Screening for yeast with antibacterial properties from an ethanol distillery

A general screening for the expression of antibacterial activity and non-flocculating type of yeast strains from must and fermented broth of alcohol distilleries was performed. From 60 strains only Saccharomyces sp. M26 presented a inhibitory halo in Lactobacillus fermentum culture and significant reduction in the culture turbidity (71%) and specific growth rate (56%) when compared to the control. Freezing did not affect the antibacterial activity of the Saccharomyces sp. M26 extract and heating at 90°C for 20 min completely destroyed this activity. It is expected the decrease of lactic acid bacteria growth in the S. cerevisiae alcoholic fermentation should allow for better control of these bacteria in the process. © 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

COX24 codes for a mitochondrial protein required for processing of the COX1 transcript

In most strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae the mitochondrial gene COX1, for subunit 1 of cytochrome oxidase, contains multiple exons and introns. Processing of COX1 primary transcript requires accessory proteins factors, some of which are encoded by nuclear genes and others by reading frames residing in some of the introns of the COX1 and COB genes. Here we show that the low molecular weight protein product of open reading frame YLR204W, for which we propose the name COX24, is also involved in processing of COX1 RNA intermediates. The growth defect of cox24 mutants is partially rescued in strains harboring mitochondrial DNA lacking introns. Northern blot analyses of mitochondrial transcripts indicate cox24 null mutants to be blocked in processing of introns aI2 and aI3. The dependence of intron aI3 excision on Cox24p is also supported by the growth properties of the cox24 mutant harboring mitochondrial DNA with different intron compositions. The intermediate phenotype of the cox24 mutant in the background of intronless mitochondrial DNA, however, suggests that in addition to its role in splicing of the COX1 pre-mRNA, Cox24p still has another function. Based on the analysis of a cox14-cox24 double mutant, we propose that the other function of Cox24p is related to translation of the COX1 mRNA. © 2006 by The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.

Levedura íntegra e derivados do seu processamento em rações para tilápia do Nilo: Aspectos hematológicos e histológicos

The effects of inclusion of whole yeast, autolyzed yeast and yeast cell wall on hematological parameters and gut villus perimeter were evaluated in juvenile Nile tilapia, after 80 experimental days. Isoproteic (32.0% DP) and isoenergetic (3200 kcal DE kg -1) practical diets were supplemented with three levels of whole yeast or autolyzed yeast (1.0, 2.0 and 3.0%) and three levels of yeast cell wall (0.1, 0.2 and 0.3%), plus a control diet (with no test microingredients). Red blood cell count, hemoglobin concentration, total plasmatic protein, hematocrit percentage, mean corpuscular volume, mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration and gut villus perimeter were evaluated. Variations on hematological parameters in animals fed diets with whole yeast; autolyzed yeast and yeast cell wall were observed to be within normal ranges for this species. There was significant influence (p<0.05) of different levels of yeast and derivatives on intestinal villus perimeter. Results showed that experimental period and proposed levels of whole yeast, autolyzed yeast and yeast cell wall do not provide undesirable alterations on standard hematological parameters to Nile tilapia and can be safely used to compound diets for this species. Results also showed that supplement of yeast cell wall provide higher intestinal villus perimeter.

Aspectos toxicológicos do bissulfito e outros agentes tóxicos sobre a síntese de glicerol-3-fosfato desidrogenase citoplasmá tica de levedura de panificação

The synthesis of intracellular glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (EC 1.1.1.8) in baker's yeast was investigated in submerged culture supplied with glucose or glycerol as sole carbon sources. Inhibitors of the glycolytic pathway, Krebs cycle and respiratory chain did not stimulate glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase synthesis when added in low concentrations in up 7.5 × 10 -5 mol/L. The repression exercised by glucose on the synthesis of glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase in YP-glucose medium was reduced by the addition of fermentation products and of sodium bisulfite. Synthesis of the enzyme was raised 22-110%. However, in YP-glycerol medium, the addition of 0.06% (w/v) sodium bisulfite reduced (29%) the synthesis of the enzyme, while 0.012% (v/v) acetaldehyde stimulated the synthesis of glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase by 12%.

