scholarly journals Efficient breeding of industrial brewing yeast strains using CRISPR/Cas9-aided mating-type switching

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristoffer Krogerus ◽  
Eugene Fletcher ◽  
Nils Rettberg ◽  
Brian Gibson ◽  
Richard Preiss
Keyword(s):  
Mating Type ◽  
Brewing Yeast ◽  
Yeast Strains ◽  
Lyase Activity ◽  
Single Mating ◽  
Mating Type Switching ◽  
Yeast Transformants ◽  
Efficient Breeding ◽  
High Beta ◽  
Mat Locus

Yeast breeding is a powerful tool for developing and improving brewing yeast in a number of industry-relevant respects. However, breeding of industrial brewing yeast can be challenging, as strains are typically sterile and have large complex genomes. To facilitate breeding, we used the CRISPR/Cas9 system to generate double-stranded breaks in the MAT locus, generating transformants with a single specified mating type. The single mating type remained stable even after loss of the Cas9 plasmid, despite the strains being homothallic, and these strains could be readily mated with other brewing yeast transformants of opposite mating type. As a proof of concept, we applied this technology to generate yeast hybrids with an aim to increase beta-lyase activity for fermentation of beer with enhanced hop flavour. First, a genetic and phenotypic pre-screening of 38 strains was carried out in order to identify potential parent strains with high beta-lyase activity. Mating-competent transformants of eight parent strains were generated, and these were used to generate over 60 hybrids that were screened for beta-lyase activity. Selected phenolic off-flavour positive (POF+) hybrids were further sporulated to generate meiotic segregants with high beta-lyase activity, efficient wort fermentation and lack of POF; all traits that are desirable in strains for the fermentation of modern hop-forward beers. Our study demonstrates the power of combining the CRISPR/Cas9 system with classic yeast breeding to facilitate development and diversification of brewing yeast.

scholarly journals Efficient breeding of industrial brewing yeast strains using CRISPR/Cas9-aided mating-type switching

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristoffer Krogerus ◽  
Eugene Fletcher ◽  
Nils Rettberg ◽  
Brian Gibson ◽  
Richard Preiss
Keyword(s):  
Mating Type ◽  
Brewing Yeast ◽  
Yeast Strains ◽  
Key Points ◽  
Lyase Activity ◽  
Single Mating ◽  
Mating Type Switching ◽  
Yeast Transformants ◽  
Efficient Breeding ◽  
Intraspecific Hybrids

Abstract Yeast breeding is a powerful tool for developing and improving brewing yeast in a number of industry-relevant respects. However, breeding of industrial brewing yeast can be challenging, as strains are typically sterile and have large complex genomes. To facilitate breeding, we used the CRISPR/Cas9 system to generate double-stranded breaks in the MAT locus, generating transformants with a single specified mating type. The single mating type remained stable even after loss of the Cas9 plasmid, despite the strains being homothallic, and these strains could be readily mated with other brewing yeast transformants of opposite mating type. As a proof of concept, we applied this technology to generate yeast hybrids with an aim to increase β-lyase activity for fermentation of beer with enhanced hop flavour. First, a genetic and phenotypic pre-screening of 38 strains was carried out in order to identify potential parent strains with high β-lyase activity. Mating-competent transformants of eight parent strains were generated, and these were used to generate over 60 hybrids that were screened for β-lyase activity. Selected phenolic off-flavour positive (POF +) hybrids were further sporulated to generate meiotic segregants with high β-lyase activity, efficient wort fermentation, and lack of POF, all traits that are desirable in strains for the fermentation of modern hop-forward beers. Our study demonstrates the power of combining the CRISPR/Cas9 system with classic yeast breeding to facilitate development and diversification of brewing yeast. Key points • CRISPR/Cas9-based mating-type switching was applied to industrial yeast strains. • Transformed strains could be readily mated to form intraspecific hybrids. • Hybrids exhibited heterosis for a number of brewing-relevant traits.

