Biology subjects

Gorter de Vries, A.

Publications and source records attributed to Gorter de Vries, A..

3 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2019

Maltotriose consumption by hybrid Saccharomyces pastorianus is heterotic and results from regulatory cross-talk between parental sub-genomes

S. pastorianus strains are hybrids of S. cerevisiae and S. eubayanus that have been domesticated for several centuries in lager-beer brewing environments. As sequences and structures of S. pastorianus genomes are being resolved, molecular mechanisms and evolutionary origin of several industrially relevant phenotypes remain unknown. This study investigates how maltotriose metabolism, a key feature in brewing, may have arisen in early S. eubayanus x S. cerevisiae hybrids. To address this question, we generated a near-complete genome assembly of Himalayan S. eubayanus strains of the Holarctic subclade. This group of strains have been proposed to be the origin of the S. eubayanus subgenome of current S. pastorianus strains. The Himalayan S. eubayanus genomes harbored several copies of a SeAGT1 -oligoglucoside transporter gene with high sequence identity to genes encountered in S. pastorianus. Although Himalayan S. eubayanus strains are unable to grown on maltose and maltotriose, their maltose-hydrolase and SeMALT1 and SeAGT1 maltose-transporter genes complemented the corresponding null mutants of S. cerevisiae. Expression, in a Himalayan S. eubayanus strain, of a functional S. cerevisiae maltose-metabolism regulator gene (MALx3) enabled growth on oligoglucosides. The hypothesis that the maltotriose-positive phenotype in S. pastorianus is a result of heterosis was experimentally tested by constructing a S. cerevisiae x S. eubayanus laboratory hybrid with a complement of maltose-metabolism genes that resembles that of current S. pastorianus strains. The ability of this hybrid to consume maltotriose in brewers wort demonstrated regulatory cross talk between sub-genomes and thereby validated this hypothesis. These results provide experimental evidence of the evolutionary origin of an essential phenotype of lager-brewing strains and valuable knowledge for industrial exploitation of laboratory-made S. pastorianus-like hybrids.\n\nImportanceS.pastorianus, a S.cerevisiae X S.eubayanus hybrid, is used for production of lager beer, the most produced alcoholic beverage worldwide It emerged by spontaneous hybridization and have colonized early lager-brewing processes. Despite accumulation and analysis of genome sequencing data of S.pastorianus parental genomes, the genetic blueprint of industrially relevant phenotypes remains unknown. Assimilation of wort abundant sugar maltotriose has been postulated to be inherited from S.cerevisiae parent. Here, we demonstrate that although Asian S.eubayanus isolates harbor a functional maltotriose transporter SeAGT1 gene, they are unable to grow on -oligoglucosides, but expression of S. cerevisae regulator ScMAL13 was sufficient to restore growth on trisaccharides. We hypothesized that S. pastorianus maltotriose phenotype results from regulatory interaction between S.cerevisae maltose transcription activator and the promoter of SeAGT1. We experimentally confirmed the heterotic nature of the phenotype and thus this results provide experimental evidence of the evolutionary origin of an essential phenotype of lager-brewing strains.

microbiology↗

bioRxiv2019

Nanopore sequencing and comparative genome analysis confirm lager-brewing yeasts originated from a single hybridization

BackgroundThe lager brewing yeast, S. pastorianus, is a hybrid between S. cerevisiae and S. eubayanus with extensive chromosome aneuploidy. S. pastorianus is subdivided into Group 1 and Group 2 strains, where Group 2 strains have higher copy number and a larger degree of heterozygosity for S. cerevisiae chromosomes. As a result, Group 2 strains were hypothesized to have emerged from a hybridization event distinct from Group 1 strains. Current genome assemblies of S. pastorianus strains are incomplete and highly fragmented, limiting our ability to investigate their evolutionary history.\n\nResultsTo fill this gap, we generated a chromosome-level genome assembly of the S. pastorianus strain CBS 1483 using MinION sequencing and analysed the newly assembled subtelomeric regions and chromosome heterozygosity. To analyse the evolutionary history of S. pastorianus strains, we developed Alpaca: a method to compute sequence similarity between genomes without assuming linear evolution. Alpaca revealed high similarities between the S. cerevisiae subgenomes of Group 1 and 2 strains, and marked differences from sequenced S. cerevisiae strains.\n\nConclusionsOur findings suggest that Group 1 and Group 2 strains originated from a single hybridization involving a heterozygous S. cerevisiae strain, followed by different evolutionary trajectories. The clear differences between both groups may originate from a severe population bottleneck caused by the isolation of the first pure cultures. Alpaca provides a computationally inexpensive method to analyse evolutionary relationships while considering non-linear evolution such as horizontal gene transfer and sexual reproduction, providing a complementary viewpoint beyond traditional phylogenetic approaches.

bioinformatics↗

bioRxiv2018

Laboratory evolution of a Saccharomyces cerevisiae x S. eubayanus hybrid under simulated lager-brewing conditions: genetic diversity and phenotypic convergence

Saccharomyces pastorianus lager-brewing yeasts are domesticated hybrids of S. cerevisiae x S. eubayanus that display extensive inter-strain chromosome copy number variation and chromosomal recombinations. It is unclear to what extent such genome rearrangements are intrinsic to the domestication of hybrid brewing yeasts and whether they contribute to their industrial performance. Here, an allodiploid laboratory hybrid of S. cerevisiae and S. eubayanus was evolved for up to 418 generations on wort under simulated lager-brewing conditions in six independent sequential batch bioreactors. Characterization of 55 single-cell isolates from the evolved cultures showed large phenotypic diversity and whole-genome sequencing revealed a large array of mutations. Frequent loss of heterozygosity involved diverse, strain-specific chromosomal translocations, which differed from those observed in domesticated, aneuploid S. pastorianus brewing strains. In contrast to the extensive aneuploidy of domesticated S. pastorianus strains, the evolved isolates only showed limited (segmental) aneuploidy. Specific mutations could be linked to calcium-dependent flocculation, loss of maltotriose utilisation and loss of mitochondrial activity, three industrially relevant traits that also occur in domesticated S. pastorianus strains. This study indicates that fast acquisition of extensive aneuploidy is not required for genetic adaptation of S. cerevisiae x S. eubayanus hybrids to brewing environments. In addition, this work demonstrates that, consistent with the diversity of brewing strains for maltotriose utilization, domestication under brewing conditions can result in loss of this industrially relevant trait. These observations have important implications for the design of strategies to improve industrial performance of novel laboratory-made hybrids.

evolutionary biology↗