Project description:The canonical role of eEF1A is to deliver the aminoacyl tRNA to the ribosome, we have used the yeast model system to investigate further roles for this protein. We used microarray to study the transcriptomic effects of elevated levels of eEF1A on yeast cells during log phase growth
Project description:In response to carbon source switching from glucose to non-glucose, such as ethanol and galactose, yeast cells can directionally preprogram cellular metabolism to efficiently utilize the nutrients. However, the understanding of cellular responsive network to utilize a non-natural carbon source, such as xylose, is limited due to the incomplete knowledge on the xylose response mechanisms. Here, through optimization of the xylose assimilation pathway together with combinational evaluation of reported targets, we generated a series of mutants with varied growth ability. However, understanding how cells respond to xylose and remodel cellular metabolic network is far insufficient based on current information. Therefore, genome-scale transcriptional analysis was performed to unravel the cellular reprograming mechanisms underlying the improved growth phenotype.
Project description:Cadmium sulphide quantum dots (CdS QDs) are widely used in novel equipment. The relevance of the research lies in the need to develop risk assessments for nanomaterials (ENMs), using baker's yeast as model system. A whole-genome microarray experiment, performed on Saccharomyces cerevisiae (BY4742), showed how genes were regulated in response to CdS QDs.
Project description:The present study aims to explore chemostat-based transcriptome analysis of mixed cultures by investigating interactions between the yeast S. cerevisiae and the lactic acid bacterium L. bulgaricus . S. cerevisiae and L. bulgaricus are both frequently encountered in kefir, a fermented dairy product. In the context of this study, this binary culture serves as a model for the many traditional food and beverage fermentation processes in which yeasts and lactic acid bacteria occur together. The design of the cultivation conditions was based on the observation that L. bulgaricus, but not S. cerevisiae, can use lactose as a carbon source for growth and that S. cerevisiae, but not L. bulgaricus, can grow on galactose that is released upon hydrolysis of lactose by the bacterial β-galactosidase. Mixed populations of yeasts and lactic acid bacteria occur in many dairy, food and beverage fermentations, but knowledge about their interactions is incomplete. In the present study, interactions between Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus, two microorganisms that co-occur in kefir fermentations, were studied during anaerobic growth on lactose. By combining physiological and transcriptome analysis of the two strains in the co-cultures, five mechanisms of interaction were identified. 1. L. bulgaricus hydrolyses lactose, which cannot be metabolized by S. cerevisiae, to galactose and glucose. Subsequently, galactose, which cannot be metabolized by L. bulgaricus, is excreted and provides a carbon source for yeast. 2. In pure cultures, L. bulgaricus only grows at increased CO2 concentrations. In anaerobic mixed cultures, the yeast provides this CO2 via alcoholic fermentation. 3. Analysis of amino acid consumption from the defined medium indicated that S. cerevisiae supplied alanine to the bacteria. 4. A mild but significant low-iron response in the yeast transcriptome, identified by DNA microarray analysis, was consistent with the chelation of iron by the lactate produced by L. bulgaricus. 5. Transcriptome analysis of L. bulgaricus in mixed cultures showed an overrepresentation of transcripts involved in lipids metabolism suggesting either a competition of the two microorganisms for fatty acids, or a response to the ethanol produced by S. cerevisiae.