Many enzymes of methanol metabolism of methylotrophic yeasts are located in peroxisomes whereas some of them have the cytosolic localization. After shift of methanol‐grown cells of methylotrophic yeasts to glucose medium, a decrease in the activity of cytosolic (formaldehyde dehydrogenase, formate dehydrogenase, and fructose‐1,6‐bisphosphatase [FBP]) along with peroxisomal enzymes of methanol metabolism is observed. Mechanisms of inactivation of cytosolic enzymes remain unknown. To study the mechanism of FBP inactivation, the changes in its specific activity of the wild type strain GS200, the strain with the deletion of the GSS1 hexose sensor gene and strain defected in autophagy pathway SMD1163 of Komagataella phaffii with or without the addition of the MG132 (proteasome degradation inhibitor) were investigated after shift of methanol‐grown cells in glucose medium. Western blot analysis showed that inactivation of FBP in GS200 occurred due to protein degradation whereas inactivation in the strains SMD1163 and gss1Δ was negligible in such conditions. The effect of the proteasome inhibitor MG132 on FBP inactivation was insignificant. To confirm FBP degradation pathway, the recombinant strains with GFP‐labeled Fbp1 of K. phaffii and red fluorescent protein‐labeled peroxisomes were constructed on the background of GS200 and SMD1163. The fluorescent microscopy analysis of the constructed strains was performed using the vacuolar membrane dye FM4‐64. Microscopic data confirmed that Fbp1 degrades by autophagy pathway in K. phaffii. K. phaffii transformants, which express heterologous β‐galactosidase under FLD promoter, have been constructed.

Lignocellulosic biomass belongs to main sustainable renewable sources for global energy supply. One of the main challenges in the conversion of saccharified lignocellulosic biomass into bioethanol is the utilization of xylose, since lignocellulosic feedstocks contain a significant amount of this pentose. The non-conventional thermotolerant yeast Ogataea polymorpha naturally ferments xylose to ethanol at elevated temperatures (45°C). Studying the molecular mechanisms of regulation of xylose metabolism is a promising way toward increased xylose conversion to ethanol. Insertional mutagenesis was applied to yeast O. polymorpha to identify genes involved in regulation of xylose fermentation. An insertional mutant selected as 3-bromopyruvate resistant strain possessed 50% increase in ethanol production as compared to the parental strain. Increase in ethanol production was caused by disruption of an autophagy-related gene ATG13. Involvement of Atg13 in regulation of xylose fermentation was confirmed by deletion of that gene. The atg13Δ strain also produced an elevated amount of ethanol from xylose. Insertion in ATG13 gene did not disrupt HORMA domain and did not lead to defects in autophagy whereas knock out of this gene impaired autophagy process. We suggest that Atg13 plays two different functions and its role in regulation of xylose fermentation differs from that in autophagy.

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Aim. The study of the mechanisms of fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase degradation in methylotrophic yeasts Pichia pastoris. Methods. Methods of determination the specific activity of fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase in the wild type and mutant strains of methylotrophic yeast P. pastoris after shifting cells from the medium with methanol into the medium with glucose were used. The study of fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase protein degradetion was performed by Western blot analysis. Results. The changes of the specific activity of fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase in the wild type strain GS200, the strain with the deletion of the GSS1 hexose sensor gene and strain defected in autophagy pathway SMD1163 of P. pastoris in short-term and long-term induction with methanol, and with or without the addition of the MG132 (proteasome degradation inhibitor) was investigated. Degradation of fructose‑1,6‑bisphosphatase by the Western blot analysis in GS200, SMD1163 and Δgss1 strains was studied. Conclusions. It was shown that the duration of cell incubation on methanol has no particular effect on the inactivation of the enzyme. The effect of the proteasome inhibitor MG132 was insignificant. Catabolic inactivation of cytosolic and peroxisomal enzymes is damaged in the Δgss1 mutant as glucose signaling is impaired. Fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase degrades by a vacuolar pathway, regardless of the duration of methanol induction, which correlates with the activity data of this enzyme. Keywords: fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase, yeasts, Pichia pastoris, methanol, autophagy.