Rationally designed perturbation factor drives evolution in Saccharomyces cerevisiae for industrial application

Area of Science:

• Biotechnology
• Synthetic Biology
• Microbial Engineering

Background:

• Industrial applications demand Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains with optimized characteristics.
• Engineering yeast at the genome scale is challenging due to ploidy complexity.
• Developing efficient methods for yeast strain improvement is crucial for biotechnology.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce and validate a novel method, genome replication engineering-assisted continuous evolution (GREACE), for engineering Saccharomyces cerevisiae.
• To demonstrate the efficacy of GREACE in improving specific yeast traits across different ploidies.
• To establish GREACE as a versatile platform for evolving yeast with desired industrial characteristics.

Main Methods:

• Employing iterative cycles of culture and selection to drive continuous genetic modification.
• Utilizing genome replication engineering-assisted continuous evolution (GREACE) for directed yeast evolution.
• Assessing improvements in yeast tolerance to acetic acid and aroma profiles.

Main Results:

• GREACE demonstrated significant improvements in yeast tolerance to acetic acid compared to parent strains.
• The method successfully enhanced the aroma profile of Saccharomyces cerevisiae.
• Beneficial genetic modifications accumulated through GREACE were stably inherited by offspring.

Conclusions:

• GREACE is an efficient and versatile method for engineering Saccharomyces cerevisiae with various ploidies.
• This approach enables continuous improvement of target traits through accumulated genetic modifications.
• GREACE holds potential for evolving yeast strains with a wide range of specific industrial characteristics.