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Thiamine increases expression of yeast gene
K Ichikawa1, Y Shiba, M Yamazaki
1Biomedical Research Laboratories, Sankyo Co., Ltd., Tokyo, Japan.
Bioscience, Biotechnology, and Biochemistry
|July 1, 1997
Summary
Thiamine significantly boosts carboxypeptidase Y (CPY) production in Saccharomyces cerevisiae by increasing CPY messenger RNA (mRNA) levels. This vitamin enhances yeast gene expression without affecting cell growth.
Area of Science:
- Microbiology
- Molecular Biology
- Biochemistry
Background:
- Saccharomyces cerevisiae is a widely used yeast model organism.
- Carboxypeptidase Y (CPY) is a key enzyme in yeast.
- Understanding factors that regulate CPY production is important for biotechnological applications.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the effect of thiamine on CPY production in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.
- To determine the mechanism by which thiamine influences CPY production.
- To explore the general effect of thiamine on gene expression in yeast.
Main Methods:
- Culturing Saccharomyces cerevisiae KS58-2D/pCY303 in media with varying thiamine concentrations.
- Measuring CPY production and cell growth.
- Quantifying CPY messenger RNA (mRNA) levels.
- Assessing the expression of an artificially constructed luciferase gene.
Main Results:
- Thiamine addition significantly increased CPY production without affecting cell growth.
- Increased CPY production correlated with elevated CPY mRNA levels, indicating transcriptional regulation.
- Thiamine also showed a moderate increase in the expression of a luciferase reporter gene.
Conclusions:
- Thiamine positively regulates CPY production in Saccharomyces cerevisiae at the transcriptional level.
- Thiamine may generally enhance gene expression in yeast.
- These findings have implications for optimizing yeast fermentation processes.