Project description:Yeast mannoproteins contribute to several aspects of wine quality by protecting wine against protein haze, reducing astringency, retaining aroma compounds and stimulating growth of lactic-acid bacteria. The selection of a yeast strain simultaneously overproducing mannoproteins and showing good fermentative characteristics is a difficult task. In this work, a Saccharomyces cerevisiae x Saccharomyces cerevisiae hybrid bearing the two oenologically relevant features was constructed and a reduction in the amount of bentonite necessary for wine stabilization was observed for wines fermented with the generated strain. Additionally, different copy numbers of some genes probably related with these physiological features were detected in this hybrid. Hybrid share with parental Sc1 similar copy number of genes SPR1, SWP1, MNN10 and YPS7 related to cell wall integrity and with parental Sc2 similar copy number of some glycolytic genes as GPM1 and HXK1 as well as genes involved in hexose transport as HXT9, HXT11 and HXT12. This work demonstrates that artificial hybridization and stabilization in winemaking conditions constitute an effective approach to obtain yeast strains with desirable physiological features as mannoprotein overproducing capacity and improved fermentation performance, characteristics genetically depending on the coordinated expression of a multitude of different genes. In this work, genetically stable mannoprotein overproducing Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains simultaneously showing excellent fermentation capacities were obtained by hybridization methods giving rise to non-GMO strains. The potential relationship between the copy number of specific genes and the improved features was also evaluated by means of aCGH analysis of parental and hybrid strains.
Project description:Aims: We performed an analysis of maltotriose utilization by 52 Saccharomyces yeast strains able to ferment maltose efficiently and correlated the observed phenotypes with differences in the copy number of genes possibly involved in maltotriose utilization by yeast cells. Methods and Results: The analysis of maltose and maltotriose utilization by laboratory and industrial strains of the species Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Saccharomyces pastorianus (a natural S. cerevisiae/Saccharomyces bayanus hybrid) was carried out using microscale liquid cultivation, as well as in aerobic batch cultures. All strains utilize maltose efficiently as a carbon source, but three different phenotypes were observed for maltotriose utilization: efficient growth, slow/delayed growth and no growth. Through microarray karyotyping and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis blots, we analysed the copy number and localization of several maltose-related genes in selected S. cerevisiae strains. While most strains lacked the MPH2 and MPH3 transporter genes, almost all strains analysed had the AGT1 gene and increased copy number of MALx1 permeases. Conclusions: Our results showed that S. pastorianus yeast strains utilized maltotriose more efficiently than S. cerevisiae strains and highlighted the importance of the AGT1 gene for efficient maltotriose utilization by S. cerevisiae yeasts. Significance and Impact of the Study: Our results revealed new maltotriose utilization phenotypes, contributing to a better understanding of the metabolism of this carbon source for improved fermentation by Saccharomyces yeasts.
Project description:Copy-number variants (CNVs) are large-scale amplifications or deletions of DNA that can drive rapid adaptive evolution and result in large-scale changes in gene expression. Whereas alterations in the copy number of one or more genes within a CNV can confer a selective advantage, other genes within a CNV can decrease fitness when their dosage is changed. Dosage compensation - in which the gene expression output from multiple gene copies is less than expected - is one means by which an organism can mitigate the fitness costs of deleterious gene amplification. Previous research has shown evidence for dosage compensation at both the transcriptional level and at the level of protein expression; however, the extent of compensation differs substantially between genes, strains, and studies. Here, we investigated sources of dosage compensation at multiple levels of gene expression regulation by defining the transcriptome, translatome and proteome of experimentally evolved yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) strains containing adaptive CNVs.
Project description:Eukaryotic cells use numerous mechanisms to ensure that no segment of their DNA is re-replicated within a single cell cycle. Despite longstanding speculation that such tight regulation is needed to protect cells from genomic alterations, this notion has never been experimentally tested. Here we show that even just transient and limited re-replication in Saccharomyces cerevisiae can strongly induce the critical first step of gene amplification, increasing gene copy number from one to two or more. The amplified units, or amplicons, consist of large internal chromosomal segments that are bounded by Ty repetitive elements and are intrachromosomally arrayed at their endogenous locus in direct head-to-tail orientation. The presence of hybrid Ty elements at inter-amplicon junctions together with the dependence of amplification on RAD52 indicate that in budding yeast these re-replication-induced gene amplifications (RRIGA) are mediated by homologous recombination between re-replicated non-allelic repetitive elements. These results finally establish the importance of stringent replication control for genome stability and suggest that re-replication should now be considered as a possible contributor to gene copy number changes in fields as diverse as cancer biology, evolution, and human genetics.
