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Alcohol-mediated haemolysis in yeast

Amir Shuster1, Nir Osherov, Mel Rosenberg

  • 1Department of Human Microbiology, Sackler Faculty of Medicine Tel-Aviv University, Ramat-Aviv, Israel, 69978.

Yeast (Chichester, England)
|November 27, 2004
PubMed

Insights

Many yeast and fungi strains exhibit alcohol-conferred haemolysis (MACH) when exposed to alcohol vapor. This species-specific phenomenon, dependent on alcohol oxidation to aldehydes, offers new insights into microbial interactions.

Area of Science:

  • Microbiology
  • Biochemistry

Background:

  • Yeast and fungi are typically non-haemolytic.
  • The interaction between fungi and alcohols is not fully understood.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the phenomenon of alcohol-conferred haemolysis in yeast and fungi.
  • To identify factors influencing this haemolytic property.

Main Methods:

  • Exposure of various yeast and fungal strains to alcohol vapors (ethanol, n-butanol, n-pentanol, methanol, 2-propanol).
  • Testing of alcohol dehydrogenase mutants in Aspergillus nidulans and Saccharomyces cerevisiae.
  • Assessment of haemolysis under aerobic and anaerobic conditions.
  • Evaluation of the effect of an aldehyde scavenger (pararosaniline).

Main Results:

  • Alcohol vapor conferred haemolytic properties on many yeast and fungal strains, termed microbial alcohol-conferred haemolysis (MACH).
  • MACH exhibited species- and strain-specificity, with varying susceptibility among Candida tropicalis, Candida glabrata, Candida albicans, and Saccharomyces cerevisiae.
  • Haemolysis depended on the alcohol structure, with n-butanol and n-pentanol effective, but not methanol or 2-propanol.
  • The phenomenon required initial alcohol oxidation to aldehydes, as evidenced by reduced haemolysis in alcohol dehydrogenase mutants and in the presence of an aldehyde scavenger.
  • MACH was not observed during anaerobic growth.

Conclusions:

  • Initial oxidation of alcohol to aldehydes is crucial for MACH.
  • MACH is a novel, alcohol-dependent, and species-specific haemolytic property of certain fungi.
  • This finding opens new avenues for understanding fungal physiology and interactions.

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