Overexpression of smORF YNR034W-A/EGO4 in Saccharomyces cerevisiae increases the fermentative efficiency of Agave tequilana Weber must

Abstract

Fermentative processes are widely used to produce food, beverages and biofuels. Saccharomyces cerevisiae is an efficient ethanol-producing microorganism. However, a concentration of high ethanol and other metabolites can affect yeast viability and decrease the ethanol yield. Many studies have focused on improving the fermentative efficiency, mostly through the genetic engineering of genes that have a direct impact on specific metabolic pathways. In the present study, we characterized a small open reading frame encoding a protein with an unknown function and biological role termed YNR034W-A. We analyzed the expression profile of the YNR034W-A gene during growth and glucose treatment, finding that it is expressed during the diauxic shift and stationary phase and is negatively regulated by glucose. We overexpressed the YNR034W-A gene in the BY4741 laboratory strain and a wild-type yeast strain (AR5) isolated during the Tequila fermentation process. Transformant derivatives of the AR5 strain showed an improved fermentative efficiency during fermentation of Agave tequilana Weber juice. We suggest that the improved fermentative efficiency is the result of a higher stress tolerance response in the YNR034W-A overexpressing transformant.

A biophysical and structural study of two chitinases from Agave tequilana and their potential role as defense proteins

“…The genus Agave is cultivated to produce fiber, food, beverages, fuel, etc., and has great socioeconomic and agroecological value, especially in hot and drought‐prone regions of the world; despite its adaptability, these plants suffer from diseases, such as those caused by insects and fungus. Within this genus, Agave tequilana is primarily used for the elaboration of beverages, in soil conservation; furthermore, it has also been indicated that this plant can potentially be an important source of lignocellulosic bioenergy feedstocks .…”

Overexpression of MET4 Leads to the Upregulation of Stress-Related Genes and Enhanced Sulfite Tolerance in Saccharomyces uvarum

“…An overexpression analysis, transcriptome analysis, and quantitative reverse transcriptionpolymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) analysis are effective methods for gene function analysis and have been used in many applications in the study of gene function in S. cerevisiae [6,7] and S. uvarum [8,9]. In sulfite tolerance studies, the sulfotransferase gene (SSU1) was first identified as an important gene in the regulation of sulfite tolerance traits, and its overexpression significantly enhanced sulfite tolerance in S. cerevisiae [10].…”