CAR1 as a new selective marker for genetic engineering of wine yeasts

A common problem in engineering industrial yeasts, and wine yeasts in particular, is the lack or scarcity of selective markers for introducing desired genetic changes. Almost all such markers, which are usually auxotrophic mutations, would reduce the growth characteristics of yeast strains. However, a potentially useful marker could be the CAR1 gene encoding arginase, the deletion of which reduces the accumulation of the carcinogen ethyl carbamate in wine, making such a deletion beneficial for wine production and maintainable in wine yeast strains. Here we demonstrate the use of the CAR1 gene as a selective marker. First, we observe that complete deletion of CAR1 in a triploid wine strain of Saccharomyces cerevisiae causes strong growth inhibition on a medium containing arginine as the only nitrogen source. Then, we show that strains with CAR1 deletion can be reliably transformed using CAR1 as a plasmid marker. Thus, the CAR1 gene can be used as a convenient selective marker in genetic engineering of wine yeasts, in particular using CRISPR/Cas9 technology.