Comparative transcriptomes reveal novel evolutionary strategies adopted by Saccharomyces cerevisiae with improved xylose utilization capability

Production of ethanol from xylose by recombinant Saccharomyces cerevisiae is suboptimal with slow fermentation rate, compared with that from glucose. In this study, a strain-expressing Scheffersomyces stipitis xylose reductase–xylitol dehydrogenase (XR-XDH) pathway was subjected to adaptive evolution on xylose; this approach generated populations with the significantly improved cell growth and ethanol production rate. Mutants were isolated, and the best one was used for sporulation to generate eight stable mutant strains with improved xylose fermentation ability. They were used in a microarray assay to study the molecular basis of the enhanced phenotype. The enriched transcriptional differences among the eight mutant strains and the native strain revealed novel responses to xylose, which likely contributes to the improved xylose utilization. The upregulated vitamin B1 and B6 biosynthesis indicated that thiamine served as an important cofactor in xylose metabolism and may alleviate the redox stress. The increased expression of genes involved in sulfur amino acid biosynthesis and the decreased expression of genes related to Fe(II) transport may alleviate redox stress as well. Meanwhile, it was remarkable that several glucose-repressible genes, including genes of the galactose metabolism, gluconeogenesis, and ethanol catabolism, had a lower expression level after adaptive evolution. Concomitantly, the expression levels of two regulators of the glucose signaling pathway, Rgs2 and Sip4, decreased, indicating a reshaped signaling pathway to xylose after adaptive evolution. Our findings provide new targets for construction of a superior bioethanol producing strain through inverse metabolic engineering.