eIF5A: Uma proteína essencial para a viabilidade celular cuja função permanece obscura

The putative translation initiation factor 5A (eIF5A) is a highly abundant and conserved protein in all eukaryotes and archaebacteria. This factor is essential for cell viability and is the only cellular protein known to contain the unusual amino acid residue hypusine. In Saccharomyces cerevisiae eIF5A is expressed in aerobic conditions by the gene TIF51A. Although eIF5A has been known for almost 30 years, the biological role of this protein is still obscure. This article reviews the research on the function of eIF5A, discussing the evidence for its involvement in various steps of mRNA metabolism, including translation initiation, nucleocytoplasmic transport and mRNA decay. Moreover, it indicates other studies that have associated eIF5A with cell proliferation and cell cycle progression. Finally, this review presents recent results obtained in our laboratory that reemphasize the role of eIF5A in the translation scenario. Further experiments will be necessary to define the role played by eIF5A in the translational machinery.

Influence of medium composition in the production of ethanol by Zymomonas mobilis

The production of ethanol using Zymomonas mobilis had been reported to be three to four times larger than with Saccharomyces cereviseae. The influence of pH, temperature and composition of the means of fermentation are parameters that can direct the metabolism for the production of ethanol. The objective of this study was to evaluate the production of ethanol by Zymomonas mobilis CCT 4494, by variations of the initial pH, temperature and concentrations KCl, K 2SO4, MgSO4, CaCl2 and sucrose, by a factorial experimental design of type 27-2, according to the model proposed by Box et al. (1978). For this, the broth of sugar cane was used as sole carbon source, because it is cheap and easily accessible in the region of São José do Rio Preto, São Paulo State. According to the experimental design, the bacteria Zymomonas mobilis CCT 4494 has adapted in the fermentation mean containing high concentrations of sucrose, and supported the change of pH and temperature of fermentation. The highest amount of ethanol produced was 8.89 mg mL-1. This is not similar to the levels of secondary metabolites produced by Zymomonas mobilis CCT 4494.

EIF5A dimerizes not only in vitro but also in vivo and its molecular envelope is similar to the EF-P monomer

The protein eukaryotic initiation factor 5A (eIF5A) is highly conserved among archaea and eukaryotes, but not in bacteria. Bacteria have the elongation factor P (EF-P), which is structurally and functionally related to eIF5A. eIF5A is essential for cell viability and the only protein known to contain the amino acid residue hypusine, formed by post-translational modification of a specific lysine residue. Although eIF5A was initially identified as a translation initiation factor, recent studies strongly support a function for eIF5A in the elongation step of translation. However, the mode of action of eIF5A is still unknown. Here, we analyzed the oligomeric state of yeast eIF5A. First, by using size-exclusion chromatography, we showed that this protein exists as a dimer in vitro, independent of the hypusine residue or electrostatic interactions. Protein-protein interaction assays demonstrated that eIF5A can form oligomers in vitro and in vivo, in an RNA-dependent manner, but independent of the hypusine residue or the ribosome. Finally, small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) experiments confirmed that eIF5A behaves as a stable dimer in solution. Moreover, the molecular envelope determined from the SAXS data shows that the eIF5A dimer is L-shaped and superimposable on the tRNAPhe tertiary structure, analogously to the EF-P monomer. © 2012 Springer-Verlag.

Molecular and morphological data support the existence of a sexual cycle in species of the genus Paracoccidioides

