Transcriptomic analysis of nonylphenol effect on Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Nonylphenol (NP) is a bioaccumulative environmental estrogen that is widely used as a nonionic surfactant. We have previously examined short-term effects of NP on yeast cells using microarray technology. In the present study, we investigated the adaptive response of Saccharomyces cerevisiae BY4742 cells to NP exposure by analyzing genome-wide transcriptional profiles using RNA-sequencing. We used 2 mg/L NP concentration for 40 days of exposure. Gene expression analysis showed that a total of 948 genes were differentially expressed. Of these, 834 genes were downregulated, while 114 genes were significantly upregulated. GO enrichment analysis revealed that 369 GO terms were significantly affected by NP exposure. Further analysis showed that many of the differentially expressed genes were associated with oxidative phosphorylation, iron and copper acquisition, autophagy, pleiotropic drug resistance and cell cycle progression related processes such as DNA and mismatch repair, chromosome segregation, spindle checkpoint activity, and kinetochore organization. Overall, these results provide considerable information and a comprehensive understanding of the adaptive response to NP exposure at the gene expression level.