Homothallic mating type switching generates lethal chromosome breaks in rad52 strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae

1981 ◽  
Vol 1 (6) ◽  
pp. 522-534
Author(s):  
B Weiffenbach ◽  
J E Haber
Keyword(s):  
Saccharomyces Cerevisiae ◽  
Mating Type ◽  
Deoxyribonucleic Acid ◽  
Type Locus ◽  
Mating Type Switching ◽  
Lethal Event ◽  
Bona Fide ◽  
Chromosome Iii ◽  
Mat Locus ◽  
Type Information

In homothallic cells of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, a or alpha mating type information at the mating type locus (MAT) is replaced by the transposition of the opposite mating type allele from HML alpha or HMRa. The rad52-1 mutation, which reduces mitotic and abolishes meiotic recombination, also affects homothallic switching (Malone and Esposito, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 77:503-507, 1980). We have found that both HO rad52 MATa and HO rad52 MAT alpha cells die. This lethality is suppressed by mutations that substantially reduce but do not eliminate homothallic conversions. These mutations map at or near the MAT locus (MAT alpha inc, MATa-inc, MATa stk1) or are unlinked to MAT (HO-1 and swi1). These results suggest that the switching event itself is involved in the lethality. With the exception of swi1, HO rad52 strains carrying one of the above mutations cannot convert mating type at all. MAT alpha rad52 HO swi1 strains apparently can switch MAT alpha to MATa. However, when we analyzed these a maters, we found that few, if any, of them were bona fide MATa cells. These a-like cells were instead either deleted for part of chromosome III distal to and including MAT or had lost the entire third chromosome. Approximately 30% of the time, an a-like cell could be repaired to a normal MATa genotype if the cell was mated to a RAD52 MAT alpha-inc strain. The effects of rad52 were also studied in mata/MAT alpha-inc rad52/rad52 ho/HO diploids. When this diploid attempted to switch mata to MATa, an unstable broken chromosome was generated in nearly every cell. These studies suggest that homothallic switching involves the formation of a double-stranded deoxyribonucleic acid break or a structure which is labile in rad52 cells and results in a broken chromosome. We propose that the production of a double-stranded deoxyribonucleic acid break is the lethal event in rad52 HO cells.

scholarly journals Homothallic mating type switching generates lethal chromosome breaks in rad52 strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

1981 ◽  
Vol 1 (6) ◽  
pp. 522-534 ◽  
Author(s):  
B Weiffenbach ◽  
J E Haber
Keyword(s):  
Saccharomyces Cerevisiae ◽  
Mating Type ◽  
Deoxyribonucleic Acid ◽  
Type Locus ◽  
Mating Type Switching ◽  
Lethal Event ◽  
Bona Fide ◽  
Chromosome Iii ◽  
Mat Locus ◽  
Type Information

In homothallic cells of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, a or alpha mating type information at the mating type locus (MAT) is replaced by the transposition of the opposite mating type allele from HML alpha or HMRa. The rad52-1 mutation, which reduces mitotic and abolishes meiotic recombination, also affects homothallic switching (Malone and Esposito, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 77:503-507, 1980). We have found that both HO rad52 MATa and HO rad52 MAT alpha cells die. This lethality is suppressed by mutations that substantially reduce but do not eliminate homothallic conversions. These mutations map at or near the MAT locus (MAT alpha inc, MATa-inc, MATa stk1) or are unlinked to MAT (HO-1 and swi1). These results suggest that the switching event itself is involved in the lethality. With the exception of swi1, HO rad52 strains carrying one of the above mutations cannot convert mating type at all. MAT alpha rad52 HO swi1 strains apparently can switch MAT alpha to MATa. However, when we analyzed these a maters, we found that few, if any, of them were bona fide MATa cells. These a-like cells were instead either deleted for part of chromosome III distal to and including MAT or had lost the entire third chromosome. Approximately 30% of the time, an a-like cell could be repaired to a normal MATa genotype if the cell was mated to a RAD52 MAT alpha-inc strain. The effects of rad52 were also studied in mata/MAT alpha-inc rad52/rad52 ho/HO diploids. When this diploid attempted to switch mata to MATa, an unstable broken chromosome was generated in nearly every cell. These studies suggest that homothallic switching involves the formation of a double-stranded deoxyribonucleic acid break or a structure which is labile in rad52 cells and results in a broken chromosome. We propose that the production of a double-stranded deoxyribonucleic acid break is the lethal event in rad52 HO cells.

scholarly journals Heteroduplex formation and mismatch repair of the "stuck" mutation during mating-type switching in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