Project description:Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) copy number regulation remains in- completely understood, despite its critical importance in cellular function. In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the protein Mrx6 is part of the Pet20-domain-containing protein family, which includes three members: Mrx6, Pet20, and Sue1. Notably, absence of the MRX6 gene leads to increased mtDNA copy number. Here, we identify the C-terminus of Mrx6 as essential for its stability and interaction with the mitochondrial matrix protein Mam33. Deletion of Mam33 mimics the effect of Mrx6 loss, resulting in elevated mtDNA copy number. Bioinformatics, mutational analyses, and immunoprecipi- tation studies reveal that a subcomplex consisting of Mam33 and Mrx6 trimers can interact with the N-terminal substrate recognition domain of the conserved mitochondrial Lon protease Pim1 through a bipartite motif in the N-terminal Pet20-domain of Mrx6. Loss of Mrx6, its paralog Pet20, or its binding partner Mam33, as well as mutations disrupting the interaction between Mrx6 and Pim1, sta- bilize key mitochondrial proteins essential for mtDNA maintenance, the RNA polymerase Rpo41 and the HMG-box-containing protein Cim1. Our findings suggest that Mrx6, together with Pet20 and Mam33, regulates mtDNA copy number by modulating substrate degradation through the Lon protease. Notably, the absence of Mrx6 additionally alters Cim1’s function, preventing the detrimental effect on mtDNA maintenance observed upon Cim1 overexpres- sion. Given the presence of three Pet20-domain containing proteins in yeast, our findings on substrate recognition by the Lon protease has implications beyond mtDNA CN regulation.
Project description:Copy number expansions such as amplifications and duplications contribute to human phenotypic variation, promote molecular diversification during evolution, and drive the initiation and/or progression of various cancers. The mechanisms underlying these copy number changes are still incompletely understood, however. We recently demonstrated that transient, limited re-replication from a single origin in Saccharomyces cerevisiae efficiently induces segmental amplification of the re-replicated region. Structural analyses of such re-replication induced gene amplifications (RRIGA) suggested that RRIGA could provide a new mechanism for generating copy number variation by non-allelic homologous recombination (NAHR). Here we elucidate this new mechanism and provide insight into why it is so efficient. We establish that sequence homology is both necessary and sufficient for repetitive elements to participate in RRIGA and show that their recombination occurs by a single-strand annealing (SSA) mechanism. We also find that re-replication forks are prone to breakage, accounting for the widespread DNA damage associated with deregulation of replication proteins. These breaks appear to stimulate NAHR between re-replicated repeat sequences flanking a re-initiating replication origin. Our results support a RRIGA model where the expansion of a re-replication bubble beyond flanking homologous sequences followed by breakage at both forks in trans provides an ideal structural context for SSA–mediated NAHR to form a head-to-tail duplication. Given the remarkable efficiency of RRIGA, we suggest it may be an unappreciated contributor to copy number expansions in both disease and evolution.
Project description:Genome rearrangements, especially amplifications and deletions, have regularly been observed as responses to sustained application of the same strong selective pressure in microbial populations growing in continuous culture. We studied eight strains of budding yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) isolated after 100–500 generations of growth in glucose-limited chemostats. Changes in DNA copy number were assessed at single-gene resolution by using DNA microarray-based comparative genomic hybridization. Six of these evolved strains were aneuploid as the result of gross chromosomal rearrangements. Most of the aneuploid regions were the result of translocations, including three instances of a shared breakpoint on chromosome 14 immediately adjacent to CIT1, which encodes the citrate synthase that performs a key regulated step in the tricarboxylic acid cycle. Three strains had amplifications in a region of chromosome 4 that includes the high-affinity hexose transporters; one of these also had the aforementioned chromosome 14 break. Three strains had extensive overlapping deletions of the right arm of chromosome 15. Further analysis showed that each of these genome rearrangements was bounded by transposon-related sequences at the breakpoints. The observation of repeated, independent, but nevertheless very similar, chromosomal rearrangements in response to persistent selection of growing cells parallels the genome rearrangements that characteristically accompany tumor progression. Set of arrays organized by shared biological context, such as organism, tumors types, processes, etc. Keywords: Logical Set
Project description:We report the gene expression profile of two polypolid Saccharomyces pastorianus, lager yeast strains, the Group I strain CBS1538 and the Group II strain W34/70. Saccharomyces pastorianus is a hybrid of Saccharomuyces cerevisiaie and Saccharomyces eubayanus. We report that the gene expression patterns are correlated with the gene copy number of S. cerevisiae and S. eubayanus alleles.
Project description:Eukaryotic cells use numerous mechanisms to ensure that no segment of their DNA is re-replicated within a single cell cycle. Despite longstanding speculation that such tight regulation is needed to protect cells from genomic alterations, this notion has never been experimentally tested. Here we show that even just transient and limited re-replication in Saccharomyces cerevisiae can strongly induce the critical first step of gene amplification, increasing gene copy number from one to two or more. The amplified units, or amplicons, consist of large internal chromosomal segments that are bounded by Ty repetitive elements and are intrachromosomally arrayed at their endogenous locus in direct head-to-tail orientation. The presence of hybrid Ty elements at inter-amplicon junctions together with the dependence of amplification on RAD52 indicate that in budding yeast these re-replication-induced gene amplifications (RRIGA) are mediated by homologous recombination between re-replicated non-allelic repetitive elements. These results finally establish the importance of stringent replication control for genome stability and suggest that re-replication should now be considered as a possible contributor to gene copy number changes in fields as diverse as cancer biology, evolution, and human genetics. The arrays in this series are primary comparative genomic hybridizations to determine genomic changes after re-replication or other genomic stresses. Genomic DNA was purified from reference Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells or survivors of re-replication or other genomic stresses, differentially labeled with Cy3 and Cy5, and competitively hybridized to a spotted microarray containing ORF and intergenic PCR products. Cy5/Cy3 ratios are normalized so that the average ratio of all elements was 1. A small number of the arrays were used to determine the extent and location of re-replication under different conditions. For those, genomic DNA was purified from non-replicating and re-replicating cells and treated as above. Series contains a total of 203 hybridizations.