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Super life--how and why 'cell selection' leads to the fastest-growing eukaryote
Philip Groeneveld1, Adriaan H Stouthamer, Hans V Westerhoff
1Department of Molecular Cell Physiology & Mathematical Biochemistry, Netherlands Institute for Systems Biology, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
The FEBS Journal
|December 18, 2008
Summary
Researchers identified a method to increase cellular growth rate in yeast. This cell selection technique boosted replication speed by 30%, highlighting membrane processes as key to faster eukaryotic life.
Area of Science:
- Microbiology and Biotechnology
- Cellular Biology and Genetics
Background:
- Cellular growth rate is influenced by numerous complex processes, making it challenging to identify specific targets for optimization.
- Fast-growing organisms may have evolved to near-maximal efficiency, facing generic limitations rather than specific bottlenecks.
Purpose of the Study:
- To introduce and apply a novel 'cell selection' method to identify and overcome growth rate limitations in eukaryotic organisms.
- To investigate the metabolic and cellular changes associated with significantly increased growth rates.
Main Methods:
- Application of pH-auxostat cultivation to the fast-growing yeast Kluyveromyces marxianus over an extended period.
- Selection of a high-growth rate strain and analysis of its cellular characteristics and growth limitations.
Main Results:
- A 30% increase in growth rate was achieved, reducing cell-cycle time to 52 minutes, a record for eukaryotes.
- The enhanced growth correlated with a 40% increase in cell surface area at constant cell volume.
- Membrane processes were identified as the primary limiting factor (80%), with increased membrane surface area driving growth.
Conclusions:
- Simultaneous activation of membrane processes can accelerate the growth of fast-growing eukaryotic organisms.
- This finding has potential applications in industrial biotechnology, particularly for single-cell protein production.
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