Involvement of Vacuolar Sequestration and Active Transport in Tolerance of Saccharomyces cerevisiae to Hop Iso-α-Acids

Abstract

ABSTRACT The hop plant, Humulus lupulus L., has an exceptionally high content of secondary metabolites, the hop α-acids, which possess a range of beneficial properties, including antiseptic action. Studies performed on the mode of action of hop iso-α-acids have hitherto been restricted to lactic acid bacteria. The present study investigated molecular mechanisms of hop iso-α-acid resistance in the model eukaryote Saccharomyces cerevisiae . Growth inhibition occurred at concentrations of hop iso-α-acids that were an order of magnitude higher than those found with hop-tolerant prokaryotes. Chemostat-based transcriptome analysis and phenotype screening of the S . cerevisiae haploid gene deletion collection were used as complementary methods to screen for genes involved in hop iso-α-acid detoxification and tolerance. This screening and further analysis of deletion mutants confirmed that yeast tolerance to hop iso-α-acids involves three major processes, active proton pumping into the vacuole by the vacuolar-type ATPase to enable vacuolar sequestration of iso-α-acids and alteration of cell wall structure and, to a lesser extent, active export of iso-α-acids across the plasma membrane. Furthermore, iso-α-acids were shown to affect cellular metal homeostasis by acting as strong zinc and iron chelators.