The genus Paracoccidioides includes the thermodimorphic species Paracoccidioides brasiliensis and P. lutzii, both of which are etiologic agents of paracoccidioidomycosis, a systemic mycosis that affects humans in Latin America. Despite the common occurrence of a sexual stage among closely related fungi, this has not been observed with Paracoccidioides species, which have thus been considered asexual. Molecular evolutionary studies revealed recombination events within isolated populations of the genus Paracoccidioides, suggesting the possible existence of a sexual cycle. Comparative genomic analysis of all dimorphic fungi and Saccharomyces cerevisiae demonstrated the presence of conserved genes involved in sexual reproduction, including those encoding mating regulators such as MAT, pheromone receptors, pheromone-processing enzymes, and mating signaling regulators. The expression of sex-related genes in the yeast and mycelial phases of both Paracoccidioides species was also detected by realtime PCR, with nearly all of these genes being expressed preferentially in the filamentous form of the pathogens. In addition, the expression of sex-related genes was responsive to the putative presence of pheromone in the supernatants obtained from previous cocultures of strains of two different mating types. In vitro crossing of isolates of different mating types, discriminated by phylogenetic analysis of the α-box (MAT1-1) and the high-mobility-group (HMG) domain (MAT1-2), led to the identification of the formation of young ascocarps with constricted coiled hyphae related to the initial stage of mating. These genomic and morphological analyses strongly support the existence of a sexual cycle in species of the genus Paracoccidioides. © 2013, American Society for Microbiology.

Use of different carbon sources in cultivation of baker's yeast for production of glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase

The physiological state of yeast cells changes during culture growth as a consequence of environmental changes (nutrient limitations, pH and metabolic products). Cultures that grow exponentially are heterogeneous cell populations made up of cells regulated by different metabolic and/or genetic control systems. The strain of baker's yeast selected by plating commercial compressed yeast was used for the production of glycerol-3- phosphate dehydrogenase. Glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GPD) has been widely used in the enzyme assays with diverse compounds of industrial interest, such as glycerol or glycerol phosphate, as well as a number of important bioanalytical applications. Each cell state determines the level of key enzymes (genetic control), fluxes through metabolic pathways (metabolic control), cell morphology and size. The present study was carried out to determine the effects of environmental conditions and carbon source on GPD production from baker's yeast. Glucose, glycerol, galactose and ethanol were used as carbon sources. Glycerol and ethanol assimilations required agitation, which was dependent on the medium volume in the fermentation flask for the greatest accumulation of intracellular GPD. Enzyme synthesis was also affected by the initial pH of the medium and inoculum size. The fermentation time required for a high level of enzyme formation decreased with the inoculum size. The greatest amount of enzyme (0.45 U/ml) was obtained with an initial pH of 4.5 in the medium containing ethanol or glycerol. The final pH was maintained in YP-ethanol, but in the YP-glycerol the final pH increased to 6.9 during growth.

The Deoxyhypusine Synthase Mutant dys1-1 Reveals the Association of eIF5A and Asc1 with Cell Wall Integrity

The putative eukaryotic translation initiation factor 5A (eIF5A) is a highly conserved protein among archaea and eukaryotes that has recently been implicated in the elongation step of translation. eIF5A undergoes an essential and conserved posttranslational modification at a specific lysine to generate the residue hypusine. The enzymes deoxyhypusine synthase (Dys1) and deoxyhypusine hydroxylase (Lia1) catalyze this two-step modification process. Although several Saccharomyces cerevisiae eIF5A mutants have importantly contributed to the study of eIF5A function, no conditional mutant of Dys1 has been described so far. In this study, we generated and characterized the dys1-1 mutant, which showed a strong depletion of mutated Dys1 protein, resulting in more than 2-fold decrease in hypusine levels relative to the wild type. The dys1-1 mutant demonstrated a defect in total protein synthesis, a defect in polysome profile indicative of a translation elongation defect and a reduced association of eIF5A with polysomes. The growth phenotype of dys1-1 mutant is severe, growing only in the presence of 1 M sorbitol, an osmotic stabilizer. Although this phenotype is characteristic of Pkc1 cell wall integrity mutants, the sorbitol requirement from dys1-1 is not associated with cell lysis. We observed that the dys1-1 genetically interacts with the sole yeast protein kinase C (Pkc1) and Asc1, a component of the 40S ribosomal subunit. The dys1-1 mutant was synthetically lethal in combination with asc1Δ and overexpression of TIF51A (eIF5A) or DYS1 is toxic for an asc1Δ strain. Moreover, eIF5A is more associated with translating ribosomes in the absence of Asc1 in the cell. Finally, analysis of the sensitivity to cell wall-perturbing compounds revealed a more similar behavior of the dys1-1 and asc1Δ mutants in comparison with the pkc1Δ mutant. These data suggest a correlated role for eIF5A and Asc1 in coordinating the translational control of a subset of mRNAs associated with cell integrity. © 2013 Galvão et al.

