Chromatin regulator Eaf3p regulates nitrogen metabolism in Saccharomyces cerevisiae as a trans-acting factor

Abstract

ABSTRACT Nitrogen metabolism in Saccharomyces cerevisiae is complex and tightly regulated, involving multiple regulatory factors. Eaf3p has been identified as a central regulator of nitrogen metabolism in S. cerevisiae , but its mechanism of action is unclear. In this study, the effect of overexpressing histone H4 acetylation gene EAF3 on nitrogen metabolic genes was investigated. The results indicated that Eaf3p regulates the expression of multiple nitrogen metabolic genes by regulating histone acetylation of the promoter regions via the histone acetyltransferase NuA4 complex. Eaf3p regulated the nitrogen metabolic genes GAT1 , CAN1 , LYP1 , GLN3 , and HIP1 by binding to their respective promoters. Eaf3p was recruited with Pho2p, as well as other transcription factors, to up-regulate the expression of target genes. These findings make a significant contribution to improving understanding of the mechanism of S. cerevisiae nitrogen metabolism regulation, which will contribute to future metabolic engineering of S. cerevisiae to improve its suitability for industrial applications. IMPORTANCE In this study, the mechanism of chromatin regulator Eaf3p regulating nitrogen metabolism in S. cerevisiae was investigated. It provides theoretical support for epigenetic modifications of cells to alter the level of histone modifications, coordinate the expression of multiple genes, and make it more conducive to the co-metabolism of multiple nitrogen sources. Moreover, it provides new ideas for industrial brewing yeast strains to achieve nitrogen source metabolism balance, reduce the accumulation of harmful nitrogen metabolites, and improve fermentation efficiency. This study provides a reference for changing the performance of microbial strains and improving the quality of traditional fermentation products and provides a theoretical basis for studying epigenetic modification and nitrogen metabolism regulation. It has an important theoretical explanation and practical application value. In addition, this study also provides useful clues for the study.