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Application of the yeast pheromone system for controlled cell–cell communication and signal amplification
Author(s) -
Groß A.,
Rödel G.,
Ostermann K.
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
letters in applied microbiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.698
H-Index - 110
eISSN - 1472-765X
pISSN - 0266-8254
DOI - 10.1111/j.1472-765x.2011.03035.x
Subject(s) - saccharomyces cerevisiae , yeast , pheromone , green fluorescent protein , biology , microbiology and biotechnology , recombinant dna , cell , reporter gene , cell culture , biochemistry , gene expression , gene , genetics
Aims: The aim of the work is to exploit the yeast pheromone system for controlled cell–cell communication and as an amplification circuit in technical applications, e.g. biosensors or sensor‐actor systems. Methods and Results: As a proof of principle, we developed recombinant Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells that express enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) in response to different concentrations of the alpha (α)‐factor mating pheromone. A respective reporter construct allowing the pheromone‐driven expression of EGFP was transformed into the S. cerevisiae strains BY4741 and BY4741 bar1 Δ. Upon addition of synthetic α‐factor, the fluorescence strongly increases after 4 h. Furthermore, cells with constitutive α‐factor expression were able to induce the expression of EGFP in co‐cultivation with sensor cells only if both cell types were deleted for the gene BAR1 , encoding α‐factor protease. For technical applications, the immobilization of functionalized cells may be beneficial. We show that pheromone‐induced expression of EGFP is effective in alginate‐immobilized cells. Conclusions: Based on S. cerevisiae α‐factor, we developed a controlled cell–cell communication system and amplification circuit for pheromone‐driven expression of a target protein. The system is effective both in suspension and after cell immobilization. Significance and Impact of the Study: The developed set of recombinant yeast strains is the basis to apply the yeast pheromone system for signal production and amplification in biosensors or sensor‐actor systems.