Stress, transport and metabolism of alpha-glycosides in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Abstract

The three research groups involved in this project have experience in collaborative work gained in a previous thematic project that lasted from 1996 to 2001. All the groups involved in this project were influenced by Prof. Anita Panek pioneer work that has studied trehalose effects on yeast metabolism since 1960. All participants have accumulated a great deal of expertise in this field in the last ten years. In this thematic project we intend to study cellular responses to stress conditions using the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae as a model organism for eukaryotic cells. We intend to explore the trehalose protective effects under stress conditions, focusing in oxidative stress. The tolerance acquisition mechanism under stress conditions that disrupt the cellular redox equilibrium will be our main interest in this research line. Since plasma membrane trehalose protection depends on the presence of the disaccharide on both leaflets of the membrane, the manipulation of the trehalose transporter transmembrane channel structure could lead us to dissociate the glucoside transport from the proton co-transport. Thus, the mutated gene could be expressed in other eukaryotic cell types, which would allow us to understand the conditions for dehydration resistance in those cell types. The study of the metabolic regulation for other alpha-glucosides besides trehalose could provide interesting results about the mechanism of his regulation, and eventually, led us to obtain strains that utilize these carbon sources more effectively. This could have some biotechnological interest. The mechanism of action of the purified and reconstituted into liposome's trehalose transporter will be studied both with the native as well as with the mutant proteins. (AU)