Transcript expression in Saccharomyces cerevisiae at high salinity

Transcript expression of Saccharomyces cerevisiae at high salinity was determined by microarray analysis of 6144 open reading frames (ORFs). From cells grown in 1 m NaCl for 10, 30, and 90 min, changes in transcript abundance >2-fold were classified. Salinity-induced ORFs increased over time: 107 (10 min), 243 (30 min), and 354 (90 min). Up-regulated, functionally unknown ORFs increased from 17 to 149 over this period. Expression patterns were similar early, with 67% of up-regulated transcripts after 10 min identical to those at 30 min. The expression profile after 90 min revealed different up-regulated transcripts (identities of 13% and 22%, respectively). Nucleotide and amino acid metabolism exemplified the earliest responses to salinity, followed by ORFs related to intracellular transport, protein synthesis, and destination. Transcripts related to energy production were up-regulated throughout the time course with respiration-associated transcripts strongly induced at 30 min. Highly expressed at 90 min were known salinity stress-induced genes, detoxification-related responses, transporters of the major facilitator superfamily, metabolism of energy reserves, nitrogen and sulfur compounds, and lipid, fatty acid/isoprenoid biosynthesis. We chose severe stress conditions to monitor responses in essential biochemical mechanisms. In the mutant, Deltagpd1/gpd2, lacking glycerol biosynthesis, the stress response was magnified with a partially different set of up-regulated ORFs.