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General mechanisms of weak acid-tolerance and current strategies for the development of tolerant yeasts

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Abstract

Yeast cells are often subjected to various types of weak acid stress in the process of industrial production, food processing, and preservation, resulting in growth inhibition and reduced fermentation performance. Under acidic conditions, weak acids enter the near-neutral yeast cytoplasm and dissociate into protons and anions, leading to cytoplasmic acidification and cell damage. Although some yeast strains have developed the ability to survive weak acids, the complexity and diversity of stresses during industrial production still require the application of appropriate strategies for phenotypes improvement. In this review, we summarized current knowledge concerning weak acid stress response and resistance, which may suggest important targets for further construction of more robust strains. We also highlight current feasible strategies for improving the weak acid resistance of yeasts, such as adaptive laboratory evolution, transcription factors engineering, and cell membrane/wall engineering. Moreover, the challenges and perspectives associated with improving the competitiveness of industrial strains are also discussed. This review provides effective strategies for improving the industrial phenotypes of yeast from multiple dimensions in future studies.

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Acknowledgements

The authors immensely thank the Figdraw platform for the drawing Figs. 1 and 2.

Funding

This work was supported by the Natural Science Foundation of Zhejiang Province (LQ20C200015) and Basic Scientific Research Projects of Wenzhou (2022N0072).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Life Sciences, College of Life and Environmental Science, Wenzhou University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang, 325035, PR China

    Mengmeng Li, Yunfei Chu & Hao Ji

  2. Biomedical Collaborative Innovation Center of Zhejiang Province & Engineering Laboratory of Zhejiang Province for Pharmaceutical Development of Growth Factors, Wenzhou University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang, 325035, PR China

    Mengmeng Li, Yunfei Chu & Hao Ji

  3. Department of Agriculture and Biotechnology, Wenzhou Vocational College of Science and Technology, Wenzhou, Zhejiang, 325006, PR China

    Xiameng Dong

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  1. Mengmeng Li
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  4. Hao Ji
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Contributions

M.L. and Y.C. wrote the original manuscript, M.L. prepared figures, X.D. reviewed and revised the manuscript, H.J. overall supervised, conceived, reviewed, and revised the manuscript. All authors have approved the submitted version.

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Correspondence to Xiameng Dong or Hao Ji.

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Li, M., Chu, Y., Dong, X. et al. General mechanisms of weak acid-tolerance and current strategies for the development of tolerant yeasts. World J Microbiol Biotechnol 40, 49 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11274-023-03875-y

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