Engineering in Life Sciences (Aug 2024)

Genetic modules for α‐factor pheromone controlled growth regulation of Saccharomyces cerevisiae

  • Uta Gutbier,
  • Juliane Korp,
  • Lennart Scheufler,
  • Kai Ostermann

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1002/elsc.202300235
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 24, no. 8
pp. n/a – n/a

Abstract

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Abstract Saccharomyces cerevisiae is a commonly used microorganism in the biotechnological industry. For the industrial heterologous production of compounds, it is of great advantage to work with growth‐controllable yeast strains. In our work, we utilized the natural pheromone system of S. cerevisiae and generated a set of different strains possessing an α‐pheromone controllable growth behavior. Naturally, the α‐factor pheromone is involved in communication between haploid S. cerevisiae cells. Perception of the pheromone initiates several cellular changes, enabling the cells to prepare for an upcoming mating event. We exploited this natural pheromone response system and developed two different plasmid‐based modules, in which the target genes, MET15 and FAR1, are under control of the α‐factor sensitive FIG1 promoter for a controlled expression in S. cerevisiae. Whereas expression of MET15 led to a growth induction, FAR1 expression inhibited growth. The utilization of low copy number or high copy number plasmids for target gene expression and different concentrations of α‐factor allow a finely adjustable control of yeast growth rate.

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