1991 ◽  
Vol 11 (10) ◽  
pp. 5372-5380 ◽  
Author(s):  
B L Ray ◽  
C I White ◽  
J E Haber
Keyword(s):  
Saccharomyces Cerevisiae ◽  
Mismatch Repair ◽  
Mating Type ◽  
Inducible Promoter ◽  
Strand Break ◽  
Pedigree Analysis ◽  
Base Change ◽  
Mating Type Switching ◽  
Mat Locus ◽  
Heteroduplex Formation

We sequenced two alleles of the MATa locus of Saccharomyces cerevisiae that reduce homothallic switching and confer viability to HO rad52 strains. Both the MATa-stk (J. E. Haber, W. T. Savage, S. M. Raposa, B. Weiffenbach, and L. B. Rowe, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 77:2824-2828, 1980) and MATa-survivor (R. E. Malone and D. Hyman, Curr. Genet. 7:439-447, 1983) alleles result from a T----A base change at position Z11 of the MAT locus. These strains also contain identical base substitutions at HMRa, so that the mutation is reintroduced when MAT alpha switches to MATa. Mating-type switching in a MATa-stk strain relative to a MATa Z11T strain is reduced at least 50-fold but can be increased by expression of HO from a galactose-inducible promoter. We confirmed by Southern analysis that the Z11A mutation reduced the efficiency of double-strand break formation compared with the Z11T variant; the reduction was more severe in MAT alpha than in MATa. In MAT alpha, the Z11A mutation also creates a mat alpha 1 (sterile) mutation that distinguishes switches of MATa-stk to either MAT alpha or mat alpha 1-stk. Pedigree analysis of cells induced to switch in G1 showed that MATa-stk switched frequently (23% of the time) to produce one mat alpha 1-stk and one MAT alpha progeny. This postswitching segregation suggests that Z11 was often present in heteroduplex DNA that was not mismatch repaired. When mismatch repair was prevented by deletion of the PMS1 gene, there was an increase in the proportion of mat alpha 1-stk/MAT alpha sectors (59%) and in pairs of switched cells that both retained the stk mutation (27%). We conclude that at least one strand of DNA only 4 bp from the HO cut site is not degraded in most of the gene conversion events that accompany MAT switching.

Heteroduplex formation and mismatch repair of the "stuck" mutation during mating-type switching in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

1991 ◽  
Vol 11 (10) ◽  
pp. 5372-5380
Author(s):  
B L Ray ◽  
C I White ◽  
J E Haber
Keyword(s):  
Saccharomyces Cerevisiae ◽  
Mismatch Repair ◽  
Mating Type ◽  
Inducible Promoter ◽  
Strand Break ◽  
Pedigree Analysis ◽  
Base Change ◽  
Mating Type Switching ◽  
Mat Locus ◽  
Heteroduplex Formation

We sequenced two alleles of the MATa locus of Saccharomyces cerevisiae that reduce homothallic switching and confer viability to HO rad52 strains. Both the MATa-stk (J. E. Haber, W. T. Savage, S. M. Raposa, B. Weiffenbach, and L. B. Rowe, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 77:2824-2828, 1980) and MATa-survivor (R. E. Malone and D. Hyman, Curr. Genet. 7:439-447, 1983) alleles result from a T----A base change at position Z11 of the MAT locus. These strains also contain identical base substitutions at HMRa, so that the mutation is reintroduced when MAT alpha switches to MATa. Mating-type switching in a MATa-stk strain relative to a MATa Z11T strain is reduced at least 50-fold but can be increased by expression of HO from a galactose-inducible promoter. We confirmed by Southern analysis that the Z11A mutation reduced the efficiency of double-strand break formation compared with the Z11T variant; the reduction was more severe in MAT alpha than in MATa. In MAT alpha, the Z11A mutation also creates a mat alpha 1 (sterile) mutation that distinguishes switches of MATa-stk to either MAT alpha or mat alpha 1-stk. Pedigree analysis of cells induced to switch in G1 showed that MATa-stk switched frequently (23% of the time) to produce one mat alpha 1-stk and one MAT alpha progeny. This postswitching segregation suggests that Z11 was often present in heteroduplex DNA that was not mismatch repaired. When mismatch repair was prevented by deletion of the PMS1 gene, there was an increase in the proportion of mat alpha 1-stk/MAT alpha sectors (59%) and in pairs of switched cells that both retained the stk mutation (27%). We conclude that at least one strand of DNA only 4 bp from the HO cut site is not degraded in most of the gene conversion events that accompany MAT switching.

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