approach is powerful to rapidly improve the complex traits of industrial yeast strains.

Interspecies hybridization and recombination in Saccharomyces wine yeasts

The ascomycetous yeasts traditionally referred to as the Saccharomyces sensu stricto complex are a group of closely related species that are isolated by a postzygotic barrier. They can easily hybridize; and their allodiploid hybrids propagate by mitotic divisions as efficiently as the parental strains, but can barely divide by meiosis, and thus rarely produce viable spores (sterile interspecies hybrids). The postzygotic isolation is not effective in allotetraploids that are able to carry out meiosis and produce viable spores (fertile interspecies hybrids). By application of molecular identification methods, double (Saccharomyces cerevisiae x Saccharomyces uvarum and S. cerevisiae x Saccharomyces kudriavzevii) and triple (S. cerevisiae x S. uvarum x S. kudriavzevii) hybrids were recently identified in yeast populations of fermenting grape must and cider in geographically distinct regions. The genetic analysis of these isolates and laboratory-bred hybrids revealed great variability of hybrid genome structures and demonstrated that the alloploid genome of the zygote can undergo drastic changes during mitotic and meiotic divisions of the hybrid cells. This genome-stabilization process involves loss of chromosomes and genes and recombination between the partner genomes. This article briefly reviews the results of the analysis of interspecies hybrids, proposes a model for the mechanism of genome stabilization and highlights the potential of interspecies hybridization in winemaking.