Intermolecular interactions of the malate synthase of Paracoccidioides spp

Background: The fungus Paracoccidioides spp is the agent of paracoccidioidomycosis (PCM), a pulmonary mycosis acquired by the inhalation of fungal propagules. Paracoccidioides malate synthase (PbMLS) is important in the infectious process of Paracoccidioides spp because the transcript is up-regulated during the transition from mycelium to yeast and in yeast cells during phagocytosis by murine macrophages. In addition, PbMLS acts as an adhesin in Paracoccidioides spp. The evidence for the multifunctionality of PbMLS indicates that it could interact with other proteins from the fungus and host. The objective of this study was to identify and analyze proteins that possibly bind to PbMLS (PbMLS-interacting proteins) because protein interactions are intrinsic to cell processes, and it might be possible to infer the function of a protein through the identification of its ligands. Results: The search for interactions was performed using an in vivo assay with a two-hybrid library constructed in S. cerevisiae; the transcripts were sequenced and identified. In addition, an in vitro assay using pull-down GST methodology with different protein extracts (yeast, mycelium, yeast-secreted proteins and macrophage) was performed, and the resulting interactions were identified by mass spectrometry (MS). Some of the protein interactions were confirmed by Far-Western blotting using specific antibodies, and the interaction of PbMLS with macrophages was validated by indirect immunofluorescence and confocal microscopy. In silico analysis using molecular modeling, dynamics and docking identified the amino acids that were involved in the interactions between PbMLS and PbMLS-interacting proteins. Finally, the interactions were visualized graphically using Osprey software. Conclusion: These observations indicate that PbMLS interacts with proteins that are in different functional categories, such as cellular transport, protein biosynthesis, modification and degradation of proteins and signal transduction. These data suggest that PbMLS could play different roles in the fungal cell. © 2013 de Oliveira et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

Yeast proteins originated from the production of brazilian bioethanol quantification and content

The purpose of this work was to determine the levels of protein and the amino acid distribution in the cell mass of yeast strains (Saccharomyces sensu stricto) originated from Brazilian bioethanol industries. The protein was analyzed with the Kjeldahl method and the amino acids, by using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The percentages of the protein found ranged from 39 to 49%. The results show that in spite of some variation in numbers between the different yeast strains, all of them presented an amino acid profile similar to the one in the literature for S. cerevisae. The amino acids that have occurred in the largest amounts were: aspartic, glutamic acids and lysine, and those in the lowest amounts were: cysteine and methionine. Although the characteristics of the feedstock used and the process conditions are determinant of the protein values obtained in dry mass, this work elucidates that the intrinsic properties of the yeast strain influence these values.

Microsatellite marker-based assessment of the biodiversity of native bioethanol yeast strains

Although many Brazilian sugar mills initiate the fermentation process by inoculating selected commercial Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains, the unsterile conditions of the industrial sugar cane ethanol fermentation process permit the constant entry of native yeast strains. Certain of those native strains are better adapted and tend to predominate over the initial strain, which may cause problems during fermentation. In the industrial fermentation process, yeast cells are often exposed to stressful environmental conditions, including prolonged cell recycling, ethanol toxicity and osmotic, oxidative or temperature stress. Little is known about these S. cerevisiae strains, although recent studies have demonstrated that heterogeneous genome architecture is exhibited by some selected well-adapted Brazilian indigenous yeast strains that display high performance in bioethanol fermentation. In this study, 11 microsatellite markers were used to assess the genetic diversity and population structure of the native autochthonous S. cerevisiae strains in various Brazilian sugar mills. The resulting multilocus data were used to build a similarity-based phenetic tree and to perform a Bayesian population structure analysis. The tree revealed the presence of great genetic diversity among the strains, which were arranged according to the place of origin and the collection year. The population structure analysis revealed genotypic differences among populations; in certain populations, these genotypic differences are combined to yield notably genotypically diverse individuals. The high yeast diversity observed among native S. cerevisiae strains provides new insights on the use of autochthonous high-fitness strains with industrial characteristics as starter cultures at bioethanol plants. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Estrogenic and chemopreventive activities of xanthones and flavones of Syngonanthus (Eriocaulaceae)

