Sake yeast YHR032W/ERC1 haplotype contributes to high S-adenosylmethionine accumulation in sake yeast strains

Sake yeasts are ideally suited for sake making, producing higher levels of ethanol, proliferating at lower temperatures, and producing greater levels of various aromatic components and nutrients than laboratory yeasts. To elucidate the mechanism underlying S-adenosylmethionine (SAM) accumulation in sake yeast strains compared with that in laboratory yeast strains, we performed quantitative trait locus (QTL) analysis and identified a significant QTL on chromosome VIII. Of the 165 genes mapped at 49.8 cM from the left-end DNA marker of chromosome VIII, we focused on the YHR032W/ERC1 gene, encoding a member of the multi-drug and toxin extrusion family having antiporter activity and involved in SAM accumulation and ethionine resistance. Expression of the sake yeast ERC1 haplotype (K7ERC1) in a low- and high-copy number plasmid BYΔerc1 resulted in intracellular SAM accumulation, whereas expression of the laboratory yeast ERC1 haplotype (XERC1) did not. Comparison between DNA sequences of K7ERC1 and XERC1 revealed three amino acid substitutions: S51N, V263I, and N545I. Site-directed mutagenesis revealed that the N545I frameshift mutation was responsible for the K7ERC1 phenotype. These results indicate that K7ERC1 contributes to SAM accumulation in sake yeast strains.