Molecular cloning, sequence analysis, and expression of the yeast alcohol acetyltransferase gene

The ATF1 gene, which encodes alcohol acetyltransferase (AATase), was cloned from Saccharomyces cerevisiae and brewery lager yeast (Saccharomyces uvarum). The nucleotide sequence of the ATF1 gene isolated from S. cerevisiae was determined. The structural gene consists of a 1,575-bp open reading frame that encodes 525 amino acids with a calculated molecular weight of 61,059. Although the yeast AATase is considered a membrane-bound enzyme, the results of a hydrophobicity analysis suggested that this gene product does not have a membrane-spanning region that is significantly hydrophobic. A Southern analysis of the yeast genomes in which the ATF1 gene was used as a probe revealed that S. cerevisiae has one ATF1 gene, while brewery lager yeast has one ATF1 gene and another, homologous gene (Lg-ATF1). Transformants carrying multiple copies of the ATF1 gene or the Lg-ATF1 gene exhibited high AATase activity in static cultures and produced greater concentrations of acetate esters than the control.