The possible benefits of some bioactive flavones and xanthones present in plants of the genus Syngonanthus prompted us to screen them for estrogenic activity. However, scientific research has shown that such substances may have undesirable properties, such as mutagenicity, carcinogenicity and toxicity, which restrict their use as therapeutic agents. Hence, the aim of this study was to assess the estrogenicity and mutagenic and antimutagenic properties. We used recombinant yeast assay (RYA), with the strain BY4741 of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and Ames test, with strains TA100, TA98, TA97a and TA102 of Salmonella typhimirium, to evaluate estrogenicity, mutagenicity and antimutagenicity of methanolic extracts of Syngonanthus dealbatus (S.d.), Syngonanthus macrolepsis (S.m.), Syngonanthus nitens (S.n.) and Syngonanthus suberosus (S.s.), and of 9 compounds isolated from them (1 = luteolin, 2 = mix of A-1,3,6-trihydroxy-2-methoxyxanthone and B-1,3,6-trihydroxy-2,5- dimethoxyxanthone, 3 = 1,5,7-trihydroxy-3,6-dimethoxyxanthone, 4 = 1,3,6,8-tetrahydroxy-2,5-dimethoxyxanthone, 5 = 1,3,6,8-tetrahydroxy-5- methoxyxanthone, 6 = 7-methoxyluteolin-8-C-β-glucopyranoside, 7 = 7-methoxyluteolin-6-C-β-glucopyranoside, 8 = 7,3′-dimethoxyluteolin- 6-C-β-glucopyranoside and 9 = 6-hydroxyluteolin). The results indicated the estrogenic potential of the S. nitens methanol extract and four of its isolated xanthones, which exhibited, respectively, 14.74 ± 1.63 nM; 19.54 ± 6.61; 7.20 ± 0.37; 6.71 ± 1.02 e 10.01 ± 4.26 nM of estradiol-equivalents (EEQ). None of the extracts or isolated compounds showed mutagenicity in any of the test strains and all of them showed antimutagenic potential, in particular preventing mutations caused by aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) and benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P). The results show that the xanthones, only isolated from the methanol extract of S. nitens capitula, probably were the responsible for its estrogenic activity and could be useful as phytoestrogens, providing a new opportunity to develop hormonal agents. In addition, flavones and xanthones could also be used as a new antimutagenic agent. Since, the mutagens are involved in the initiation and promotion of several human diseases, including cancer, the significance of novel bioactive phytocompounds in counteracting these pro-mutagenic and carcinogenic effects is now gaining credence. © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Yeast diversity isolated from grape musts during spontaneous fermentation from a brazilian winery

Saccharomyces and non-Saccharomyces yeast species from a winery located in Brazil were identified by ribosomal gene-sequencing analysis. A total of 130 yeast strains were isolated from grape surfaces and musts during alcoholic fermentation from Isabel, Bordeaux, and Cabernet Sauvignon varieties. Samples were submitted to PCR-RFLP analysis and genomic sequencing. Thirteen species were identified: Candida quercitrusa, Candida stellata, Cryptococcus flavescens, Cryptococcus laurentii, Hanseniaspora uvarum, Issatchenkia occidentalis, Issatchenkia orientalis, Issatchenkia terricola, Pichia kluyveri, Pichia guilliermondii, Pichia sp., Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and Sporidiobolus pararoseus. A sequential substitution of species during the different stages of fermentation, with a dominance of non-Saccharomyces yeasts at the beginning, and a successive replacement of species by S. cerevisiae strains at the final steps were observed. This is the first report about the yeast distribution present throughout the alcoholic fermentation in a Brazilian winery, providing supportive information for future studies on their contribution to wine quality. © 2013 Springer Science+Business Media New York.